Work package number

1

Lead Beneficiary

WU

Work package title

Coordination and project management

Participant number

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Short name of participant

WU

UBERN

FiBL-CH

UTH

UL

UCSC

FiBL-AT

Person/months per participant

9

2

1

7

1

1

1

Participant number

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Short name of participant

UoG

FUB

INRAE

POLITO

CHQ

DTU

AGES

Person/months per participant

1

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

Participant number

15

16

17

18

19

20

Short name of participant

NVM

WR

EQY

CAMPO

SPOT

EMU

Person/months per participant

0.5

0.5

10

0.5

0.5

0.5

Start month

1

  End month

60

Objectives of the work package:

This WP will address day-to-day coordination and management of the overall project. WP1 will foster collaboration between the MINAGRIS partners, but also with the MAAB, to ensure compliance with the EC’s requirements, timely reporting and efficient administration and will facilitate adequate decision-making. The specific objectives of WP1 will be as follows:

·   To warrant effective administrative, financial, ethical, and legal coordination;

·   To prepare, conclude and implement the Consortium Agreement throughout project duration;

·   To install all management bodies and implement the meeting and reporting processes of the project to support the interaction and collaboration between partners both within and between WPs including the timely exchange of materials, data and results and other information;

·   To monitor the project work plan and achievement of the objectives, deliverables and milestones; identify any problems early and find solutions to counteract or rectify the problems;

·   To timely submit the contractual periodic EC reports and maintain good lines of communication with the EU Project Officer;

·   To monitor compliance with the ethical requirements as set out in Section 5;

·   To manage gender equality issues in the project;

·   To manage potential or unforeseen crisis outbreak that could impede project’s progress (e.g. COVID-19).

Task 1.1: Activity management Lead partner: EQY | Participant(s): All | Timing: M1-M60

Activity management is aimed at tracking the progress of the activities of the project and includes: i) maintenance of the project work plan and constant monitoring of its implementation, ii) identification of required corrective actions and contingency plans and, iii) implementation of decisions of the project managerial bodies. Furthermore, a coordination of reporting procedures that comply with the EC rules, and the provision of overall directions to the partners and follow-up on decisions of the plenary project meetings will be ensured by WU in collaboration with EQY. The MAAB will be consulted regularly.

Task 1.2: Financial and legal management Lead partner: WU | Participant(s): All | Timing: M1-M60

This management task will cover i) the preparation of a Consortium Agreement to regulate the management bodies, the decision-making process, and the management of IP and prior-existing knowledge, ii) the financial administration of the project (i.e. the timely distribution of funding to the partners via a dedicated Euro account, the budget management, utilization and monitoring, and the preparation of annual consortium consolidated financial statements), and iii) the preparation of periodic management reports, including justification of costs and Forms C of all beneficiaries. Online reporting tools are envisioned to ensure efficient communication between project management and project partners.

Task 1.3: Scientific progress Lead partner: UTH | Participant(s): All | Timing: M1-M60

Scientific management aims at following the project progress and includes: (i) study the progress of experiments at all the scales of the project, (ii) identification of required corrective actions linked with the work programme implementation when needed, (iii) implementation of scientific decisions of the project managerial bodies. Furthermore, a coordination of reporting procedures that comply with the EC rules, and the provision of overall directions to the partners and follow-up on decisions of the plenary project meetings will be ensured by UTH in collaboration with all the partners. The MAAB will be consulted regularly.

Task 1.4: Gender balance Lead partner: UBERN (CDEUB) | Participant(s): All | Timing: M1-M60

First, all partners will be informed about the unspoken societal rules which currently dictate the role of the gender aspects in research and innovation. This will include an information and sensitisation session on gender issues during the kick-off meeting. Furthermore, we will initiate an inventory of gender equality among the CSS stakeholders to identify the number of women and men involved in the project including their positions, roles, decision-making and perceptions on the use of plastics in farming. Data collection in WP3 and WP7 will be performed gender sensitive. Gender disaggregated, i.e. specific subgroup analyses will be performed under the coordination of WP2 CSS management.

Task 1.5: Organisation of project management meetings

Lead partner: EQY | Participant(s): All | Timing: M1-M60

Smooth organization and facilitation of activities of the project will be achieved by plenary meetings planned well in advance, which ideally will be hosted by partner organisations with CSS. The goal of the meetings is to evaluate project progress, to outline work plans, to have scientific discussions, targeted training sessions for project partners, dedicated interactions with MAAB members (review, advice on selected topics) and to receive updates regarding the financial and IP status and interactions with the EC. Separate and combined WP (co)leader meetings will be held yearly. For separate meetings, chairs of both meetings will be in close contact to ensure alignment of agenda’s, and to discuss progress made in each of the WPs and outlining follow-up work in more detail. Combined meetings will be scheduled back to back with plenary meetings. Minutes of the meetings will be provided to all partners.

Task 1.6: Crisis outbreak management Lead partner: WU | Participant(s): All | Timing: M1-M60

In case of crisis outbreak (e.g. COVID-19) that would lead to major modifications of the project agenda or endanger the successful completions of its results, WU together with the partners will prepare a crisis-adjusted plan to adapt the project workplan to the crisis situation, ensuring maximum completion of the project objectives and at the same time safeguarding partners’ safety and security.

Deliverable 1.1: Crisis outbreak management strategy [M6, WU, R, PU] Deliverable 1.2: Periodic project reports [M18, 36, 54 60, EQY, R, PU] Deliverable 1.3: Periodic scientific reports [M18, 36, 54, 60, EQY, R, PU] Deliverable 1.4: Gender equality report [M24, M48, UBERN-CDEUB, R, P]