SCAR-Engage Programme
CALL FOR FOURTH-YEAR APPLICATIONS
ABOUT THE SCAR-ENGAGE PROGRAMME
The SCAR-Engage Programme is an initiative designed to support new members of SCAR Working Groups (WGs) and to increase country-level visibility. It aims to empower new SCAR WG members, especially those from countries that are under-represented or less visible in SCAR, with knowledge, support and connections to enable their active participation and smooth integration into WG activities.
The SCAR-Engage Programme is to run four times from 2024 to 2027 with the fourth Call for expression of interest launched on 21st of May 2026, the second and the third year currently running and the first SCAR-Engage Programme year cycle successfully concluded. Each SCAR-Engage Programme year lasts twelve months from its official beginning date accompanied by the follow-up activities.
PROGRAMME BENEFITS
Each of the Programme participants will receive the following benefits:
- Peer-to-peer support and networking: Various in-person and online networking and support meetings during the SCAR-Engage Programme
- Country-level Individual Action Plans: Tailored document to address needs and ambitions regarding participation in future SCAR activities.
- Financial support: The Programme will offer financial assistance to support new SCAR WG members to travel to physical SCAR Working Group meetings, up to a maximum of €1200 per member. The fixed rate attendance fee can be provided for a maximum of three physical meetings per member per year.
- Alumni Involvement and Certificate of Completion: SCAR-Engage participants will be offered to join post-Programme promotional activities and will be acknowledged by the dedicated participation Certificates.
FOURTH CALL FOR EXPRESSION
The SCAR-Engage Fourth Call for Expression of Interest has officially been launched. This cycle we are opening up two streams of application aimed at providing the support for the SCAR Plenary delegates and interested experts who wish to join SCAR.
We are inviting member of the National Delegation to the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) who are interested in increasing their country’s representation in SCAR and accelerating the country’s research and innovation (R&I) agenda to apply to the RefreSCAR SCAR-Engage Programme using the Country Expression of Interest application form. Application submitted by the National Delegation to SCAR are official and will be considered in the evaluation process for the Fourth Year SCAR-Engage Programme.
Please note that under the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd year of the Programme, Bulgaria, Greece, Iceland, Poland, Romania, Spain, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Cyprus, Croatia and Hungary were selected for participation, therefore further applications cannot be accepted from these countries.
Please find the SCAR-Engage Supporting Document below for more details such as expectations and selection procedures along with a fillable pdf version of the Country Expression of Interest Application Form. Kindly note that the application must be formally submitted via the online application form ONLY.
The fourth SCAR-Engage Call for Expression of Interest marks the final cycle of the Programme.
Call Documents:
- Call for Expressions of Interest Supplementary Document
- Fillable PDF version of the form (to facilitate collaboration on an application)
The RefreSCAR SCAR-Engage Committee also welcomes experts interested in joining SCAR who may be uncertain how to reach their Country’s SCAR Delegate to submit their interest via the Expert Interest application. However, if you already know how to contact your National Delegation to SCAR, we encourage you to reach out to them directly to express your interest in joining.
Are you a country-level SCAR Plenary Delegate? Apply here
Are you an expert interested in joining SCAR Working Groups or Startup and Scaleup Task Force? Apply here.
FOURTH CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR EXPERT INTEREST APPLICATIONS:
Friday 5th June 2026, 17:00 CET
APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR COUNTRY EXPRESSION OF INTEREST APPLICATIONS:
Friday 12th June 2026, 17:00 CET
INVITATION OF SELECTED COUNTRIES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FOURTH YEAR PROGRAMME:
More information disclosed to the Programme participants in the week of 22nd to the 26th of June 2026.
THE KICK-OFF MEETING AND THE OFFICIAL START OF THE FOURTH SCAR-ENGAGE PROGRAMME CYCLE:
The meeting will be held virtually with more information disclosed to the Programme participants in the week of 22nd to the 26th of June 2026.
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ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS?
Please contact: refrescar@teagasc.ie
ABOUT REFRESCAR:
https://www.scar-europe.org/refrescar
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
Applications are invited from national delegations to SCAR, including from EU Member States, Associated Countries and Candidate Countries. As SCAR WG members are nominated by national delegates in the SCAR Plenary (SCAR’s governing body), applications must be submitted by Plenary level delegates and will not be accepted from SCAR WG members or individual experts. Only these applications will be eligible for evaluations for the Second Year SCAR-Engage Programme.
SCAR-ENGAGE PROGRAMME - HISTORY
1st SCAR-Engage Forum marks the launch of the
3rd SCAR-Engage Programme cohort in Zadar
For the first time, members of the SCAR-Engage Programme and the wider SCAR community from 11 countries came together at the 1st SCAR-Engage Forum, held on 22–23 April 2026 in Zadar.
