Romanian innovation-driven SME prepares VInnovate 2026 project Europe; builds resilient local food chains
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Term of Validity: 31 August 2026 - 31 August 2027
Deadline for EoI: 4 Sep 2026
Deadline of the call: 10 Sep 2026
Summary - Profile Type - Research & Development Request - POD Reference - RDRRO20260831005 - Term of Validity - 31 August 2026 - 31 August 2027 - Company’s Country - Romania - Type of partnership - Research and development cooperation agreement - Targeted Countries - Austria - Portugal - Germany - Spain - United Kingdom - Netherlands General information - Short Summary - A Romanian innovation-driven SME is preparing a VInnovate 2026 project so small and medium-sized farmers can cooperate more effectively, reach markets that are difficult to access individually and contribute to shorter, more resilient food chains. Agri-food organisations with sector expertise, access to farmers, operational or pilot environments, or regional networks are sought to co-design and validate the solution. Partners may contribute in one or more areas. - Full Description - Europe does not lack quality local food, committed farmers or buyers interested in shorter and more resilient supply chains. What is often missing is a practical way for fragmented actors to work together with sufficient visibility, continuity and trust. Small and medium-sized farmers frequently cannot meet larger or recurring market needs individually, while buyers, processors and logistics operators require predictable volumes and reliable coordination. Demand and supply therefore coexist, yet opportunities are missed, resources remain underused and food that could create value may remain unsold or be lost. The project starts from a purpose: smaller farmers should not be excluded from viable markets merely because they cannot operate at scale individually, while regional food-chain actors should be able to create more value by cooperating. A Romanian innovation-driven SME specialising in software, applied artificial intelligence and business decision-support has developed a functional digital demonstrator which, based on the team’s current assessment, corresponds to TRL 6. It now seeks complementary European partners to shape, pilot and validate the next stage in real agri-food environments. The project will further develop and validate a digital environment intended to improve coordination, market access, traceability and resource efficiency across local and regional food chains. Rather than replacing existing actors or commercial relationships, it is designed to help them work together more effectively. The R&D work will assess whether the solution can be adopted easily by different users, operate reliably in real conditions and be transferred between regions with different food-chain structures. Activities will combine co-design, adaptation of the demonstrator, pilot implementation, user and operational validation, and assessment of transferability. Responsible use of data and artificial intelligence, interoperability, usability and human oversight will be addressed throughout. The Romanian SME will contribute the demonstrator, software development, applied AI, business analysis, system integration and technical coordination. The project is being prepared under VInnovate Call 2026, within the Efficient & Sustainable Manufacturing (ESM) Pilot, supporting the transition towards smarter and more sustainable industry. The programme supports post-prototyping R&D and innovation activities at TRL 6–8. The consortium must include at least one SME and at least two organisations from two participating regions and two countries. Each beneficiary is funded through its own eligible regional or national instrument. The proposed duration is 18 months. The Project Fit Form deadline is 10 September 2026, followed by the full proposal deadline on 10 October 2026. Expressions of interest are requested as soon as possible, preferably by 4 September 2026. The project seeks eligible complementary partners able to provide access to farmers or farmer networks, a real processing or logistics environment, B2B market expertise, or applied research and validation capacity. Depending on their profile, partners may help define use cases, provide access to pilot environments, support implementation, mobilise users, validate operational or economic outcomes, or assess regional transferability. European project experience is welcome but not essential where the partner brings strong agri-food expertise, implementation capacity or access to relevant networks. Partners will be able to test the approach against their own needs, influence its development from an early stage and generate evidence for future replication or market uptake. - Advantages and Innovations - The innovation lies not in digitising a single transaction, but in enabling fragmented agri-food actors to operate as a more coordinated and reliable network. Rather than functioning only as a marketplace or an isolated farm-management application, the proposed environment brings collaboration, market access, traceability and decision support into a common framework. The project combines product and process innovation. The product innovation consists of an integrated digital environment supported by applied artificial intelligence, interoperable data flows and