Final Report Summary - COMMFABNET (Communication of Food, Fisheries, Agriculture and Biotechnologies research – a network to support EU-funded research projects)
Executive Summary:
The overriding objective of CommFABnet is to significantly improve the information flow from research projects to target groups, stakeholders and users of the research results including the general public.
CommFABnet aims to establish a large network of communication officers / managers from projects funded under FP6 “Food quality and safety” and FP7 “Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology” programmes in order to identify and exchange best practice, and to engage in joint communication activities to reach out to scientists, policy makers, SMEs and other stakeholders and users of the research results.
In its recent EU 2020 flagship initiative “Innovation Union” the European Commission identified clear necessities of a better dissemination and exploitation of research results. This should serve two European main goals, described in the EU 2020 strategy:
• To raise of the quality of life of EU citizens
• To improve EU competitiveness by knowledge driven innovation.
An improved dissemination and exploitation of research results therefore is an important part of this process.
With the themes of the KBBE-priority in the 7th Research Framework Programme - the Knowledge Based Bioeconomy – a broad range of vital topics from the whole agro-bio-food chain including food safety, consumer and health issues which touch directly the quality of life. More effective science and research communication in this field will help ensure that European citizens are better informed.
An “Innovation Union” will depend largely on knowledge driven, smart growth. The transfer and exchange of knowledge from research with industries, especially SMEs; as well as a better exploitation of knowledge in order to generate innovative products and services will be a key driver to reach the smart growth goal. SME and all industry in the EU agro-bio sector need better access to research results in order to enhance their global competitiveness. Thus, better knowledge transfer mechanisms and improved communication on innovation for the KBBE sector will be a key task for the future.
CommFABnet makes a start to reach the above-mentioned goals by a customized communication approach.
Beside the general public, specific target groups will be addressed: industry, especially SME, policy makers and young people with their educational needs. CommFABnet has an excellent starting point in the informal communicator network CommNet of KBBE stakeholders which has been carrying out joint training, communication and dissemination activities to a specific grouping of food projects since 2005.
CommFABnet will benefit hugely from scaling up a successful existing network, both in terms of size and activities. Although small and informal, the existing communicator network has established a sound reputation for the exchange of good practice in the communication of research results, effective dissemination and training of communication officers.
Project Context and Objectives:
During Year 3, CommFABnet has completed the activities launched in the first two project years. Additional effort has been dedicated to the enlargement of the CommNet network and to the consolidation of the CommNet offer.
The number of members of CommNet has been constantly growing and at the end of the project (December 2014), the CommNet network accounts a total of 166 KBBE projects and 730 registered members. The considerably high number of registrations from individuals is also the result of Wp2 initiatives launched between February to June 2014, whereby targeted mailings to non-member projects clustered by their main topic area were launched, so to increase participation to the project. Media presence, participation to ESOF 2014 and the final CommNet conference “Building the Bioeconomy: Creating Impact through Communication”, CommNet’s 3rd Bioeconomy Forum, as well as a series of Business and Policy Dialogues have contributed to increase CommNet visibility.
In Year 3, all the tasks assigned to each work package have been completed and the CommNet services delivered according to plans.
A fundamental moment in the project lifetime has been CommNet’s final event “Building the Bioeconomy: Creating Impact through Communication”. This has been the opportunity to meet and interact directly with members of the CommNet network and representatives from the KBBE community. On that occasion the main results and key learnings from CommNet’s experience have been shared with the public. CommNet final conference was completed by the CommNet Impact Awards ceremony, where projects which have shown excellence in the communication of research in the KBBE area were celebrated.
The legacy of the CommNet’s project is now featured in CommNet’s final publication “Building the Bioeconomy – Creating Impacts through Communication” which will be disseminated and downloadable for future reference.
Project Results:
WP2 - Build, Motivate and Maintain the enlarged network
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• 57% + increase in the number of participants involved with the CommNet network from year 2 (from 459 to 730);
• 5 ‘clustered’ e-mails by topic and 21 monthly e-Newsletter to promote CommNet initiatives (webinars, trainings, Bioeconomy Forum, Final Conference, e-Seminars , VNR and the launch of other CommNet services);
• Launch of a simplified version of the registration form which drove completion and project membership;
• 7 further Communications topic webinars held plus 1 ‘Welcome to CommNet’ webinar (16 delivered in total over the life of the project);
• Networking initiatives at European Level at which CommNet participated and/or project members presented.
