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How to use this: because START lacks a PIC number, its relevance and added value to a project must be embedded in the narrative part. This generic introductory text can be tweaked for any project while capturing the essence and added value of START. Cut, add or merge parts according to your needs; it is a starting point for leveraging your START membership in the application process. Replace the highlighted placeholders.

A successful green transition of agriculture and food systems is paramount to addressing the multitude of global challenges inherent in securing nutritious food and other biomass within planetary boundaries. This transformation can solely be achieved through disruptive changes in our society and economy rooted in evidence-based, co-creative, world-class interdisciplinary, inclusive and integrative science spanning all disciplines from technical, natural and digital sciences to social sciences, health and humanities.

The Center for Sustainable Agrifood Systems (START) has been established as a unique platform for collaboration between all Danish universities for strategic and interdisciplinary research, with the overarching purpose to deliver future research solutions to unlock the green transition of agrifood systems. The EU aims to be a global leader in transforming the economy for a sustainable future through a just transition leaving no one behind, while Denmark has the proposition to be the European living lab to highlight the envisaged transition of European agrifood systems. START marries both ambitions as it aims to showcase and exploit Danish innovative leadership and identify and develop pathways for systemic transition of the agrifood system towards the SDG objectives in terms of climate, environment, biodiversity, food, health, energy, land use, inclusive society and resource sufficiency.

START enters the European arena as an academic powerhouse in the top-three European knowledge institutions, being the first of its kind national collaborative effort between the combined resources of all eight Danish universities. It currently comprises more than 280 researchers from all Danish universities. It is a platform comprising researchers across all disciplines and seniority, offering access to unparalleled research infrastructure while benefitting from, and contributing to, the creation of a novel research environment aimed at societal impact through interdisciplinary research shaping the green transformation of agrifood systems. START furthermore contributes to fostering a new generation of talent encompassing the magnitude of the green societal transformation as well as broadening the expertise of the old through its creation of a ‘green academic society’.

[This project] benefits from START through its access to the platform’s combined pool of researchers and its associated infrastructure. As a platform, START enables an efficient formation of networks as well as high-level dissemination and exchanges between researchers and disciplines working with the green transition. START is comprised of ten research hubs acting as umbrellas for interdisciplinary research into the multitudes of the agrifood system. [This project falls under X hub…] [Insert summary of hub and elaboration on why this project benefits from the hub and, by extension, START].

START also serves as an amplifier for dissemination amongst the research community. Through its website, SharePoint hub and its two-day annual meeting, START enables wide reach of its studies, projects and papers while simultaneously creating efficient pathways for interdisciplinary debates and development of novel methodologies. As such, [this project] is both a vital contributor to and benefactor of a vibrant high-level interdisciplinary research ecosystem.

START is a vital guarantor of the sustainability of [this project]. The Ministry of Higher Education and Science, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark, Directorate-Generals and representatives from the European Commission, as well as foundations such as the Novo Nordisk Foundation have all expressed support for START in acknowledgement of the importance of an interdisciplinary research center encompassing research into agrifood systems. Thus, beyond the merits of [this project], there is diverse and wide-ranging commitment to the mission and strategy of START, which [this project] aligns with.

Depends on project content, context, partners and call, but general pointers are:

• Tie it into existing EU missions if possible.
• Tie it into EU policies (and/or ambitions).
• Tie it into prior projects (not necessarily “our own”) to emphasise continuous development and a solid evidence base.
• Provide a compelling needs analysis.
• Delineate clear target group(s) and tie them into the subsequent impact section.

We can help with formulating this into a START-relevant context!

Depends on project content, context, partners and call, but general pointers are:

• Fostering new talent?
• Impact analysis for the proposed project
• Impact analysis tied into the target groups mentioned above
• A compelling Theory of Change
• Contribution to the ‘living lab’ ambition, if any

We can help with formulating this into a START-relevant context!

Depends on project context, call and scope.

• The annual meeting is a resource that could be leveraged.
• SharePoint hubs
• Website
• University resources across partners!
• Tie it into the support from various stakeholders described above: START can be leveraged to open doors to those stakeholders.