Post-pandemic, public bodies must restructure SME support systems for long-term growth with well-functioning innovation systems with the right balance of instruments.

Innovation can be defined as a new idea, method, or device - a novelty - or as the introduction of something new.

Thus, innovation is, by definition, a vague term.

Research and Development (R&D) is a key driver of innovation and sustainability within a business. However, establishing an R&D department can be a difficult and time-consuming process that requires a lot of resources.

Although the agri-food industry is considered to be a slow adopter of change, currently the sector is expected to change more in the next 10 years than it did over the last 50 (Accenture, 2017). This transformation derives from a number of factors, such as the environmental changes (e.g. global warming), the demographics (e.g.