The European Technology Platform (ETP) ‘Food for Life’ held its 6th stakeholder event, followed by a brokerage event, on 22 November in Brussels.

Looking towards the establishment of a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda to feed into the 8th Framework Programme ‘Horizon 2020’, the event brought together 150 stakeholders from across academia and industry. It also included contributions from the European Commission and food chain partners.

The morning session was dedicated to the ETP’s draft Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. Stakeholders looked at how the Agenda can increase funding, better coordinate research, preventing duplication, and promote SME participation in R&D activities. It was clear that the ETP can mobilise the stakeholder community, contributing to sharing knowledge on food related activities in Europe.

There were also calls to establish a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) for food. Providing a platform to promote large-scale industry-driven research and enhance the development of major technologies, KICs can act as a catalyst for major research investments, boosting technology transfer.

The afternoon session included a brokerage event where researchers presented over 40 research ideas to potential partners under the broad headings “food and health”, “food safety” and “sustainability”. The brokerage event, the first of its kind, marks a new stage in the Platform’s six years and aims to boost public-private partnerships with a view to fostering successful innovations in the food industry, thus promoting growth.

Commenting on the event’s success, Dr Mike Knowles, President of the ETP Board, said: “Today’s ETP stakeholder event demonstrates the importance of the ETP for the industry. It is through R&D and innovation that manufacturers remain at the cutting edge of developments, boosting the industry’s competitiveness and, in turn, contributing to Europe’s future economic growth.”

Related documents:

• ETP press release (pdf - 139 KB)