What is the Multi-actor approach (MAA)?
The multi-actor approach intends to shape the research and innovation (R&I) process to be interactive, transdisciplinary and responsible. This approach aims to:
- introduce co-creation and increase inclusiveness in the R&I process, thereby making its outcomes more co-owned, reliable, demand-driven and relevant to society.
- promote the dissemination of R&I outcomes and the implementation of practice, which entails more than just widely disseminating the projects’ results or listening to the views of a board of stakeholders.
A multi-actor project ensures the genuine and sufficient involvement of a targeted array of key stakeholders in co-creation, which serves the objectives of the project proposal.
Who can be considered as actors in a multi-actor approach project?
Actors are individuals/persons or organisations taking part in project activities and contributing to project outcomes, by engaging with their expertise from the proposal drafting to the end of project implementation.
Key actors include:
- researchers,
- farmers / farmers' groups and associations,
- foresters / foresters’ groups and associations,
- aquaculture producers,
- fishers / fishers’ groups and associations,
- advisors,
- food and bioeconomy businesses,
- other businesses,
- consumer associations,
- local communities,
- citizens,
- civil society organisations including NGOs and social economy actors, and
- government representatives.
The selection of the relevant key actors relies on the objective(s) of the proposal that are based on the needs of the (end-)users of the project results.
Co-creation process
The building blocks for the project proposal are expected to have a scientific basis as well as real-life experience: It is a ‘co-creation’ process. (End-)users are involved in the project activities not as a study-object, but to use their practical and local knowledge and/or entrepreneurial skills to develop solutions and to share ‘co-ownership’ of results for (end-)users. This should speed and scale up the acceptability and uptake of new ideas, approaches and solutions developed as part of the project in practice.
Multi-actor project requirements
A multi-actor project has to meet seven requirements:
- Project objectives must be targeting the needs and opportunities of (end-)users of results.
- The project concept and composition of the consortium must reflect a balanced choice of key relevant actors with complementary knowledge able to ensure broad implementation.
- Proposal methodology must explain how the project will make use of existing and tacit knowledge, by active involvement of all actors over the whole course of the project as soon as from the planning phase.
- Use methods to facilitate the multi-actor engagement process and maintain engagement of the different actors during the whole life project.
- Demonstrate added value: how does the project complement existing research and best practices?
- Results must be practical and ready to use, easily understandable and freely accessible.
- Results must be widely and effectively disseminated, and feed into the most used dissemination channels for end-users.
The definition and specific requirements of the multi-actor approach as applied in Horizon Europe can be found in the Introduction of the Horizon Europe Work Programme (2025) - Cluster 6 (pages 14-16).
Ensuring Europe-wide communication and dissemination
The new knowledge and innovation generated by the multi-actor projects must be summarised in an appropriate number of ‘practice abstracts’ using the common EIP-AGRI format for Horizon projects. These concise, practice-oriented summaries facilitate Europe-wide communication and dissemination, reaching stakeholders in the field of agriculture, forestry and rural development.
The number of ‘practice abstracts’ depends on the size of the project and the volume of results which are ready to be applied in practice. The ‘practice abstracts’ stemming from Horizon Europe projects should be uploaded to the EIP-AGRI project database using a dedicated online form from the EU CAP Network (PDF).
For areas falling outside the remit of EIP-AGRI and CAP specific objectives, other similarly effective solutions ensuring dissemination at European level should be sought.
Learn more about practice of abstracts.
Need support?
The EU-funded PREMIERE project is here to help you develop more relevant, coherent, and well-prepared EU-funded multi-actor projects. Whether you're new to the field and participating in Horizon Europe multi-actor projects for the first time, or leading and supporting the development of project proposals, PREMIERE offers invaluable resources to help you prepare more effective multi-actor projects in a co-creative manner.
Visit PREMIERE website to explore trainings, Q&A sessions, webinars, capacity-building materials, and more information about the multi-actor approach.