The Coordination and Support Action MicrobiomeSupport (www.microbiomesupport.eu) had its first major activity and event, the Common Ground Workshop, which took place from 4-5 March 2019 in Vienna. More than hundred participants from academia, industry and the policy sector, coming from 25 countries world-wide, got together to start a major mapping activity on microbiome R&I activities in the food system. Some countries, such as Spain, Ireland and Canada provided an overview on microbiome research activities and funding in their countries. Furthermore, participants discussed in various workshops about the status quo, i.e. aspects which have started to work well as well as aspects which require improvement. These discussions were followed up by a visioning process, i.e. the benefits, trends and risks considering microbiome activities and achievements in 2030. Based on the outcome of this workshop a survey will be rolled out, and finally all results will be integrated in a database, which will be hosted by the MicrobiomeSupport website and which will be freely accessible. A thorough analysis of current activities, funding sources and infrastructures accompanied by a gap analysis will provide an important basis for MicrobiomeSupport to develop recommendations for future strategic R&I agendas.
