© W. Beaucardet
Versailles-Grignon Île-de-France Centre
Founding member of
February 2015
"At the heart of a unique scientific and university community,
the INRA Research Centre in Versailles-Grignon carries out
multidisciplinary and mission-oriented research focused on the
major challenges of tomorrow: the sustainable management
of crops and resources, food for the planet and preservation
of the environment..."
Laurent Hémidy
President of the Versailles-Grignon Centre
THE VERSAILLES-GRIGNON RESEARCH CENTRE
The Centre’s mission is to generate knowledge while contributing to technological innovation and social progress. By
hosting more than 220 doctoral students of 65 different nationalities, it is making a major investment in the training
of young people through and in research. The Centre covers a broad range of specialities: plant sciences, environmental
sciences (agronomy, ecology, and ecotoxicology), food sciences and social sciences. Its work requires efforts by single
or multiple disciplines, depending on the issues addressed, the approaches adopted and the study objects concerned.
These may involve all levels of organisation (e.g. from the plant genome to the ecosystem fashioned by humans,
or from the consumer to preventive policies with respect to dietary health). The Centre benefits from considerable
experimental resources and a network of platforms which offer access to different scales, from the gene to the
landscape. These exceptional facilities are widely accessible to those involved in research in the Ile de France region.
"A centre of excellence for plant sciences and agroecology, and an essential
player within the Paris-Saclay University"
SCIENCE FOCUS
REGIONAL VISION
The Centre’s core skills focus on major multidisciplinary
clusters benefiting from a high level of national and
European visibility: plant integrative biology and life science
engineering; agroecology in different territories and its
interactions with biodiversity and the environment; economic
and sociological insights into agricultural, food
and environmental issues; food engineering.
A very great majority of units in the Centre are managed in
partnership with other important research establishments,
universities and specialised schools, the principal partner being
the institute for life and environmental sciences and industries,
AgroParisTech. These units strive to achieve an international
reputation, particularly through their participation in European
and international calls for projects. Because of all its advantages,
the Centre is a central player in life sciences at the Paris-Saclay
University. In the social sciences field, it collaborates closely
with several reputed establishments in the Paris region: the
Paris School of Economics and the Île-de-France ResearchInnovation-Society Institute affiliated to Université Paris Est.
Three-quarters of Île-de-France is used for agriculture
and forestry. INRA therefore works closely with the
Île-de-France Regional Council and central government,
through the DRIAAF (regional agency for food, agriculture
and forests) to support the implementation of their
strategic priorities. Research teams from the INRA
Versailles-Grignon Centre work actively in a number
of these strategic priorities: local integration and supply
chains, agroecology and climate change, reducing
pesticide use, quality foods for all, urban agriculture,
support for different sectors in the food industry.
They also implement projects in areas of particular
interest defined by the Regional Council, notably with
respect to territorial ecology, food and science-society
relationships.
Major partners in the region
PRÉFET
DE LA RÉGION
Our research priorities
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A major plant biology cluster federating all skills in plant
sciences, from genetics to biotechnologies and bioresources.
JOUY-EN-JOSAS
1
INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, BIOTECHNOLOGIES
AND BIORESOURCES
ANIMAL - DIVERSITY - ADAPTATION
2
AGROECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT
OF CROP PRODUCTION
MICROBES - MICROBIAL ECOLOGY - HEALTH
3
ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY OF AGRICULTURE
AND FOOD
MATHEMATICS - INFORMATICS PREDICTIVE BIOLOGY
4
FOOD, NUTRITION AND HEALTH
RESEARCH PRIORITY SHARED BY BOTH
ÎLE-DE-FRANCE RESEARCH CENTRES
The upstream scientific objective is to utilise advances in
molecular biology and sequencing techniques to explore
the immense and complex intimacy of plant organisms.
Multidisciplinary research focused on the integrated study of
genomes enables a global approach to biological processes as
a function of different objectives: resistance to drought and
different pathogens, grain quality, etc. The exploitation of
biomass for chemistry and energy is motivated downstream by
the need to develop new sectors based on renewable carbon
resources that can replace fossil fuels.