WP3 - Providing training to scientists
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• 4 training sessions delivered in 2014 to scientists and disseminators in Aberdeen, Vienna, Tallinn and Copenhagen the latter as part of ESOF2014 (attended by 43 delegates);
• 9 courses were delivered in total (6 promised in the DoW);
• 97.5% of delegates rated the courses Excellent or Very Good; 99% of delegates said they would recommend the course and 99% of delegates said course met their expectations.
WP4 – Address General Public
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• 7 VNR released and distributed on TV and web channels in 2014, thus completing the target of 9 videos to be produced during the project lifetime;
• 80 articles on KBBE projects published and distributed via CommNet.eu youris.com and scientific news aggregators.
WP5 - Address the industry, SMEs and policy makers
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• Two Innovation Catalogues have been published in 2014. They contain case studies of a total of 30 CommNet projects. The Innovation Catalgoue 2013 showcased 12 Comm’Net projects in the Agrifoodchain and in Bioplastics. The Innovation Catalogue 2014 featured 12 projects from White and Blue Biotechnologies/ marine sciences, agrifoodchain and agriculture (water, soil, and fertiliser). Additionally six policy oriented projects in nutrition and food (health claims, food safety, animal well fare, regulators training) where featured in Policy Briefs which served as hand-outs to the Policy Dialogue Roundtable on 12 June 2014.
• The “Special edition 2014” of the Innovation Catalogue featured six projects from the sectors: forestry, white biotechnology, bioplastics, and agrifoodchain.
• The second business and policy dialogues were held on the basis of the above mentioned 18 cases on 12 June 2014 in Brussels.
• The third business and policy dialogues were held on 2 December 2014 in Brussels, as part of the 3rd Bioeconomy Forum and Final Conference.
• CommNet`s third Brussels Bioeconomy Forum was organised together with the 3rd Business and Policy Dialogues and the CommNet final conference on 2-3 December 2014. The events were attended by a total of 175 visitors.
• In October 2014 CommNet WP 5, organized a workshop at the Paris food show SIAL, where three CommNet projects presented to the food business audience.
WP6 – Address Young People
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• Completion of the waves 2 and 3 of the FAB Toolkit “Know your food” and “Know yourself”
• Production and recording of 11 CommNet e-Seminars at the end of the project (7 in 2014);
• Creation of 6 CommNet educational videos, based on FL6/7 projects.
WP7 – Dissemination of CommFABnet project results
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• Regular updates of the website commnet.eu;
• Consolidated presence on social media to grow the project’s external outreach;
• Launch of the CommNet Impact Awards to recognise excellence in the communication of research in the KBBE area;
• “Building the Bioeconomy: Creating Impact through Communication” CommNet Final conference was held on 3 December 2014 in Brussels;
• Release of CommNet’s final publication “Building the Bioeconomy: Creating Impact through Communication”;
• 21 releases of CommNet’s e-Newsletter.
Potential Impact:
1. To expand the existing CommNet network to additional research areas
CommNet was originally an informal network of 30 communications managers in consortia who have food research projects in FP6 and FP7. These communications managers are all involved in at least one EU-project each that involves at least 100 scientists each. More than 3000 scientists within the food area are therefore already involved in the extended CommNet today. The members of CommNet address common issues related to the design and implementation of communication activities within projects in the food sector.
In expanding the established CommNet network to all research areas of KBBE as well as significantly expanding the activities of the network will create a broad network of communication managers, CommFABnet, which will span the full breadth of KBBE.
2. To support the flow of information from on-going EU funded KBBE research projects to the general public
CommFABnet will bring the most relevant research results in the Food, Agriculture, Fisheries and Biotechnologies area and related topics into the dimension of public media (TV and the web). This will be achieved by applying a consolidated successful methodology, based on the youris.com model, able to involve several tens of national TV stations and to reach several tens of millions viewers world-wide.