The Forum marked the official launch of the third year of the SCAR-Engage Programme, bringing together newly selected participants, SCAR Plenary delegates, Working Group Chairs, experienced SCAR members, and alumni from the first two SCAR-Engage cohorts for two days of networking, peer exchange and discussions on strengthening engagement within the SCAR community.
The Forum opened with welcome remarks from Orsolya Frizon-Somogyi (European Commission, DG AGRI) and Hans-Joerg Lutzeyer (European Commission, DG Research and Innovation), who joined online, alongside a warm welcome from Zvjezdan Penezić, Vice Rector from the University of Zadar.
Participants were introduced to the RefreSCAR project by the project coordinator, Órlaith Ní Choncubhair (Teagasc), as well as to the SCAR-Engage Programme, presented by Marina Arnaut Stefanović (Foodscale Hub).
The programme also featured a panel discussion on experiences from SCAR membership, where long-standing SCAR members Vivi Hunecke Nielsen (Aarhus University), Ákos Kristóf (Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture) and Luka Juvančič (University of Ljubljana) shared personal experiences and benefits of the engagement within the SCAR community.
Through interactive brainstorming sessions, participants explored both barriers and opportunities for active participation in SCAR Working Groups and Task Forces, addressing engagement at personal, institutional, national and EU levels.
Participants of the third SCAR-Engage Programme cohort also had the opportunity to introduce themselves, formally marking the onboarding of the new cohort into the Programme and strengthening connections across the wider SCAR network.
Discussions highlighted the value of creating more opportunities for in-person interaction within the SCAR community, including future co-location with events such as the BIOEAST Conference.
The 1st SCAR-Engage Forum created a dedicated space for new and experienced SCAR members to exchange practical experiences, build cross-country connections and explored new possibilities to strengthen the visibility and impact of the SCAR.
SECOND CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
The second Call for Expressions of Interest in the SCAR-Engage Programme was announced at an event jointly hosted by Teagasc and the European Commission Representation in Ireland on Monday, 11st November. Mairead McGuinness, EU Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union was the main speaker at the event titled “Collaborating for Impact: Ireland and Europe working together on agri-food research”. Official Launch Meeting
The 2nd Year SCAR-Engage Meeting took place on 14th November and brought together new SCAR WG members from Spain, Slovakia and Czechia!
Insightful introductions from Foodscale Hub - leader of the SCAR Engage Programme - and RefreSCAR project coordinators from Teagasc set the stage for a vibrant and engaging session.
Facilitators from the Wageningen University & Research guided us through welcoming new Working Group members while representatives from NuaFund provided insights on application procedures for financial support.
The Meeting also featured inspiring insights from long-term SCAR members - Emmanuel Albina (CIRAD), Kristóf Ákos László (Ministry of Agriculture, Hungary) as well as participant from the SCAR-Engage 1st year - Christos Karatzas (AGRENAOS), who shared his insights on benefits of joining SCAR-Engage.
This meeting marked the continuation of SCAR-Engage commitment at fostering networking, knowledge sharing, building lasting collaborations and supporting new SCAR WG members in joining the vibrant SCAR community!
FIRST CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
The First SCAR-Engage Programme has successfully began in September 2024 with the
official Launch Meeting.
New SCAR members from Poland, Iceland, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece have been admitted to the programme.
If you are interested in the First Year SCAR-Engage Programme application documents please find them below:
- Call for Expressions of Interest Document (this document should not be used for this tender proposal; it is merely a historical example)
- Fillable PDF version of the form (this document should not be used for this tender proposal; it is merely a historical example)
Deliverable 3.1
REPORT ON FOCUS GROUP FINDINGS - 09/01/2025
Led by the Ministry of Agriculture in Hungary and colleagues in RefreSCAR WP3, Task 3.1 sought to explore the motivations and barriers for representatives of EU Member States and Associated Countries engaging in SCAR Working Groups (WGs) and Task Forces (TFs). Two Focus Group meetings were organised in December 2023 involving representatives across different SCAR WG/TFs:
- One focusing on gathering good practices/examples for active participation,
- And a second focusing on the barriers to participation and support needs of WG/TF representatives.
The report highlights many benefits of active participation in SCAR WG/TFs, such as international cooperation and networking, creating synergies between topic areas, improving science-policy dialogue and acquiring up-to-date information on EU-funded projects, policies and scientific results. The Focus Group discussions suggest that challenges to participation mainly lie at the national level, with limited knowledge of SCAR, lack of financial and human resources and communication sometimes presenting barriers to full engagement. The report puts forward some good practices for SCAR WG/TF members, showing that SCAR WG/TFs work best with (self-)motivated members representing their country’s interest to reach (long-term) impact not only at the national level but in the European Research Area.
The findings of this task will feed into designing the SCAR-Engage Programme which will support four different SCAR Member countries each year throughout the RefreSCAR project lifetime to improve the inclusiveness of countries across SCAR Groups.