INRA in Île-de-France
INRA focuses 25% of its resources on meeting three major challenges:
• u nderstanding and predicting how living systems - animals, plants
and micro-organisms - function at different scales and in varied and changing contexts;
• a groecology and the sustainability of agricultural and livestock systems in different regions and in a context
of climate change
• food and nutrition, from the development of a food product to its organoleptic properties and the effects
of its consumption on health and nutrition.
More than 2000 people address these challenges at the Versailles-Grignon and Jouy-en-Josas Research Centres, with the
support of a regional delegation that coordinates institutional relations with INRA’s partners.
The importance of these challenges supports INRA’s commitment to developing wide-ranging collaborations from local to
international level, with strong focus on developing the European Research Area. INRA contributes as:
• a founder member of the Paris-Saclay University. The aim is to improve scientific foundations in predictive biology and
biotechnologies by interacting with a wide range of partners, while reinforcing the knowledge and innovation systems for
agriculture, food and the environment through a special partnership with AgroParisTech.
• leads the Île-de-France region on several key thematic issues, including its involvement in the «Agriscience, regional ecology
and food» major research domain (DIM programme and the Île-deFrance programme for regional development). INRA also provides
assistance to Île-de-France on a number of portfolios such as organic
farming, greening the economy, agri-food industries and the Ministry
of Agriculture’s rural development plan.
• a key stakeholder in the European Research Area. INRA in Île-deFrance is involved in 53 projects, 25% of which it coordinates. It also
works in a number of fields supported by the European Institute of
Innovation and Technology (EIT) such as climate change and foodhealth interactions.
Orsay University campus. © L. Ardhuin, Université Paris-Sud
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Greenhouse. © B. Nicolas, INRA
Research Units
Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (IJPB)
Quantitative Genetics and Evolution - le Moulon (GQEM)
Institute for Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay (IPS2)
Genomics - Informatics Research Unit (URGI)
Service Unit
Study of Plant Genome Polymorphisms (EPGV)
Academic partners
AgroParisTech, CNRS, Université Évry-Val d’Essonne,
Université Paris-Sud
PARIS-SACLAY UNIVERSITY
An internationally focused research university that brings together
ten grandes écoles, two universities and seven research establishments
and thus 35,000 postgraduate students with exceptional potential
in the life sciences, where INRA and AgroParisTech are home
to 24% of the students.
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2
Researchers in economic and social sciences are trying
to better understand the organisational and functional
modes of the world of agriculture and food.
2
Activities in the fields of agriculture and food concern the
production, processing, distribution and consumption sectors.
They also contribute to the dynamics of regions and centres of
employment and habitation. For research teams, study of these
arrangements, and analysis of the decisions made by different
actors, are essential to better understanding current challenges
with respect to economic, social and environmental performance.
Researchers also participate in evaluating public policies and
focus in particular on science-society relationships.
For more information
on our current projects and research
www.versailles-grignon.inra.fr/en
© C. Slagmulder, INRA
An important community of agronomists and ecologists
developing original approaches to the sustainable
management of plant production.
In a context of accelerating reforms to the Common Agricultural
Policy, limited resources and climate change, researchers
are looking at new agricultural production systems that can
preserve the environment and landscapes and ensure the
good quality of agricultural products. They are trying to better
understand the interactions between the services which result
from the functioning of agro-ecosystems and their physical and
biotic environment, in this markedly constrained context. By
considering such relationships from the plot to the territorial
scale, they are designing methods for the management of
agricultural land that are both efficient and sustainable.
