The project build on the capitalization of the WELLFOOD project, approved under the 2nd call for ordinary project of Adriatic IPA programme, and concluded on the 30th September 2015. It allowed the strengthening of innovation capacity of the Adriatic regions in the agri-food sector by the implementation of activities related to the setting up and promotion of an adriatic research-enterprise-consumer WELLFOOD cluster, pilot actions on food innovation for wellness, and food innovation mkt plan elaboration and implementation. Pj actions involved a relevant amount of target groups in the adriatic area. It put the basis for concrete actions to be produced both at territorial&transnational level for the SMEs and enterprises of the agri-food sectors and for the researchers/professionals of innovation processes, as well as for the poicy-makers of the sector and the consumers. Although the project allowed the exchanges between researchers, technicians, producers and politicians, involving the quadruple helix typology of target groups in the knowledge-exchange process, the creation of the Cluster and the activities carried out have just start to pave the way for a real innovation process in the sector. Being less incisive in terms of real impact for the enterprises/SMEs.
In this view, project WELLFOOD ACTION aims at contributing to the achievement of EUSAIR objective according to the pillar 4, sustainable tourism, by improving the SMEs performance and growth-diversification, and by acting in the filed of Sustainable and responsible tourism management (innovation and quality) in terms of new programmes for training in the field of education. The activites are built exploiting the good results attained by the WELLFOOD project. In particular, the project will foreseen the union of traditional Communication Actions with 2.0 social actions and events for the involvement of tourists and general target making coillide agri-food world, tourism and culture. In this context, awareness raising activities will be also done in the field of food waste prevention for a more sustainable agri-food tourism. The technical WP entail the Transfer of knowledge and support to business innovation, with actions aiming at strengthening of the supply chains and BtoB. Check-up on businesses innovation for enterprises and involvement of Innovation Agents (formed during the WELLFOOD project) in the innovation process of the SMEs is also foreseen. WELLFOOD ACTION places the accent on cross-border dimension, finding a suitable matching among needs in terms of fostering innovation, developing sustainable forms of tourism and transferring knowledge in the sector of agrifood businesses, as well as bringing a cultural change by promoting targeted raising awareness actions for schools and tourists/consumers. WELLFOOD ACTION will benefit from the CBC cooperation and network of institutions being already part of territorial innovation systems and exchange innovation practices. Developed infrastructures and tools of Virtual incubator will be used in capitalization project in order to widen the field of intervention and enable agri-food-tourism stakeholders to benefit from advices and outputs of the project even if they are not able to be on the site of the intervention.