BrightSpace Horizon Europe Project

🚨 New Open Access Article Published: the impact of agricultural, food, and environmental policies on the transition towards a safe and just operating space for EU agri-food systems 🚨 We are excited to share that a new open access article titled "A Scoping Review of the Impact of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Policies on the Transition Towards a Safe and Just Operating Space for EU Agri-Food Systems" has been published in Q Open! 📰 This research, authored by BrightSpace project team members, provides key insights into the role of public policies in shaping the future of EU agri-food systems. It identifies gaps in research, particularly around the social dimensions of the Safe and Just Operating Space (SJOS) and highlights the need for more exploration into synergies and trade-offs between different SJOS dimensions. Key takeaways: 🔑 A predominance of research on the environmental aspects of SJOS, with fewer studies addressing the social (just operating space) dimensions. 🔑 Research gaps in synergies and trade-offs, especially in complex policy contexts like the European Green Deal. 🔑 Insights into the need for further development in the toolkit for ex-ante policy modelling to assess the effectiveness of policy interventions For more details and to dive deeper into the findings, read the full article here: DOI: 10.1093/qopen/qoaf011 📚 This article is also based on BrightSpace Deliverable D4.1 (D07), Preliminary Report on the Impact of Agricultural, Climate, Environmental, and Trade Policies, available here: https://lnkd.in/dHZVGQVX #BrightSpaceEUresults #EUagriSJOS #AgriFoodSystems #SustainableAgriculture #EUPolicy #EnvironmentalJustice #SocialEquity #ResearchInnovation #OpenAccess #AgriPolicy #FoodSecurity #EUGreenDeal

🔍 BrightSpace Internal Meeting | Reflecting on Expert Insights into Animal Welfare 📅 4 April 2025 https://lnkd.in/dQNY8dp4 Following a productive Expert Consultation on Animal Welfare on April 3rd, the BrightSpace team gathered the next day for an internal meeting to reflect on key insights and chart the path forward. 🙏 We’re grateful for the contributions of the 12 international experts who shared their knowledge and perspectives on advancing animal welfare within a Safe and Just Operating Space for agriculture. Their input sparked rich discussion, particularly around the relevance of indicators across different species (cattle, pigs, chickens) and production stages (husbandry, transport, slaughter). 🧠 The team began crafting a synthesis of these insights, laying the groundwork for further analysis focused on scientific robustness and policy relevance. The next step? Collaborating with our modelling teams to assess how these indicators could be integrated into BrightSpace's modelling frameworks. Onward toward meaningful, evidence-based solutions for sustainable and ethical food systems. 🌱🐄🐖🐓 #BrightSpaceEU #AnimalWelfare #SustainableAgriculture #PolicyInnovation #FoodSystems #SafeAndJustSpace Wageningen Social & Economic Research, Thünen Institute, The University of Bonn, PBL Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving

🔍 BrightSpace Expert Consultation: Animal Welfare in a Safe & Just Operating Space 🗓️ 3 April 2025 | Online https://lnkd.in/dXFTXTTm As part of the BrightSpace Horizon Europe Project, we held a focused expert consultation on Animal Welfare — a crucial and interconnected element in defining a Safe and Just Operating Space for Agriculture. 🌍 12 experts from Europe and South America with backgrounds in animal behavior, welfare science, veterinary medicine, and nutrition came together to: 🔹 Explore different scientific perspectives on animal welfare 🔹 Discuss farming practices as proxies for welfare assessment 🔹 Engage in an interactive exercise to identify relevant indicators across species (cattle, pigs, poultry) and stages (husbandry, transport, slaughter) 💡 The consultation generated a rich set of insights and practical indicator suggestions, supporting our efforts to develop robust welfare metrics that complement BrightSpace’s economic modelling work. 🙏 A huge thanks to the participants for their time, energy, and collaboration! 📢 Stay tuned for more updates as we continue developing integrated indicators for a resilient, sustainable, and humane food system. #BrightSpaceEU #AnimalWelfare #SafeAndJustSpace #AgriFoodPolicy #Sustainability #HorizonEurope #FoodSystems #ScienceForPolicy Wageningen Social & Economic Research, Thünen Institute, PBL Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving, The University of Bonn, Planslab Kft.

