University of Florence (UNIFI) is an important center of research and higher formation, with an excellent position in national and world rankings. Research activities of UNIFI are sorted in 24 departments, with 1800 professors and researchers, 1600 technicians and administrative staff, over 1600 research assistants and PhD students. The university takes part in many national and international research programs.
UNIFI offers 126 grade courses (cycles I & II) sorted in 10 schools, with approximately 51000 students. It has an important international vocation and the development of internationalization is one of its priorities (https://www.unifi.it/).
Economics and management department (DISEI) is the leading head of this project, it is a multidisciplinary institution in social sciences that has 124 professors and researchers, and 14 administrative employees. Researches have an interdisciplinary focus that targets subjects such as: economic and human development; analysis and management of rural, agroalimentary and tourist systems; quality food, regional products and geographical indications; preservation and value of rural heritage.
Researchers of DISEI have taken part in many international, national and regional projects and are active in tasks of knowledge transmission. Particularly, researchers linked to SUS-TER have coordinated and participated in european, international and national projects about regional, rural and human development, global and local value chains, origin product improvement and rural tourism.
DISEI has developed a tight collaboration with some other partner universities for student exchange and teacher’s mobility within the Erasmus + project. The department has achieved cultural and scientific agreements with many universities joined to SUS-TER project, it is a member of the “Biocultural Diversity and Territories Platform” and the SYAL network.
The Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry department (DAGRI) is also involved in SUS-TER with its 100 organized researchers, that contribute with specific competences of territorial management and a great didactic experience coming from the PhD in Sustainable management of Agricultural Food and Forestry Resources. (GSRAFA).
University of Florence, with the Economics and management department is the coordinator of the project and with the Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry department, is directly involved in every work package, and accompanies the daily management of SUS-TER, the continuous monitoring of status and the product creation.
In detail, UNIFI takes care of scientific coordination and contractual, financial and administrative management of the consortium; it coordinates the partners and the actions that require interaction between partners and the usage of common methodologies, it produces both of the administrative files and periodical reports. It also ensures an efficient internal communication and both of the interfaces with the european commission.
UNIFI supports all of the necessary actions to ensure the sustainability of the project further than the UE’s support, to take advantage of the achievements of the project on a regional and international scale.