RDP support for establishing and implementing EIPs

The objective of this report is to assess how the Operational Groups (OGs) of the EIP were set up in Sardinia, what objectives they have, and what was the role of the Rural Development Programme (RDP).

The analysis was made on monitoring data and based on a survey.

The evaluation question to be answered is to what extent did the RDP support the setting up of the EIPs, in terms of both innovation and cooperation capacities.

The main judgement criteria used in the report were :

1. thanks to the RDP, EIP OGs have been set up
2. the EIPs involved a large number of different actors
3. relations between the various actors in the agricultural supply chain have been strengthened
4. projects capable of innovating regional agriculture have been carried out.

The main indicators on which the analysis will be based are:

1. number of OGs created
2. average number of partners
3. number and type of supply chains involved
4. percentage of respondents stating that the RDP was necessary for the training of OGs
5. percentage of positive reviews of relationships with other partners
6. percentage of confidence in achieving expected innovation results.

The subjects involved are, on average, four for each OG, compared to a minimum of three required by the measure. More than half of the subjects involved are farms, followed by processing companies and advisory bodies, in equal numbers

Well over half of the respondents are convinced that, without RDP funding, the OG would not have been established.

Over 80% consider relationships with all other partners to be very positive and collaborative

Three-quarters of respondents consider the commitment required by the project to be adequate and to meet expectations. More than 90% of respondents are very or fairly satisfied with how they were involved in the main decision-making phases.

In addition to the impact on the product, expectations in terms of resilience to climate change are also significant.