user-oriented traceability. The process innovation introduces a practical way for independent farmers and other food-chain actors to coordinate requirements, resources and market opportunities without giving up their autonomy. The approach is designed for real operational use and adaptation to different regional food-chain structures. Expected market benefits include better access to recurring B2B opportunities for smaller farmers, more reliable information for buyers and processors, lower coordination effort and better use of existing processing and logistics resources. Social and territorial benefits include stronger cooperation, greater inclusion of smaller farmers and more resilient regional food economies. Environmental benefits may result from reducing unsold food, avoidable resource use and inefficient supply-chain flows. Pilot validation will generate measurable evidence on user adoption, participation, coordination time, information and supply reliability, use of available resources and reduction of unsold products. The results will support further improvement, regional transfer and future market uptake. - Technical Specification or Expertise Sought - The project is looking for one or more eligible agri-food partners from the regions participating in VInnovate. Suitable partners may include a cooperative or an agricultural producer organisation, a processor, a logistic operator, a B2B buyer or a representative organisation, as well as an agri-food applied research or innovation organisation. Depending on its profile, the partner will contribute with a complementary competence: defining operational requirements and relevant use cases; facilitating access to farmers, users or a real pilot environment; supporting the adaptation and implementation of the pilot; mobilising relevant stakeholders; validating ease of use and operational or economic results; or assessing transferability in another regional context. Partners are not expected to fulfil all of these roles. Strong agri-food expertise, implementation capacity and access to relevant farmer networks or operational environments are particularly appreciated. Previous experience in European projects is an advantage but not mandatory. - Stage of Development - Available for demonstration - Sustainable Development Goals - Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth - Goal 1: No Poverty - Goal 2: Zero Hunger - Goal 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal - Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production - IPR status - Secret know-how Partner Sought - Expected Role of a Partner - Partners are expected to participate as active R&D contributors. Depending on their profile, their role may include one or more of the following activities: • Producer engagement and co-design: producer organisations, cooperatives or agricultural networks may identify operational and market-access needs, help define relevant use cases, mobilise small and medium-sized producers and support testing with real users. • Operational pilot and validation: processors or logistics operators may provide a real operational environment, define practical requirements, support pilot implementation and assess coordination, information exchange, traceability, reliability and resource use. • Market-side validation: B2B buyers, retailers, HORECA representatives or representative organisations may define purchasing requirements, expected volumes, information needs and operational constraints, and assess whether the approach responds to real market demand. • Research and regional transfer: universities, applied research centres or agri-food innovation organisations may contribute to research methodology, validation protocols, indicators, data analysis, impact assessment and evaluation of transferability to another regional context. • Pilot implementation and evidence: partners may facilitate access to relevant users, networks or operational environments, support regional adaptation, collect structured feedback and contribute to validating usability and operational, economic or resource-efficiency outcomes. • Dissemination and future uptake: partners may contribute to sharing results, preparing recommendations for replication and defining opportunities for further development or market uptake. The preferred collaboration is a research and development cooperation agreement within a VInnovate-funded project. The project is open to one or more complementary partners. No single partner is expected to cover all roles; the final allocation of tasks will reflect each organisation’s expertise, resources and regional context. The VInnovate beneficiaries must all be located in a VInnovate 2026 member “region”, namely East NL (Gelderland and Overijssel provinces), North East Romania, Galicia, Lower Saxony, Lower Austria, Wales, Basque Country, Norte (pending formal confirmation), Limburg (pending formal confirmation) and Noord Brabant (pending formal confirmation). - Type and Size of Partner - SME 11-49 - Big company - SME 50 - 249 - SME <=10 - R&D Institution - Other - University - Type of partnership - Research and development cooperation agreement Call details - Framework program - Access to finance - Call title and identifier - VInnovate Call 2026 - Efficient and Sustainable Manufacturing (ESM) Pilot https:
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