How can innovative agri-environmental contracts support farmers and nature at the same time? REWARD is a four-year Horizon Europe project that develops, tests and evaluates innovative payment schemes for the delivery of environmental public goods in agriculture. The project explores results-based, collective and spatially coordinated approaches that can better recognise farmers’ contributions to environmental protection while responding to the ecological, economic and institutional conditions of different European regions.
At the heart of REWARD are 14 Innovation Hubs operating in 11 European countries. These hubs function as real-world laboratories in which farmers, researchers, public authorities, civil society organisations and private-sector actors jointly develop and test new solutions. Rather than focusing on a single environmental objective, the project investigates the connections and potential synergies between biodiversity conservation, soil health, water management, and climate mitigation and adaptation.
REWARD also examines the institutional conditions that shape the success of innovative payment schemes. By comparing different governance arrangements, funding mechanisms, monitoring approaches and capacity-building needs, the project aims to identify the factors that enable or hinder the long-term operation and wider uptake of promising initiatives. The experience generated in the Innovation Hubs will contribute to practical recommendations for policymakers, practitioners and organisations designing future agri-environmental payment schemes.
Our role in the project
ESSRG leads stakeholder engagement and testing within WP1, supporting the Innovation Hubs in developing co-created work plans, involving relevant actors, and adapting payment schemes to their particular environmental, social and institutional contexts. In Hungary, we work closely with the Őrség National Park Directorate to establish and support the local Innovation Hub, engage farmers and other stakeholders, and explore how innovative payment approaches can contribute to biodiversity-friendly farming in the region.
The REWARD project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101295721.
