Further development and maintenance of the EFA Calculator software

In 2015, AERU were contracted by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) to develop a software tool to help farmers select options for their Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) that could deliver optimal environmental benefits. The tool that emerged from this project is known as the EFA Calculator, and was publicly released at the end of 2015. During 2016, the tool has been used by a number of organisations to help assess the potential impact of EFAs; this has included the JRC who have used it to assess the possible impact of EFAs on ecosystem services and biodiversity across the EU-28. The JRC would like to ensure that EFA Calculator software continues to be useable over the next year, so that it can continue to be used by themselves and others. This is likely to include general maintenance and some further development. Hence they wish to fund this 12 month contract.