ZDRUZENIE PLATFORMA ZA ZELEN RAZVOJ SKOPJE

Their core work

The Green Growth Platform is a North Macedonian NGO focused on sustainable food systems, rural development policy, and agri-food innovation. They work at the intersection of agriculture and sustainability, contributing expertise in local food supply chains, nature-based solutions, and policy development for rural communities. Their role in EU projects centers on bringing Western Balkan perspectives to European food and agriculture initiatives, particularly around sustainable business models and food system resilience.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

The organization entered H2020 in 2019 with a traditional rural policy focus — agriculture, farming, and text mining for policy analysis (PoliRural). By 2020, their work shifted sharply toward innovation frameworks, sustainable business models, and technology-enabled food systems including blockchain and data-driven approaches (Ploutos, CITIES2030). This represents a clear move from policy analysis toward applied sustainability innovation in agri-food value chains.

Moving from rural policy advisory work toward technology-enabled sustainable food system design, making them increasingly relevant for agri-food digitalization and urban-rural food chain projects.

How they like to work

Exclusively a participant — they have never coordinated an H2020 project, joining large consortia as a contributing partner. With 108 unique partners across 28 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in very large multi-national consortia (averaging 36 partners per project). This suggests they bring a specific regional perspective (Western Balkans / North Macedonia) rather than driving project design, making them a reliable consortium member for teams needing geographic diversity.

Despite only 3 projects, they have connected with 108 partners across 28 countries — a testament to the large-scale consortia they join. Their network spans nearly all of Europe, with particular value as one of few H2020 participants from North Macedonia.

What sets them apart

As an NGO from North Macedonia, they are one of very few H2020 food and agriculture participants from the Western Balkans. This gives them a distinctive role for any consortium needing coverage of EU candidate countries or seeking to test rural and food system innovations in Southeast European contexts. Their combination of policy experience and applied agri-food innovation makes them a useful bridge between research outcomes and on-the-ground implementation in the region.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CITIES2030
  Their largest project (EUR 215,985) addressing urban-rural food systems with an ambitious mix of blockchain, nature-based solutions, and food security — running until 2024.
• Ploutos
  Focused on data-driven agri-food value chains with a strong sustainability innovation framework, signaling the organization's shift toward digital agriculture.
• PoliRural
  Their first H2020 project, applying text mining to rural policy — an early indicator of their interest in combining digital tools with traditional rural development.