UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FOGGIA

Their core work

The University of Foggia is a public university in southern Italy's Puglia region with applied research strengths in agriculture, rural development, and biomass energy. Their H2020 work centers on practical challenges facing farmers and rural communities — from turning pruning waste into energy feedstock, to building short food supply chains, to tackling social innovation in marginalised rural areas. They also play an active role in science communication through the recurring European Researchers' Night events in Apulia, bridging academic research with public engagement.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Between 2016 and 2019, UNIFG focused squarely on applied agricultural and energy topics — biomass from pruning, short food supply chains, farmer-facing innovation support, and rural social innovation. From 2018 onward, their activity shifted almost entirely to science communication through repeated participation in the European Researchers' Night series. This pivot from hands-on agri-energy research to public engagement and outreach suggests either a strategic move toward dissemination roles or a wind-down in competitive research project acquisition.

Their recent activity is dominated by public engagement events rather than research projects, which may signal a shift toward dissemination and community roles in future consortia rather than core technical contributions.

How they like to work

UNIFG overwhelmingly participates as a partner rather than a leader — they coordinated just one of six projects (SKIN, a relatively small CSA). With 72 unique consortium partners across 23 countries, they have built a surprisingly wide network for a modest-sized portfolio. This breadth suggests they are well-connected within European agricultural and rural development communities and comfortable working in large, multi-country consortia.

Despite only six projects, UNIFG has collaborated with 72 distinct partners across 23 countries, indicating involvement in large pan-European consortia. Their network is strongest in agricultural innovation and rural development communities across the EU.

What sets them apart

UNIFG brings a distinctive combination of practical agricultural expertise (supply chains, biomass, farmer advisory) rooted in southern Italy's agrarian economy, paired with strong public engagement capacity. For consortium builders, their value lies in connecting EU research to Mediterranean farming realities and rural communities in the Mezzogiorno — an underrepresented region in many EU projects. Their coordination of SKIN also shows they can lead knowledge-exchange networks, not just participate in them.

Highlights from their portfolio

• uP_running
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 196K) — focused on turning agricultural pruning waste into sustainable biomass feedstock, combining energy and farming expertise.
• SKIN
  Their only coordinated project — a knowledge and innovation network for short food supply chains, demonstrating leadership in farmer-facing agricultural innovation.
• SIMRA
  Second-largest funding (EUR 172K) — addressed social innovation in marginalised rural areas, showing depth in rural development beyond pure agriculture.