Soil Innovation Partnership
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Connecting people for healthier soils

SIP brings together farmers, researchers, advisers, businesses, policymakers and funders to turn soil knowledge into practical solutions that work in local conditions.

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A group of people in a green field, bending over to look closely at the soil together.

What is SIP?

The Soil Innovation Partnership – SIP – is a long-term partnership that connects people, knowledge and investment. Our aim is to turn soil science into practical action for healthier soils.

We bring together farmers, researchers, advisers, businesses, policymakers and funders. Together, we test solutions in real farming conditions, share what works, and create the support needed for wider adoption.

Our ambition is to build a network of networks. That means connecting the communities and initiatives that already exist, across national borders. By linking scientific knowledge with practical experience, we help people learn from one another and adapt solutions to local needs.

We work through four pillars: farmer-led validation, value creation, education and advice, and dialogue and investment. Through them, we help promising ideas become everyday practice.

Rooted in Europe and open to the world, SIP builds lasting collaboration towards 2040 and beyond, for resilient farms, landscapes and communities, grounded in healthy soils.

A clod of soil held up to show its crumbly structure and roots, with wheat growing around it.
A hand holding crumbly dark soil, with fine roots running through it.
Young parsley and dill seedlings growing in dark, crumbly compost.

What SIP does

Calls for proposals

Competitive calls for on-farm and knowledge validation, run independently by the Call Office.

Dialogues

Conversations between academia, farmers, banks, governments and agri-businesses.

Advice and guidance

Turning knowledge into practical advice, and into policy and business guidance grounded in evidence.

Olive trees on a terraced hillside of dry grass, with a stone outcrop and red poppies under a clear blue sky.

Public events

Open to non-members. Please see below for upcoming and past events.

  • Upcoming

  • SIP at the Soil Mission

  • Next SIP Assembly

    Including an ‘open space’.

  • Past events

  • Official launch of SIP

Stay in the loop.

News, calls and events from SIP, straight to your inbox. Signing up to the newsletter is not the same as joining SIP.

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Four pillars

Farmer-led validation

Practices tested and judged by the farmers who use them.

Value creation

Making the case for soil that works economically, not just ecologically.

Education & advice

Getting what we learn to the people who can act on it.

Dialogue & investment

Bringing practitioners, researchers and funders into the same room.

Two hares running down a mown grass track beside a hedgerow, with a combine harvester raising dust in the field beyond.

Membership works both ways

Members find what they need, and give what they know.

What you get

  • OpportunitiesCalls for on-farm and knowledge validation, and opportunities posted by other members.
  • The right peopleA members’ directory, to find the farmer, adviser, researcher, organisation or funder you need.
  • Real dialogueConversations between academia, farmers, banks, governments and agri-businesses.
  • A say in directionAll paying members vote in the SIP Assembly.

What you bring

  • Your expertiseList your skills and soil focus, so other members can find you and ask.
  • Your practiceFarmers, advisers and Living Labs show what works on real land.
  • Your opportunitiesPost an opportunity or a need for other members to pick up.
  • Your evidence and investmentResearchers share what they have found. Funders back what has been shown to work.

Healthy soils. A shared ambition for 2040.

Together, we aim to reach:

€500 million+ Mobilised for soil innovation through public, private and philanthropic investment.
1 million+farmersReached through farmer-led innovation, advisory networks and Living Labs.
50,000advisersTrained and supported to turn soil knowledge into practice.
1,000businesses and public buyersSourcing from farms that improve soil health.

People & Governance

SIP’s governance brings together expertise, strategic direction and accountability. Strategy, funding and implementation are kept clearly separate, which protects independence and trust. The SIP Assembly is the highest decision-making body of SIP and represents all SIP partners. Four boards guide the partnership further, supported by the SIP Call Office and the secretariat, which is hosted by Climate KIC.

Management Board

  • Maurits VoogtEurofins Agro Testing
  • Tatiana BullovaBioeconomy Cluster
  • Isabel RoldanILVO
  • Hubert de JongeAarhus University
  • Ryan TitleyClimate KIC
  • Milan FranssenDelphy

Advisory Board

  • Eduardo CostantiniIUSS
  • Rainer BaritzEuropean Soil Partnership
  • Mark TitteringtonForum for the Future of Agriculture

Secretariat

  • Saskia VisserClimate KIC
  • Cecilia BurnfieldClimate KIC
  • Heidi HermissonClimate KIC
  • Saskia KeesstraTerraenvision

Ethics Board

Members to be announced.

Board of Funders

Members to be announced.

Call Office

Members to be announced.

Join SIP

If you work on soil and want to make it count, become a member. Scroll down to the Membership FAQ for how membership and pricing work. When you’re ready, send a short email to the Secretariat, who will reply with more information and the process for joining. We’ve started the email for you, so you only need to fill in a few details.

Click here to join

Already a member?

Sign in to find the member directory, posts and resources.

Go to the members’ area

Membership FAQ

Membership, pricing and how to join.

Who can become a member?

SIP has four tiers of membership, depending on the type and size of your organisation: Core Partners, Contributing Members, Practice Members and Public funders. Farmers can join too: they join free of charge, but without voting rights. The list under “How much does membership cost?” shows where you fit.

How much does membership cost?

Fees are annual and depend on the type and size of your organisation. The first membership year, ending August 2027, is half price. Farmers join free of charge but have no voting rights.

Core Partners

Have a vote in the SIP Assembly. Invited to shape SIP Impact pathways and governance, and to take part in calls. Provide (paid) pillar leads and pillar working group members.

Large research organisations€10,000Provide scientific knowledge to be validated
Large private partners€30,000Strategic co-investors and scale partners
Large foundations, EU institutions and NGOs€10,000Strategic co-investors and scale partners

Contributing Members

Have a vote in the SIP Assembly. Invited to shape SIP Impact pathways and governance, and to take part in calls.

Medium research institutes€7,500Take part in knowledge validation calls
Medium private partners€15,000Innovation and market deployment partners
Regional authorities and networks€10,000Innovation and market deployment partners

Practice Members

Paying members have a vote in the SIP Assembly. Take part in calls and SIP activities.

SMEs and start-ups€3,000Innovation and market deployment partners
NGOs and civil society€1,000Knowledge, networks and facilitation
Advisers and Living Labs€2,000Validation, learning and co-creation
FarmersFreeValidation, learning and co-creation. No voting rights.

Public funders

Fund calls and call organisation.

Ministries and agenciesNo fee, or a symbolic core fee
How do I join?

Use the Join button to email the Secretariat at sip@climate-kic.org. We have pre-filled the email, so you only need to add your details, including your organisation’s name in the subject line. The Secretariat will reply with more information and the process for joining.

Is the newsletter the same as joining SIP?

No. The newsletter keeps you up to date with SIP news, calls and events. Membership is separate and has its own sign-up.