The identification of key RTD results appropriate for adaptation into information suitable for communication to the general public is a critically important activity. CommFABnet will scan the field to retrieve lists of projects, facts, locations, researchers, people, etc. suitable for filming and identify candidate individuals capable of communicating concepts to the general public.
The work will be carried at the European level for all EU 27 Member States and the consortium expects to collect and manage a dynamic database of approximately 3000 entries Europe-wide within the KBBE programme.
3. To create new communication channels for EU projects to interact with policy makers, authorities and the industry
The implementation of this objective will inform policy makers at EU, national, and regional levels of the results of relevant EU funded KBBE projects in order to influence policy and legislation.
The implementation of a strategic programme to create new communication channels for KBBE projects to interact with policy makers and authorities further addresses the work programme expected impact of significantly improving, in both qualitative and quantitative terms, the information flow from research projects to target groups which include scientists, policy makers, industry and in particular SMEs and other stakeholders and users of the research results.
This objective aims at enhancing the knowledge transfer between research and industries especially SMEs.
4. To provide novel channels for EU funded projects to reach young people
The overall aim of this CommFABnet objective is to provide young people with a greater opportunity to increase their knowledge about food, agriculture and fisheries, and biotechnologies in an engaging and interactive way. Findings from EU funded research projects in FP6 “Food quality and safety” and FP7 “Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology” will form the basis of the information provided.
The expected outcome is a toolkit, comprising a series of targeted resources for use by teachers and young people. The materials will be suitable for young people aged 5-16 years, ensuring wide coverage. The subjects covered will be identified via the scoping exercise within the Knowledge-Based Bioeconomy, i.e. food, fisheries, biotechnologies and agriculture. The toolkit will be progressive, supporting different ages and abilities and aims to provide novel communication channels for KBBE projects to reach young people and the European food, agriculture, fisheries, biotechnology industry and SMEs.
List of Websites:
www.commnet.eu
Contact:
Mario Martinoli
youris.com G.E.I.E.
drève du Pressoir 38
B-1190 Brussels (Belgium)
The overriding objective of CommFABnet is to significantly improve the information flow from research projects to target groups, stakeholders and users of the research results including the general public.
CommFABnet aims to establish a large network of communication officers / managers from projects funded under FP6 “Food quality and safety” and FP7 “Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology” programmes in order to identify and exchange best practice, and to engage in joint communication activities to reach out to scientists, policy makers, SMEs and other stakeholders and users of the research results.
In its recent EU 2020 flagship initiative “Innovation Union” the European Commission identified clear necessities of a better dissemination and exploitation of research results. This should serve two European main goals, described in the EU 2020 strategy:
• To raise of the quality of life of EU citizens
• To improve EU competitiveness by knowledge driven innovation.
An improved dissemination and exploitation of research results therefore is an important part of this process.
With the themes of the KBBE-priority in the 7th Research Framework Programme - the Knowledge Based Bioeconomy – a broad range of vital topics from the whole agro-bio-food chain including food safety, consumer and health issues which touch directly the quality of life. More effective science and research communication in this field will help ensure that European citizens are better informed.
An “Innovation Union” will depend largely on knowledge driven, smart growth. The transfer and exchange of knowledge from research with industries, especially SMEs; as well as a better exploitation of knowledge in order to generate innovative products and services will be a key driver to reach the smart growth goal. SME and all industry in the EU agro-bio sector need better access to research results in order to enhance their global competitiveness. Thus, better knowledge transfer mechanisms and improved communication on innovation for the KBBE sector will be a key task for the future.
CommFABnet makes a start to reach the above-mentioned goals by a customized communication approach.
Beside the general public, specific target groups will be addressed: industry, especially SME, policy makers and young people with their educational needs. CommFABnet has an excellent starting point in the informal communicator network CommNet of KBBE stakeholders which has been carrying out joint training, communication and dissemination activities to a specific grouping of food projects since 2005.
CommFABnet will benefit hugely from scaling up a successful existing network, both in terms of size and activities. Although small and informal, the existing communicator network has established a sound reputation for the exchange of good practice in the communication of research results, effective dissemination and training of communication officers.
