Together around the question.

The quadruple helix is a model from innovation research describing cooperation between research, businesses, public authorities and society. Living Labs also use this model. It helps show which knowledge is represented and whose voice is still missing.

European programmes offer different forms of cooperation. Mission Soil supports Living Labs in which land managers, researchers, citizens, businesses and public authorities, among others, develop and evaluate solutions together. Other instruments, such as community-led local development, have their own partnership and selection conditions.

For Syntrociety, cooperation begins with a real question in a place. How can nature restoration go hand in hand with a liveable community and a sustainable economy? Who feels the effects, who can contribute and who needs to decide what? Those questions determine the cooperation.

A better plan emerges when knowledge and responsibility meet.

Cooperation becomes easier when the question is clear and information can be found. What does an initiative want to achieve, what has already been done, which resources are available and what still needs research?

The Charter gives the federation shared foundations. The Practice describes how Labs organise their work. These documents make expectations discussable between Labs and with other parties.

SYFERS brings together a method, a framework and digital tools. It supports agreements, records and reflection. A partner can then understand how a question arose and which information supports a conclusion.

A research plan then describes what will be measured, how and over what period. A cooperation agreement makes responsibilities, data use, resources and publication arrangements explicit.

This preparation makes a partnership concrete. A shared model becomes meaningful when people and organisations actually record their contributions and responsibilities.

A public authority can contribute to a social challenge while remaining responsible for its public duties. A partnership does not change those powers.

A municipality might help explore regional needs, connect relevant services and explain which data an application requires. Permits and any plan amendments follow their own procedures.

A regional body can connect the work with area development or a funding programme. Access to that programme depends on the specific call, applicant and proposal.

A research institution can help design a pilot so that its findings are useful beyond the site itself. This includes agreements on methods, independence, data and publication of findings.

A partnership works when it is clear who contributes and who decides.

The frameworks below give direction or offer possible programmes. We explore which route fits through a concrete question and the current conditions.

• Horizon EuropeThe European research and innovation programme. Mission Soil supports Living Labs in which several parties develop and test solutions for soil health. Conditions differ by call.
• European Green DealEuropean policy direction for climate, the environment and the economy. Specific laws and programmes determine implementation.
• New European BauhausAn initiative connecting sustainability, quality of the living environment and inclusion. Participation and funding have separate conditions.
• CLLDCommunity-Led Local Development, known in Portugal as DLBC. Local action groups develop area strategies; no single interest group may dominate decision-making. Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, Article 31.
• Open and responsible researchAn approach attentive to participation, openness, social relevance and responsible data use. We use these questions when developing our method.
• ENEI 2030The Portuguese smart specialisation strategy, approved in 2022. It provides a framework for connecting an innovation question with national and regional priorities.
• Algarve 2030The regional development strategy and its programme offer connections with sustainable development and a more diverse regional economy.

We seek a connection between a programme’s aim and a well-supported question from practice. A suitable call, appropriate partners and a feasible proposal determine whether an application makes sense.

We seek partners who want to explore living together, restoration and learning as an interconnected task. A partnership begins with a question both parties want to commit to.

A municipality or other public body can help clarify local needs and the implementation route. What is needed here? Which activities are possible? What expertise and decisions are involved?

A researcher can help develop a learning programme and measurement plan. We seek insight into what an approach achieves, for whom and under which conditions. Disappointing results belong in that research too.

An economic partner can contribute expertise, materials, services or patient capital. We seek a healthy business case that enables long-term care for people and nature.

Cooperation can begin with a defined assignment, a research project or a pilot. We make aims, resources, roles and evaluation points clear in advance.

We want to make what we learn together useful to other places. Local cooperation can then contribute to wider change.

The work began in 2023 at Sulitânia in southern Portugal. The cooperative is winding down work at the previous site and seeking a new location. The experience from that period provides the starting point for further development.

Syntrociety is building a federation of independent Labs, and the framework and tools to support cooperation. This page describes the partnership model we aim to use.

A formal partner relationship only acquires that status once the organisations involved have made the agreements. The four roles above are therefore an invitation and a working model.

The Implementation Gap explores how policy goals and local implementation can strengthen one another. Partnership helps investigate that question concretely.

Labs are the federation’s Members. Their relationship is described by the Charter, Practice and joining procedure.

Universities, municipalities, businesses and other organisations can contribute in another way: to research, implementation, regional challenges or developing tools.

We use counterpart as a working term for such a partner. The agreement determines what cooperation involves: for example visiting research, a joint project, supply, finance or a contribution to development.

The form follows the question and each party’s contribution. Contact us with a concrete proposal; together we can explore which agreements are needed.