The PERCEIVE (Perception and Evaluation of Regional and Cohesion policies by Europeans and Identification with the Values of Europe) project aims at both mapping and explaining inter- and intra-regional variations in: a) the experiences and results of cohesion policy implementation, b) citizens’ awareness and appreciation of EU efforts for delivering cohesion and c) European identities and citizens’ identification with the EU. In doing so, PERCEIVE will develop a comprehensive theory of “cohesion in diversity”, and use this theory to create a better understanding of the channels through which European policies contribute to create both different local understandings of the EU and different levels of European identification across profoundly different European regions. In addressing the aim of the project, PERCEIVE contrasts two different perspectives: a rational choice perspective stressing mainly the idea of institutions as “rules of the game” and the calculative rationality of actors as determinants of European identities and identification, and a social constructivist perspective stressing mainly the idea that European identities and identification emerge from a process of “social learning” associated with different institutional discourses. PERCEIVE relies on a multidisciplinary portfolio of competences bridging socio-political, regional-economic and public-administrative backgrounds. It integrates the use of both qualitative and quantitative analytical methods such as surveys, focus groups, case studies and econometric modelling. In addition, it uses particularly innovative methods such as quantitative discourse analysis to elicit meaning structures in public discourse about the EU, its regional policy and being European. Finally, PERCEIVE will produce a computer simulation environment and embed it into a virtual platform that cohesion policy stakeholders will be able to use and produce what-if analysis and long-term scenario analysis of the effects of policies.

Resilience and sustainability of Europe’s farming systems can no longer be taken for granted, as the sectors’ economic, social and ecological environment becomes more complex and volatile. Using resilience thinking, SURE-Farm develops a comprehensive resilience enabling framework, develops and applies resilience assessment tools and co-creates implementation roadmaps. Its objectives are to: measure the determinants of resilience; improve farmers’ risk-related decisions and management; assess farm demographic changes and their links to labour markets; evaluate the current policy framework and develop resilience enhancing policy options; make integrated long-term projections of farming system resilience; and identify pathways to implement a resilience enhancing environment. These objectives are achieved by developing scenarios of stressors, analysing farmers’ risk perceptions and behaviours, developing improved risk management tools tailored to specific challenges in the range of EU farming systems, creating a farm demography assessment tool informed by agent-based modelling that measures dimensions and dynamics of farm structures, creating a novel policy resilience assessment tool to assess strengths and weaknesses of existing CAP and other policies and their national transpositions, and building an integrated impact assessment model to make projections towards sustainable future delivery of private and public goods by farming systems across the EU. In co-creation with stakeholders, outcomes of these assessments are synthesised to support an enabling environment and to co-design implementation roadmaps. SURE-Farm thereby provides a thorough analysis of the complex challenges to Europe’s agricultural sector and an assessment of relevant policies, building on long-term projections and integrated modelling. By designing novel risk-management tools for farmers, measures to facilitate entry to the sector and validated roadmaps it supports the sector’s resilience.