INNO-4-AGRIFOOD kicked-off with an in-depth analysis of the agrifood ecosystem and the needs of the SMEs and innovation intermediaries that operate in its context. An analysis of the agrifood value chain provided insights into the agrifood ecosystem and revealed value chain areas that stand to benefit the most from online collaboration for innovation support. An interview-based survey shed ample light on the needs of SMEs in terms of online collaboration for innovation, while a skills gaps analysis unearthed the training needs of innovation intermediaries across the EU. Building on these findings, INNO-4-AGRIFOOD involved key stakeholders of the agrifood ecosystem in the co-design of its services, ICT tools and e-learning via a dedicated co-creation workshop.
The innovative concepts and ideas generated during the co-creation workshop led to the co-design of 3 new innovation support services: the “Agribusiness Scan” service, which provides SMEs with a better understanding of their position in the agri-food value chain, supporting them to identify the collaborations they should seek to innovate and grow internationally; the “Online Innovation Platforms” service, that supports SMEs to integrate the use of online innovation platforms to their everyday business and increase the number of innovation opportunities they can timely identify and seize with the help of their innovation intermediaries; and the “Online Collaboration Apps” service, which offers SMEs practical knowledge and hands-on practice on the use of online collaboration tools, with a view to making their cooperation with innovation partners and intermediaries more convenient and cost-effective across long distances.
In order to support the efficient provision of its services, INNO-4-AGRIFOOD co-developed a suite of 3 ICT tools backed by a search engine specialised to the agrifood ecosystem, as well as a toolkit with useful ready-made material to be employed during the service delivery process by innovation intermediaries. Along the same lines and to address their training needs in terms of online collaboration for innovation support, a tailored training curriculum was elaborated according to the outcomes of the co-creation workshop, guiding the development of 14 interactive e-learning modules featuring gamified exercises and webinars, as well as practical e-learning courses in the form of 12 real-life video-supported case studies. A custom-made e-learning platform served as the project’s e-learning environment.
The innovation support services, ICT tools and e-learning environment of INNO-4-AGRIFOOD have been successfully deployed and tested in real-life operational environments during 3 separate deployment rounds, engaging 285 agrifood SMEs and 152 innovation intermediaries across Europe, with the data and feedback collected along the process fuelling their demand-driven validation and fine-tuning. Along the way, a well-tailored dissemination and communication strategy has been implemented to promote the results and benefits of INNO-4-AGRIFOOD, while also fostering participation in their testing and validation. In this respect, INNO-4-AGRIFOOD has developed well-tailored promotional material, set-up its Advisory and Beneficiaries Boards, animated its web portal and social media, issued newsletters and articles, attended several external events and created mutually beneficial synergies with relevant initiatives and networks.
By the end of the project, a detailed replication guide was developed and made publicly available, presenting the replication potential of the project’s approaches and results in the agrifood sector and beyond, highlighting success factors and lessons learnt. Besides, the exploitation strategy employed during the project paves the way for further exploitation of the INNO-4-AGRIFOOD offerings beyond the end of the project.