🔹 BrightSpace 4th SPAB Meeting: Key Insights & Next Steps 🔹 On 17 March 2025, the BrightSpace project’s Scientific and Policy Advisory Board (#SPAB) convened online for its fourth meeting, addressing key project updates and upcoming activities. 📌 Discussion Highlights: ✔ Progress of the BrightSpace Horizon Europe Project work with focus on Thresholds ✔ Upcoming expert consultation on animal welfare indicators (3 April 2025) ✔ Insights on the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food and its implications for BrightSpace: preparing for the Conference on the Vision for Agriculture and Food (8 May 2025, Brussels) 📖 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/dPq-nEtv #BrightSpaceEUProject #EUagriSJOS #SustainableAgriculture #EUAgriFood #PolicyAndResearch #SPAB

📢 BrightSpace Expert Consultation: Animal Welfare in a Safe & Just Operating Space, 3 April 2025, online 🐄🐖🐓 As part of BrightSpace stakeholder activities, we are hosting an expert consultation on 3 April 2025 (online) to advance just indicators for animal welfare within the Safe and Just Operating Space (SJOS) framework. 🔍 Focus: "Animal Welfare in a Safe & Just Operating Space for European Agriculture" ⏳ Duration: 2 hours 📌 Agenda Highlights: ✅ Presentation on Animal Welfare in the SJOS framework ✅ Defining key welfare dimensions ✅ Interactive prioritization of indicators for cattle, pigs & chickens ✅ Moderated discussion on impact, relevance & data challenges 📩 Stay tuned for details! #BrightSpace #AnimalWelfare #JustOperatingSpace #SustainableAgriculture #StakeholderEngagement

Capacity Building: CAPRI Course 2025: Applied Data Analysis – Now Open for Registration! https://lnkd.in/df66EuDw 🎓 Organized by the Thünen Institute with support from the CAPRI consortium, this course provides hands-on training in the CAPRI partial equilibrium model, widely used for market and policy analysis. 📅 April 17 – July 17, 2025 🕛 Every Thursday | 12:00 – 16:00 CET 📍 Hybrid format | Humboldt University of Berlin As part of ACT4CAP27 Horizon Europe Project and BrightSpace Horizon Europe Project, the course is open to external participants and Master’s students in Agricultural Economics at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. 💡 Led by Alexander Gocht (Thünen) with support of Davit Stepanyan, Dr., Davide Pignotti, Ferike Thom, Dr. Jörg Rieger, and with contributions of core developers of the CAPRI network such as Maria Blanco, Torbjörn Jansson, Caetano Luiz Beber, the course covers: 📌 Introduction to the GAMS modelling language 📌 Overview of the CAPRI modelling system 📌 Hands-on exercises & deep dives into model components This is a unique opportunity to develop practical skills in agri-food policy modelling. 📢 Register now: Moodle Registration https://lnkd.in/ejeUgbKm 📖 Course details: CAPRI Course Webpage https://lnkd.in/eWuzYb88 #CAPRI #CapacityBuilding #AgriFoodModelling #EconomicModelling #PolicyAnalysis #ACT4CAP27 #BrightSpaceEU

Regular WP11 Meeting – Key Updates & Upcoming Events 👉 https://lnkd.in/dnSry234 The latest meeting of WP11 (Stakeholder Platform, Dissemination & Exploitation) held online on March 24, 2025, covered key updates across stakeholder engagement, capacity building, communication, and exploitation efforts. 📢 Upcoming Webinar on Animal Welfare A stakeholder experts webinar, "Animal Welfare in a Safe and Just Operating Space for European Agriculture," is scheduled for April 3, 2025. Invitations are being circulated, with plans to engage a broad audience. 🎓 Capacity Building & Training Updates - CAPRI Developer Seminar took place in Berlin (March 11-13). - A CAPRI-related Master module at Berlin University will welcome external participants (details soon). - Summer School 2025: Advanced Modelling Techniques for Land-Use & Policy Analysis (June 2-6, Laxenburg) organized together with LAMASUS - AGMEMOD team planning a training session in June (The Hague). - Four AMYRN scholarships have been approved, with more interest expected for next year. 📢 BrightSpace SJOS Platform & Communication - The BrightSpace website now features a new section: SJOS Platform highlighting stakeholder engagement and capacity-building activities. - Partners are encouraged to contribute event participation details and update COM-DISS reporting. 🔜 Looking Ahead - The 2nd Stakeholder Retreat in autumn 2025 is under planning. Exploitation strategies will be a focus of the October 2025 WP11 meeting. - Next WP11 meeting: May 26, 2025.