Research Units
Agronomy
Biology and Risk Management in Agriculture (BIOGER)
Functional Ecology and Ecotoxicology of Agro-ecosystems
(ECOSYS)
Public Economics (ECO-PUB)
Paris Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences
(IEES PARIS)
Applied Mathematics and Informatics (MIA)
Science for Action and Sustainable Development: Activities,
Products, Territories (SAD-APT)
Ecological Impact of Innovations in Plant Production
(ECO-INNOV)
Experimental Unit
Versailles-Grignon Experimental Farm (GCVG)
Academic partners
AgroParisTech, CNRS, IRD, ENS, Université Paris-Est Créteil,
Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Université Paris-Diderot
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© B. Nicolas, INRA
Research Units
Science for Action and Sustainable Development: Activities,
Products, Territories (SAD-APT)
Public Economics (ECO-PUB)
Paris-Jourdan Economic Sciences (PSE)
Cross-Disciplinary Laboratory for Science, Innovation
and Societies (LISIS)
Nutrition and Social Sciences (ALISS)
Risks, Work, Health and the State (RITME)
Academic partners
AgroParisTech, CNRS, École des Ponts ParisTech, EHESS, ENS,
Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée
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Teams in the Centre study different food development
processes, including the effects of consumption on
human health.
Food systems cover the entire food chain, from the production of raw materials to their transformation, distribution and
consumption. In concert with the microbiological and epidemiological approaches developed in Jouy-en-Josas, the VersaillesGrignon Research Centre focuses on the purposive design of
foods and innovative food processes. The association of skills in
economics and sociology contributes to public health challenges
regarding a healthy and sustainable diet.
Research Units
Food Process Engineering and Microbiology (GMPA)
Nutrition and Social Sciences (ALISS)
Academic partner
AgroParisTech
PARTNERSHIPS, VALORISATION AND INNOVATION
OUR RESOURCES
INRA is involved in a range of partnerships across Île-de-France. They are structured in a wide
variety of ways and work towards a range of goals.
With the farming world, and notably with technical institutes
Partnership teams are driving forces in seven units and joint technology networks, covering the fields of
plant production and the transformation of bioresources.
With small and medium-sized firms and industries
Teams participate in the dynamics of several competitiveness clusters - Industry and Agro-Resources (IAR);
Vitagora, Valorial and Céréales Vallée - involved in the transformation of food products.
With industry, through public-private partnerships in clearly-defined fields
Researchers from the Centre are highly active in three strategic Scientific Interest Groups focused on the
competitiveness of plant sectors: Green Biotechnologies, Arable Crops with High Economic and Environmental
Performance and the Revival of Agronomy.
They are also involved in two Carnot Institutes: 3BCAR (Bioenergy, Biomolecules and Biomaterials from Renewable
Carbon) and Qualiment (focused on food quality).
In 2013, INRA Versailles-Grignon counted 140 different partners, mainly in France and Europe.
With professionals in industrial pilot projects
Units from our Centre are participating in the Futurol project, which aims to design a prototype that can produce
second-generation biofuels using agro-resources.
Support to public policy
Numerous research scientists are members of different committees managed by the Ministry of Ecology,
Sustainable Development and Energy, ANSES (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational
Health and Safety), INERIS (National Institute for Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection) or INPES
(National Institute for Prevention and Health Education), or are involved in the monitoring of national and
European policies or programmes: Common Agricultural Policy, National Nutrition and Health Programme, Soil
Environmental Functions and Heritage Management, the EcoPhyto2018 plan, etc.
Major player in the French Stimulus Initiative programme
• An active member of the Paris-Saclay Initiative of Excellence
• Coordinator of the SPS Laboratory of Excellence (LABEX)
• A partner in the SITES, BASC and OSE Laboratories of Excellence (LABEX).
• Coordinator of three major Biotechnologies and Bioresources projects: Amaizing,
BFF and Pherotaxis, and a partner in ten others.
• Coordinator of the national infrastructure France-Génomique, and a partner in four others.
• A partner in two Equipment of Excellence projects: Morphoscope for the imaging and multi-scale reconstruction
of morphogenesis, and Critex focused on national equipment resources for the spatial and temporal study
of critical zones in watersheds.
