THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CONSENSUS ON THE URGENT NEED FOR THE EU AND MEMBER STATES TO INCREASE INVESTMENT IN R & D IN ORDER TO PROMOTE A SHIFT TO PRODUCTION OF VALUE-ADDED FOODS. EUROPEAN POLICIES FALL WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF HORIZON 2020, THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES, THE NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR AGRI-FOOD AND FORESTRY INNOVATION AND THE EUROPEAN INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP FOR AGRICULTURE (EIP-A) AS CORE PILLARS. THESE EFFORTS SHOULD BE WELCOMED SUPPORT AND SUCCESS FACTORS ANALYSED, WHICH INVOLVES RETHINKING THE ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE SERVICES (KNOWLEDGE INTENSIVE BUSINESS SERVICES - KIBS) AND EXTENSION AND TRANSFER MODELS TO THE AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SECTORS, WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY. THIS RESEARCH CONTINUES THE WORK INITIATED IN PREVIOUS PROJECTS WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF EVALUATING THE LINK BETWEEN RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PRACTICES AND THE AGRI-FOOD ECONOMY, BEYOND UNIDIRECTIONAL APPROACHES FOR TECHNOLOGICAL AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER. THE ABILITY OF THE NEW FRAMEWORK FOR INNOVATION TO PROMOTE KNOWLEDGE COMMUNITIES FROM THE BOTTOM UP WILL BE ANALYSED, AS WELL AS A RELATIONAL APPROACH TO RURAL EXTENSION AMONG MULTIPLE ACTORS. THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL PERSPECTIVES WILL CONTRIBUTE TO ASSESS THEFEASIBILITY OF NEW APPROACHES TO NETWORKING AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF KIBS, WITH EMPHASIS ON CO-INNOVATION, HUMAN CAPITAL CONDITIONS FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE KNOWLEDGE COMMUNITIES AND THE INNOVATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION POLICIES THAT ENCOURAGE KIBS FOR FARMERS AND AGRI-FOOD SMES. THE SUBPROJECT DRAWS ON A SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO INNOVATION AND KNOWLEDGE AND TAKES AS ITS STARTING POINT THE EXPERIENCE AND RESULTS ACCUMULATED BY THE RESEARCH TEAM IN PAST PROJECTS. PREVIOUS FINDINGS HAVE SHOWN THE LIMITED INTENSITY OF THE VALENCIAN INNOVATIVE FOOD SYSTEM, THE HANDICAP OF RURAL AREAS IN THE PARTICIPATION OF FARMERS IN INNOVATIVE ACTIVITIES AND THE RELEVANCE OF RURAL INNOVATION NETWORKS AS ENGINES FOR KNOWLEDGE COMMUNITIES IN THE LOCAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXTS. BASED ON THIS BACKGROUND THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES ARE PROPOSED: 1) IDENTIFY THE KEY FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE RESULTS OF THE KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE SYSTEMS IN RURAL AREAS; 2) ASSESS INNOVATION NETWORKS IN RURAL AREAS, IDENTIFYING THEIR SUCCESS FACTORS. 3) CONDUCT ACTION RESEARCH TO IDENTIFY NEW METHODS OF KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER AND ENSURE THEIR DISSEMINATION; AND 4) ANALYSE THE IMPACT OF SPATIAL FACTORS ON THE RESULTS OF THE KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE SERVICES IN THE AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL AREAS. THIS IS ACHIEVED THROUGH A COMBINATION OF METHODS THAT COMBINE DIRECT SURVEY TO ACTORS IN THE AGRI-FOOD VALUE CHAINS, INCLUDING KNOWLEDGE COMMUNITIES, WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW METHODOLOGIES TO INVESTIGATE THE BEHAVIOUR OF INNOVATIVE INDUSTRY PLAYERS BASED ON MULTILEVEL MODELS, FUZZY APPROACH TO QUALITATIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF KNOWLEDGE COMMUNITIES (PLATFORMS AND INNOVATION NETWORKS) AND A RESEARCH-ORIENTED AND RESEARCH-ACTION (RO-AR) MODEL TO SELECT CASES OF INNOVATION NETWORKS AND CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR PARTICIPATORY EVALUATION RESEARCH. THE TEAM FROM THE RESEARCH GROUP IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS AND DEVELOPMENT (UPV), IN COORDINATION WITH RESEARCH TEAMS AT UPNA AND UPM, HAS EXPERIENCE IN THE ANALYSIS OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES, ANALYSIS OF AGRIBUSINESS VALUE CHAINS AND EVALUATION OF INNOVATION POLICIES. THE RESEARCH IS RELEVANT TO PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL AND REGIONAL INNOVATION POLICIES.