Improving analytical capacity and understanding of social drivers in agriculture to better assess social sustainability in the sector

Expected Outcome:Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:the research community benefits from increased data availability, interoperability and use, and improved analytical capacity on social dimensions of agriculture, meaning appropriate data, better indicators, methods and tools to assess social sustainability in the sector;policymakers are better equipped with reliable and harmonised analytical research methodologies, and consequently with new and improved knowledge and better understanding of social drivers in agriculture to design evidence-based policies, inter alia to ensure a just transition in the agriculture sector;improved social sustainability of the agri-food sector thanks to better knowledge and better policies. Scope:Knowledge gaps exist between agricultural policy priorities and data infrastructure to evaluate social sustainability issues, particularly regarding farmers. Often social issues are addressed by various policy instruments from different policy areas, but there are inconsistencies, for example in the way that target groups are identified and measured in the statistics collected at European level. A framing of the social dimension of agriculture is necessary to complement the existing environmental and economic aspects of sustainability of assessment tools, strategies and policies for agriculture in the EU. Social issues may remain hidden if there is no consistent data able to capture them. Social aspects seem to be excluded from most of the analytical tools available. Greater understanding of social issues and the best policy approaches to address them requires appropriate data to develop better indicators and measurement that can be integrated into analytical tools. Successful proposals should therefore directly and/ or indirectly contribute to the enhancement of the sustainability performance of the sector, including social sustainability, and competitiveness in agriculture.Proposals should:ide