• A partner in the Toulouse White Biotechnology (TWB) industrial biotechnology catalyst
• A partner in the Picardy Plant Innovations, Teaching and Technological Research Institute of Excellence (PIVERT).
Miscanthus. © C. Maître, INRA
Experimental plots. © B. Nicolas, INRA
In the areas of arable crops and other plants,
experiments in confined environments or in
the field are central to the scientific approaches
adopted. The Centre thus benefits from highperformance tools in terms of greenhouses and
culture chambers. An area of more than 160 ha
offers facilities for numerous trials, some of them
of heritage importance. For example, since 1929
the 42-plot trial has provided opportunities to
evaluate the effects of different types of fertilisers
and soil improvers on silty loam soils.
Because of the growing importance of model
species to plant sciences, access to plant
collections is crucial for the scientific community.
Two internationally accessible resource centres
are thus devoted to two such species, Arabidopsis
thaliana and Brachypodium distachyon.
Finally, the Centre benefits from a network
of platforms offering considerable analytical
potential in microscopy, biochemistry, genomics,
transcriptomics, proteomics, imaging and
bioinformatics. Open to scientific and industrial
partners, these facilities contribute to enhancing
valorisation activities in numerous fields of
biology and chemistry.
Focus on… Biomass for the future, BFF
Towards competitive and environmentally-friendly lignocellulosic biomass production
An award-winning project under the French Stimulus Initiative programme, BFF (2012-2020)
aims to develop new and improved varieties and cropping systems for miscanthus and sorghum
that can produce high yields of lignocelluosic biomass. These varieties and systems have a low
environmental impact and their composition is adapted for use in different industrial applications
and second-generation biofuels.
BFF proposes innovative multidisciplinary approaches which combine modelling and systems
biology for the design of optimum plant architecture. This work will contribute to the exploitation
of "marginal" agricultural land and the development of a new, local green economy, by involving
all stakeholders in a dedicated region.
INRA: AN OVERVIEW
INRA is the largest agricultural research institute in Europe, with 8,417 researchers, engineers, and technicians, and is the secondlargest producer of agricultural science publications. INRA contributes to development of knowledge and innovation in the fields of food,
agriculture, and the environment.
INRA carries out its work across 13 scientific divisions through a research network that is unique in Europe, with more than 200 research
units and experimental units located in 17 research centres throughout France. Its aim is to contribute internationally to the
development of healthy, high-quality food, competitive and sustainable agriculture, and a protected and valued environment.
VERSAILLES-GRIGNON ÎLE-DE-FRANCE CENTRE: KEY FIGURES
The teams
Results
Resources
the European Union
40 patents and 59 licenses
524 publications per year in peer-reviewed journals
20 units, including 13 joint units and 1 experimental unit
811 staff members; 454 women and 357 men
273 contract staff members; 159 women and 114 men
344 partnership agreements, including 39 with
€ 88.7 M in financing; € 16.2 M of which are self-generated
10 platforms and technical facilities, 1 experimental facility,
160 ha of experimental fields, 4,000 m2 of greenhouses,
and 4,000 m2 of climate-controlled chambers
MAP OF VERSAILLES-GRIGNON - ÎLE-DE-FRANCE CENTRE FACILITIES
THIVERVALGRIGNON
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YVELINES
1
78
VERSAILLES
GIFSURYVETTE
4
7
MARNELAVALLÉE
PARIS
6
VALDEMARNE
94
5
IVRYSURSEINE
Versailles-Grignon Île-de-France Research Centre
Route de Saint-Cyr - RD 10
78026 Versailles Cedex
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Versailles-Grignon Centre
Île-de-France
List of sites
ÉVRY
SEINEETMARNE
77
ESSONNE
91
Tel. : 33(0)1 30 83 30 00
www.versailles-grignon.inra.fr/en
contact-comm@versailles.inra.fr
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Versailles
Thiverval-Grignon
Évry
Gif-sur-Yvette
Ivry-sur-Seine
Marne-la-Vallée
Paris