Periodic Reporting for period 1 - modernAKIS (Modernisation of Agriculture through more efficient and effective Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems)
Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-02-29
In times of increasing pressure on the use and management of natural resources and high political and societal ambitions with respect to sustainable ways of food production, the EU Member States (MS) have defined visionary goals (e.g. European Green Deal) to protect the climate and sustain a healthy way of life. In this context, the timely access and ability to integrate rapidly evolving information, (scientific) knowledge, innovation and technological developments across all actors who participate in agricultural value chains is key to a successful transition towards the European vision by 2030 (EU SCAR 2019). This concern is manifest in the CAP 2021-2027 policy design that stipulates the importance of effective Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS).
It is the vision of the modernAKIS project, modernisation of Agriculture through more efficient and effective Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS), that the AKIS approach will become an indispensable and effective tool for all actors in the EU MS' agri-food systems to develop sustainable, climate change proof and multifunctional forms of agriculture and resource use. Embracing the AKIS approach will contribute to removing institutional barriers to the necessary transformations and overcome inequalities and blockades in politics and society. Thus, the project's main objective is to improve AKIS actors capacities to leverage individual, organizational and systemic resources needed for the transformation towards more coherent, effective, and efficient AKIS systems and the transition to a more sustainable management and use of natural resources in farming and forestry.
To this end it will build and foster a European network of at least 1.000 key AKIS actors, including AKIS coordination bodies, from all EU MS. The project will also build the capacities of AKIS coordination bodies and these key AKIS actors towards systems understanding and engagement, enabling them to enact long-term system changes that will improve the AKIS. Capacity building will also address how to use a coherent, effective and context-aware approach accompanied by reflexive exercises, advice and coaching, to monitor, measure and improve the organization and functioning of MSs AKIS and to enhance interaction between AKIS actors. A co-designed benchmarking tool for comparing various types of AKIS as well as reference indicators enables MS to assess and monitor their AKIS, identify innovative governance solutions and suitable interventions for their individual situation. Targeting AKIS CBs, modernAKIS provides a support forum to identify change management issues arising around AKIS systems, including success factors and multi-faceted barriers, and enable them to find adequate governance solutions to improve knowledge and innovation sharing. Considering the diversity of AKIS, modernAKIS collects and facilitates exchange on practice-oriented knowledge on how advisors and innovation support can be integrated into the AKIS and how researchers can be incentivized to deliver practice-ready research and knowledge.
Complementing the European network, modernAKIS will build capacities of key AKIS actors and coach them to set-up and sustain at least 1 national/regional/local AKIS Community of Practice in each Member State, linking all key AKIS actors to facilitate the update of knowledge and innovation through dynamic peer-to-peer learning experiences and enabling thus participants to act as vectors of change in their communities.
modernAKIS will also provide a comprehensive digital catalogue with new know-how, and at least 80 tools and methods supporting key AKIS actors to improve the knowledge flows and develop a well-functioning AKIS in line with relevant policy objectives, e.g. the Green Deal, Farm2Fork, Sustainable Development Goals. The project results and materials will be provided in the form of 100 practice abstracts to EIP-AGRI, to Member States AKIS and as digital documentation to the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir
It is the vision of the modernAKIS project, modernisation of Agriculture through more efficient and effective Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS), that the AKIS approach will become an indispensable and effective tool for all actors in the EU MS' agri-food systems to develop sustainable, climate change proof and multifunctional forms of agriculture and resource use. Embracing the AKIS approach will contribute to removing institutional barriers to the necessary transformations and overcome inequalities and blockades in politics and society. Thus, the project's main objective is to improve AKIS actors capacities to leverage individual, organizational and systemic resources needed for the transformation towards more coherent, effective, and efficient AKIS systems and the transition to a more sustainable management and use of natural resources in farming and forestry.
To this end it will build and foster a European network of at least 1.000 key AKIS actors, including AKIS coordination bodies, from all EU MS. The project will also build the capacities of AKIS coordination bodies and these key AKIS actors towards systems understanding and engagement, enabling them to enact long-term system changes that will improve the AKIS. Capacity building will also address how to use a coherent, effective and context-aware approach accompanied by reflexive exercises, advice and coaching, to monitor, measure and improve the organization and functioning of MSs AKIS and to enhance interaction between AKIS actors. A co-designed benchmarking tool for comparing various types of AKIS as well as reference indicators enables MS to assess and monitor their AKIS, identify innovative governance solutions and suitable interventions for their individual situation. Targeting AKIS CBs, modernAKIS provides a support forum to identify change management issues arising around AKIS systems, including success factors and multi-faceted barriers, and enable them to find adequate governance solutions to improve knowledge and innovation sharing. Considering the diversity of AKIS, modernAKIS collects and facilitates exchange on practice-oriented knowledge on how advisors and innovation support can be integrated into the AKIS and how researchers can be incentivized to deliver practice-ready research and knowledge.
