DESIRA will develop the concept of Socio-Cyber-Physical Systems to advance understanding of the impact of digitisation in rural areas, linking analysis directly to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Operationalising the Responsible Research and Innovation approach, DESIRA will enrol agriculture, forestry and rural stakeholders in co-developing scenarios and policies in Living Labs established in 20 European Regions, and a Rural Digitization Forum gathering 250 stakeholders from all Europe. A Virtual Research Environment tailored to the purposes of the project will connect all participants and allow to increase substantially the interaction within the network. DESIRA will provide a Taxonomy and Inventory of Digital Game changers which will be implemented into an online Visualization Tool, a Set of Socio-Economic Impact Indicators aligned to the Sustainability Development Goals implemented into an online Socio-Economic Impact Tool, a Pan-European Assessment of digitization in European rural regions, a Needs, Expectations and Impact appraisal report, a Comparative Scenario Report based on scenario development activities of Living Labs and the Rural Digitization Forum, a Policy analysis and Roadmap, an Ethical Code to be adopted by researchers and innovators and recommended by policy bodies, five Use Cases that will report a further analysis – co-created by Living Labs with the support of ICT specialists - of the most promising solutions identified by Living Labs, Showcase Technologies - including a Virtual Farm Platform - that will create a selection of proof of concepts suggested by Use Cases. A detailed, multi-media dissemination, engagement and communication strategy will accompany the project from the beginning, looking at research as a multifunctional (research, engagement and communication) process and at the same time involving communication specialists in the development of adequate messages and in the choice of the most effective media.

The overall objective of this multi-actor, participatory project is to facilitate the use and increase the value of Neglected and Underutilised Crops (NUCs) in food chains to foster healthier diets and more sustainable food systems. To achieve this, DIVINFOOD will focus on interactive short and mid-tier value chains that can meet the growing consumer demand for: 1) healthy plant-based food; 2) products with a local/regional identity, and 3) diverse services and benefits received from agriculture and food. DIVINFOOD will study minor cereals and legumes in 3 geographical regions that face various climatic hazards and diverse socio-economic challenges to developing agrobiodiversity-rich value chains. DIVINFOOD will: - Co-develop, with consumers, new interactive marketing modes and channels valuing biodiversity use and its services/benefits, with the support of participatory guarantee systems and digital tools - Co-produce new and diversified plant-based healthy and appetising products and recipes from NUCs meeting consumers’ needs, from minimal or mild food processing and formulations better expressing NUCs’ potential - Benchmark diverse agroecological farming systems and techniques that improve NUCs’ performance, inter-specific biodiversity and the provision of citizen-focused agro-socio-ecosystem services - Breed more performant cultivars of cereals and legumes with local adaptation, intra-specific biodiversity, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, and potentiating nutritious and appetising food - Demonstrate new business models that diversify income and activities for farmers and small-scale processors who are using agrobiodiversity - Co-design pilot multi-actor territorial networks/social cooperatives in charge of managing, propagating and promoting NUCs. Design policy recommendations to promote their replication - Disseminate the results to relevant stakeholders to optimise their exploitation