Project Context and Objectives:
During Year 3, CommFABnet has completed the activities launched in the first two project years. Additional effort has been dedicated to the enlargement of the CommNet network and to the consolidation of the CommNet offer.
The number of members of CommNet has been constantly growing and at the end of the project (December 2014), the CommNet network accounts a total of 166 KBBE projects and 730 registered members. The considerably high number of registrations from individuals is also the result of Wp2 initiatives launched between February to June 2014, whereby targeted mailings to non-member projects clustered by their main topic area were launched, so to increase participation to the project. Media presence, participation to ESOF 2014 and the final CommNet conference “Building the Bioeconomy: Creating Impact through Communication”, CommNet’s 3rd Bioeconomy Forum, as well as a series of Business and Policy Dialogues have contributed to increase CommNet visibility.
In Year 3, all the tasks assigned to each work package have been completed and the CommNet services delivered according to plans.
A fundamental moment in the project lifetime has been CommNet’s final event “Building the Bioeconomy: Creating Impact through Communication”. This has been the opportunity to meet and interact directly with members of the CommNet network and representatives from the KBBE community. On that occasion the main results and key learnings from CommNet’s experience have been shared with the public. CommNet final conference was completed by the CommNet Impact Awards ceremony, where projects which have shown excellence in the communication of research in the KBBE area were celebrated.
The legacy of the CommNet’s project is now featured in CommNet’s final publication “Building the Bioeconomy – Creating Impacts through Communication” which will be disseminated and downloadable for future reference.
Project Results:
WP2 - Build, Motivate and Maintain the enlarged network
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• 57% + increase in the number of participants involved with the CommNet network from year 2 (from 459 to 730);
• 5 ‘clustered’ e-mails by topic and 21 monthly e-Newsletter to promote CommNet initiatives (webinars, trainings, Bioeconomy Forum, Final Conference, e-Seminars , VNR and the launch of other CommNet services);
• Launch of a simplified version of the registration form which drove completion and project membership;
• 7 further Communications topic webinars held plus 1 ‘Welcome to CommNet’ webinar (16 delivered in total over the life of the project);
• Networking initiatives at European Level at which CommNet participated and/or project members presented.
WP3 - Providing training to scientists
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• 4 training sessions delivered in 2014 to scientists and disseminators in Aberdeen, Vienna, Tallinn and Copenhagen the latter as part of ESOF2014 (attended by 43 delegates);
• 9 courses were delivered in total (6 promised in the DoW);
• 97.5% of delegates rated the courses Excellent or Very Good; 99% of delegates said they would recommend the course and 99% of delegates said course met their expectations.
WP4 – Address General Public
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• 7 VNR released and distributed on TV and web channels in 2014, thus completing the target of 9 videos to be produced during the project lifetime;
• 80 articles on KBBE projects published and distributed via CommNet.eu youris.com and scientific news aggregators.
WP5 - Address the industry, SMEs and policy makers
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• Two Innovation Catalogues have been published in 2014. They contain case studies of a total of 30 CommNet projects. The Innovation Catalgoue 2013 showcased 12 Comm’Net projects in the Agrifoodchain and in Bioplastics. The Innovation Catalogue 2014 featured 12 projects from White and Blue Biotechnologies/ marine sciences, agrifoodchain and agriculture (water, soil, and fertiliser). Additionally six policy oriented projects in nutrition and food (health claims, food safety, animal well fare, regulators training) where featured in Policy Briefs which served as hand-outs to the Policy Dialogue Roundtable on 12 June 2014.
• The “Special edition 2014” of the Innovation Catalogue featured six projects from the sectors: forestry, white biotechnology, bioplastics, and agrifoodchain.
• The second business and policy dialogues were held on the basis of the above mentioned 18 cases on 12 June 2014 in Brussels.
• The third business and policy dialogues were held on 2 December 2014 in Brussels, as part of the 3rd Bioeconomy Forum and Final Conference.