🚀 Capacity Building: AGMEMOD Training Course, 17-20 June 2025, The Hague, NL https://lnkd.in/dGj4naP3 Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the Thünen Institute (THÜNEN) invite researchers, policymakers, and professionals to the upcoming AGMEMOD Training Course, taking place June 17-20, 2025, in The Hague. 🔍 About AGMEMOD AGMEMOD is a key partial equilibrium model used for agricultural economic analysis across the EU. This training will equip new modellers with essential skills and foster collaboration within the AGMEMOD consortium and beyond. 🎯 Course Highlights: 📌 Applications of AGMEMOD – Research & policy relevance 📌 Data requirements & processing 📌 Model structure & equations 📌 Scenario modelling & analysis 💡 Who should attend? ✅ Researchers & analysts in agricultural policy modelling ✅ Early-career professionals in economic modelling ✅ AGMEMOD consortium members & partners 📝 Participation & Registration The course is free, supported by Horizon Europe projects Tools4CAP, BrightSpace Horizon Europe Project, and ACT4CAP27 Horizon Europe Project, but participants must cover their own travel, accommodation, and meals. 📩 For inquiries, contact Ana Gonzalez Martinez at ana.gonzalezmartinez (at) wur.nl. We look forward to welcoming you to The Hague for this exciting training opportunity! #AGMEMOD #CapacityBuilding #EconomicModelling #AgriculturalPolicy #BrightSpaceEU #Tools4CAP #ACT4CAP27

🚨 Seeking Animal Welfare Experts for a 2-Hour Consultation! 🚨 We’re looking for experts in farm animal welfare to join a consultation as part of the BrightSpace Horizon Europe Project—an initiative focused on shaping sustainable agriculture policies in the EU. This consultation will play a key role in defining a safe and just operating space (SJOS) for European agriculture. Specifically, we’re looking for support in prioritizing effective forms of animal welfare assessment for farm animals. 🔎 Who we need: ✅ Knowledge or experience in the welfare of chickens, pigs, or cows ✅ Interest in contributing to a meaningful EU research project ✅ Willingness to share insights in a 2-hour consultation If this sounds like you—or you know someone who would be a great fit—please reach out! Let’s work together to improve animal welfare in European agriculture. 🐄🐖🐓

🚀 Meet the BrightSpace AMYRN Fellows! 🌍 The Agricultural Model Young Researcher Network (AMYRN) is empowering young researchers to advance agricultural modelling and contribute to evidence-based policy development. Through research exchanges and training, AMYRN supports PhDs and early-career postdocs in collaborating with leading experts at BrightSpace partner institutes. This year, we are thrilled to introduce four AMYRN fellows who are leveraging advanced modelling tools — such as MAGNET, IFM-CAP, and econometric methods — to tackle key challenges in climate change, biodiversity, and food security: 🔹 Ninke Feenstra (Wageningen University → Wageningen Research) 🎯 Linking the MAGNET modell to microsimulation to assess EU agricultural policy changes. 🔹 Yan Jin (Wageningen University → Wageningen Research) 🎯 Enhancing economic modelling capacity with the GTAP and MAGNET models to improve BrightSpace deliverables. 🔹 Damilola Aladesuru Tominsin Aladesuru (University of Bonn → Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy) 🎯 Exploring how investment in precision farming impacts field structures, biodiversity, and farm income using econometric and machine learning methods. 🔹 Hugo Scherer (Wageningen Social and Economic Research → Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Seville) 🎯 Assessing the impact of droughts on EU farm income through policy scenario simulations in IFM-CAP and FarmDyn. These exchanges foster cutting-edge research, strengthen collaboration, and enhance the modelling capacity needed to drive sustainable agricultural policies. 🔎 Want to learn more about Capacity Building in the BrightSpace Horizon Europe Project, including AMYRN and its research initiatives? https://lnkd.in/db4bvHTT https://lnkd.in/dNH5-twJ #BrightSpaceEU #EUagriSJOS #CapacityBuilding #AMYRN #AgriculturalModelling #ClimateResilience #PhDResearch #ScienceForPolicy