Complementing the European network, modernAKIS will build capacities of key AKIS actors and coach them to set-up and sustain at least 1 national/regional/local AKIS Community of Practice in each Member State, linking all key AKIS actors to facilitate the update of knowledge and innovation through dynamic peer-to-peer learning experiences and enabling thus participants to act as vectors of change in their communities.
modernAKIS will also provide a comprehensive digital catalogue with new know-how, and at least 80 tools and methods supporting key AKIS actors to improve the knowledge flows and develop a well-functioning AKIS in line with relevant policy objectives, e.g. the Green Deal, Farm2Fork, Sustainable Development Goals. The project results and materials will be provided in the form of 100 practice abstracts to EIP-AGRI, to Member States AKIS and as digital documentation to the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir
During the first 18 months of project implementation, the modernAKIS consortium developed:
• The conceptual and methodological framework for the transformative AKIS journeys (TAJ), though capacity development pathways, for the AKIS coordination bodies and other key AKIS actors of change across EU. The TAJ aim to increase their system capacities, knowledge and practices. WP1 deploys the multi-actor approach to iteratively co-design and update the frameworks together with the key AKIS actors.
• Yearly capacity needs assessments (CNA) that identify and prioritize the current and emerging requirements of the key actors of change in relation to the essential system and strategic capacities needed to perform roles and activities within the respective AKISs.
• A collection of insightful practices and ready-for-practice solutions for the implementation of the AKIS strategies (D1.3) and integrating advisors into the AKIS. The collection and development of the AKIS-in-Practices included, the sharing of a survey, 3 co-creation meetings with partners and a series of knowledge exchange activities with contributors.
• A Europe-wide network of key AKIS actors with about 800 network members.
• A digital knowledge platform (www.akisconnect.eu)
• National AKIS Communities of Practice and cross-country Communities of Practice
• A series of networking and capacity building events
• A pan-European forum for AKIS decision makers, the AKIS Coordination Bodies General Assembly, who meet two-times per year for peer learning and experience exchange
• 3 online modules (in 23 languages) on systems thinking in AKIS
• The conceptual and methodological framework for the transformative AKIS journeys (TAJ), though capacity development pathways, for the AKIS coordination bodies and other key AKIS actors of change across EU. The TAJ aim to increase their system capacities, knowledge and practices. WP1 deploys the multi-actor approach to iteratively co-design and update the frameworks together with the key AKIS actors.
• Yearly capacity needs assessments (CNA) that identify and prioritize the current and emerging requirements of the key actors of change in relation to the essential system and strategic capacities needed to perform roles and activities within the respective AKISs.
• A collection of insightful practices and ready-for-practice solutions for the implementation of the AKIS strategies (D1.3) and integrating advisors into the AKIS. The collection and development of the AKIS-in-Practices included, the sharing of a survey, 3 co-creation meetings with partners and a series of knowledge exchange activities with contributors.
• A Europe-wide network of key AKIS actors with about 800 network members.
• A digital knowledge platform (www.akisconnect.eu)
• National AKIS Communities of Practice and cross-country Communities of Practice
• A series of networking and capacity building events
• A pan-European forum for AKIS decision makers, the AKIS Coordination Bodies General Assembly, who meet two-times per year for peer learning and experience exchange
• 3 online modules (in 23 languages) on systems thinking in AKIS
modernAKIS has prepared and delivered a common networking platform (www.akisconnect.eu) with the ATTRACTISS project. This platform serves as a training, information and networking opportunitiy for the AKIS community of both projects as well as an open digital knowledge repository. Therein both projects feed AKIS supporting content like (policy-based) practices for a well-working AKIS including ways to integrate advisors in AKIS, a toolbox for Innovation Support Services as well as extensive networking opportuntiies and events.
Within the first 18 months modernAKIS has built a network of more than 800 actors from all EU Member Stateas and established a series of capacity and networking events with broad participation from key AKIS actors.
Within the first 18 months modernAKIS has built a network of more than 800 actors from all EU Member Stateas and established a series of capacity and networking events with broad participation from key AKIS actors.