Governance and Innovation for Generating Education and Regularity in EU agricultural funds

forthcoming

The project “Governance and INnovation for Generating Education and Regularity in EU Agricultural Funds” (GINGER) is a capacity-building and transnational cooperation initiative aimed at strengthening fraud prevention in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by promoting innovative and digital approaches in fund management. The project responds to the increasing complexity of EU-funded programmes, the evolution of fraudulent schemes, and the need to close digital gaps across Member States. GINGER combines training, co-creation, and networking through a structured programme of events (conferences, workshops, webinars, and study visits) and the development of modular, reusable educational resources. It focuses on the practical use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain, and encourages structured dialogue between public authorities, academic institutions, and private stakeholders, fostering a shared anti-fraud culture. The approach is hands-on: training content is informed by real-life scenarios, territorial insights, and case studies, while validation is ensured through direct engagement with institutional actors. Results will be designed to be interoperable with existing EU instruments (e.g. ARACHNE, IMS) and aligned with national anti-fraud strategies. Coordinated by Unitelma Sapienza, GINGER benefits from letters of support of different public entities, most notably the Guardia di Finanza Unit for the Repression of Fraud against the European Union at the Department for European Affairs of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, which also serves as the Technical Secretariat of the Italian AFCOS. GINGER aims to generate sustainable and replicable impact by facilitating the adoption of smarter, more digital and cooperative anti-fraud systems in the management of EU agricultural funds.