• CommNet`s third Brussels Bioeconomy Forum was organised together with the 3rd Business and Policy Dialogues and the CommNet final conference on 2-3 December 2014. The events were attended by a total of 175 visitors.
• In October 2014 CommNet WP 5, organized a workshop at the Paris food show SIAL, where three CommNet projects presented to the food business audience.
WP6 – Address Young People
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• Completion of the waves 2 and 3 of the FAB Toolkit “Know your food” and “Know yourself”
• Production and recording of 11 CommNet e-Seminars at the end of the project (7 in 2014);
• Creation of 6 CommNet educational videos, based on FL6/7 projects.
WP7 – Dissemination of CommFABnet project results
Main accomplishments in Year 3:
• Regular updates of the website commnet.eu;
• Consolidated presence on social media to grow the project’s external outreach;
• Launch of the CommNet Impact Awards to recognise excellence in the communication of research in the KBBE area;
• “Building the Bioeconomy: Creating Impact through Communication” CommNet Final conference was held on 3 December 2014 in Brussels;
• Release of CommNet’s final publication “Building the Bioeconomy: Creating Impact through Communication”;
• 21 releases of CommNet’s e-Newsletter.
Potential Impact:
1. To expand the existing CommNet network to additional research areas
CommNet was originally an informal network of 30 communications managers in consortia who have food research projects in FP6 and FP7. These communications managers are all involved in at least one EU-project each that involves at least 100 scientists each. More than 3000 scientists within the food area are therefore already involved in the extended CommNet today. The members of CommNet address common issues related to the design and implementation of communication activities within projects in the food sector.
In expanding the established CommNet network to all research areas of KBBE as well as significantly expanding the activities of the network will create a broad network of communication managers, CommFABnet, which will span the full breadth of KBBE.
2. To support the flow of information from on-going EU funded KBBE research projects to the general public
CommFABnet will bring the most relevant research results in the Food, Agriculture, Fisheries and Biotechnologies area and related topics into the dimension of public media (TV and the web). This will be achieved by applying a consolidated successful methodology, based on the youris.com model, able to involve several tens of national TV stations and to reach several tens of millions viewers world-wide.
The identification of key RTD results appropriate for adaptation into information suitable for communication to the general public is a critically important activity. CommFABnet will scan the field to retrieve lists of projects, facts, locations, researchers, people, etc. suitable for filming and identify candidate individuals capable of communicating concepts to the general public.
The work will be carried at the European level for all EU 27 Member States and the consortium expects to collect and manage a dynamic database of approximately 3000 entries Europe-wide within the KBBE programme.
3. To create new communication channels for EU projects to interact with policy makers, authorities and the industry
The implementation of this objective will inform policy makers at EU, national, and regional levels of the results of relevant EU funded KBBE projects in order to influence policy and legislation.
The implementation of a strategic programme to create new communication channels for KBBE projects to interact with policy makers and authorities further addresses the work programme expected impact of significantly improving, in both qualitative and quantitative terms, the information flow from research projects to target groups which include scientists, policy makers, industry and in particular SMEs and other stakeholders and users of the research results.
This objective aims at enhancing the knowledge transfer between research and industries especially SMEs.
4. To provide novel channels for EU funded projects to reach young people
The overall aim of this CommFABnet objective is to provide young people with a greater opportunity to increase their knowledge about food, agriculture and fisheries, and biotechnologies in an engaging and interactive way. Findings from EU funded research projects in FP6 “Food quality and safety” and FP7 “Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology” will form the basis of the information provided.
The expected outcome is a toolkit, comprising a series of targeted resources for use by teachers and young people. The materials will be suitable for young people aged 5-16 years, ensuring wide coverage. The subjects covered will be identified via the scoping exercise within the Knowledge-Based Bioeconomy, i.e. food, fisheries, biotechnologies and agriculture. The toolkit will be progressive, supporting different ages and abilities and aims to provide novel communication channels for KBBE projects to reach young people and the European food, agriculture, fisheries, biotechnology industry and SMEs.
List of Websites:
www.commnet.eu
Contact:
Mario Martinoli
youris.com G.E.I.E.
drève du Pressoir 38
B-1190 Brussels (Belgium)
