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We often talk about what they are doing in, but very little about who they are, these women and men who are behind the implementation of the InnovAgroWoMed project. 
Today we will discover the University of Rome Tor Vergata (UTV), the lead beneficiary of InnovAgroWoMed, with our guest Marco Amici, Project coordinator at InnovAgroWoMed.

1- Can you give us a brief description of your institution: the UTV?

"The University of Rome Tor Vergata (UTV) was founded in 1981 and rapidly became the largest public campus in Europe counting more than 33,000 students. It has currently over 200 international agreements and extensive networks. The University has a solid reputation in managing EU funded projects. At the central level, the International Research Office plays a major role in providing technical and managerial support to professors and researchers involved in EU projects. The InnovAgroWomed project has been conceived in synergy between the research group in Government and Civil Society (GCS), coordinated by Prof. Marco Meneguzzo, since long-time engaged in research activities in the field of Social innovation, Public management and EU project management and the Center for Economic and International Studies of the University of Rome Tor Vergata directed by Prof. Furio Camillo Rosati, committed to produce and disseminate outstanding research and analyses for the promotion of sustainable economic development."

2- What is the Role of the UTV in the InnovAgroWoMed project’s consortium?

"The University of Rome Tor Vergata is the lead beneficiary of the InnovAgroWoMed project and lead a consortium composed of 4 partners from the North and South shores of the Mediterranean Sea Basin. They include CESIE from Sicilian region (Italy), Jovesolides from Valencia community (Spain), The Center of Arab Woman for Training and Research (CAWTAR) from Tunisia and the Palestinian Businesswomen’s Association – ASALA from West Bank (Palestine).

Specifically, the University of Rome Tor Vergata is the leader of the working package on Project Management and on research for the development of the training model that will be used for the training component of the project. The tasks performed by the UTV project management team members in the planning stage included the elaboration of the project management plan and the financial guide to support the consortium members in carrying out the project activities in the most effective way. To this purpose, the UTV in agreement with all project partners decided to adopt a common project management methodology based on PM², a project management methodology developed by the European Commission and tailored according to the project needs."
 

3- Who are the members of your organization involved in the InnovAgroWoMed project? What kind of profiles and functions do they have?

"The InnovAgroWoMed project is carried out by a team of researchers and management staff coordinated by Prof. Marco Meneguzzo, Full Professor of Public Administration at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Italian Switzerland University (USI) and Prof. Furio Camillo Rosati, Full Professor of Public Finance at the University of Tor Vergata and Director of the Center for Economic and International Studies (CEIS). The research group members include Andrea Bonomi Savignon, Nathalie Colasanti and Chiara Fantauzzi, while the project management team group is composed by Marco Amici, Federico Porcedda, Barbara Piazzi, Chiara Rossani, Stefania Di Natale and Antonella Gibellino with the support of the International Research Office."

4- What are your expectations of the project outputs?

"InnovAgroWoMed project aims at boosting women labour participation and entrepreneurship, especially for those in the NEET segment, in the Mediterranean Sea Basin by leveraging on the potential of the agri-food sector showing a significant level of untapped potential in terms of innovation and growth in the Mediterranean. In order to achieve this we decided to focus InnovAgroWoMed project on a defined target (young women unemployed), addressing a specific sector (agri-food), by adopting an innovative model (rural social innovation) and including job matching and job creation activities. This will allow us to train 140 women through the organization of 4 training and coaching programs, 4 traineeship programs, 4 Agro-business forum and granting a substantial number of Subgrants for Cooperative start-up. This will hopefully lead to provide 112 women with a job sustainable job by the end of the project."