Brussels-based agricultural policy think tank specialising in nutrient cycling, circular farming systems, and evidence-based EU rural policy analysis.
RISE Foundation is a Brussels-based think tank focused on European rural and agricultural policy. They provide evidence-based policy analysis on sustainable farming, nutrient management, and circular economy in agriculture. Their work bridges the gap between scientific research and EU agricultural policy by translating complex modelling and life cycle assessments into actionable policy briefings. They contribute economic and policy expertise to research consortia studying how to make European food systems more sustainable and resource-efficient.
Central to all three projects — BESTMAP focused specifically on modelling agricultural policy, while Circular Agronomics and SYSTEMIC addressed policy dimensions of nutrient cycling and waste valorisation.
Circular Agronomics addressed carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling in the agri-food system; SYSTEMIC focused on mineral recovery from organic waste.
BESTMAP applied behavioural change theory, agent-based modelling, and agricultural economics to understand farmer decision-making.
SYSTEMIC involved demonstration plants for converting organic waste into biogas, biochemicals, and secondary raw materials.
Circular Agronomics addressed greenhouse gas emissions and carbon management; BESTMAP examined ecosystem services — both point toward climate-agriculture intersections.
Their early H2020 work (2017, SYSTEMIC) focused on industrial-scale waste valorisation — turning organic waste into biogas, biochemicals, and recovered nutrients through demonstration plants. By 2018-2019, their focus shifted decisively toward agricultural systems thinking: nutrient cycling within the agri-food chain (Circular Agronomics) and socio-economic modelling of farming behaviour and policy impacts (BESTMAP). The trajectory shows a clear move from downstream waste processing toward upstream agricultural policy and farmer decision-making.
Moving from technical waste-to-resource projects toward policy modelling and behavioural economics in agriculture — expect future work at the intersection of CAP reform, climate targets, and evidence-based farm-level interventions.
RISE Foundation participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a policy think tank contributing analytical expertise rather than managing large technical consortia. With 44 unique partners across 14 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia (averaging ~15 partners per project). This suggests they are valued for bringing a specific policy perspective to multi-disciplinary teams rather than driving the technical agenda.
Despite only 3 projects, they have built a network spanning 44 partners across 14 countries — a wide European footprint reflecting participation in large research-to-policy consortia. Their Brussels location positions them at the centre of EU policy discussions.
RISE Foundation occupies a distinctive niche as a policy think tank embedded in technical research consortia — they translate scientific findings on nutrient cycling, waste valorisation, and agricultural economics into EU policy recommendations. Their Brussels base gives them proximity to EU institutions that most research partners lack. For consortium builders, they offer the rare combination of agricultural economics expertise and direct policy communication channels.
