Periodic Reporting for period 4 - i2connect (Connecting advisers to boost interactive innovation in agriculture and forestry)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2023-11-01 do 2024-10-31
Facing climate change and other complex challenges, it is essential to speed up the transition to more sustainable and resilient farm and forestry systems. Such systemic changes can only be achieved if they are driven by farmers, foresters and local actors, who must be involved in the design, development and dissemination of solutions addressing their specific needs. This collaborative and multi-actor approach, based on local needs, is known as "interactive innovation". However, such processes do not occur spontaneously and usually require support by facilitators with appropriate soft skills.
In this context, i2connect’s goal is to empower advisors to support farmers and foresters in interactive innovation processes. More specifically, it aims to strengthen the individual skills of advisors, to create an enabling professional and institutional environment and to set up a European network of advisors to promote this approach. The project targeted four stakeholder categories: trainers, advisors, advisory service managers, students and teachers.
i2connect started in 2019 and ended in 2024. It was coordinated by Chambres d'Agriculture France and involved 42 organisations from 21 European countries: advisory organisations, research institutes, universities and European advisors’ associations.
In this context, i2connect’s goal is to empower advisors to support farmers and foresters in interactive innovation processes. More specifically, it aims to strengthen the individual skills of advisors, to create an enabling professional and institutional environment and to set up a European network of advisors to promote this approach. The project targeted four stakeholder categories: trainers, advisors, advisory service managers, students and teachers.
i2connect started in 2019 and ended in 2024. It was coordinated by Chambres d'Agriculture France and involved 42 organisations from 21 European countries: advisory organisations, research institutes, universities and European advisors’ associations.
The project included five work packages: production of knowledge, collection of practical cases, design of training contents and tools, training of our target groups, setting up a European network of advisors and communication & dissemination.
The first work package dealt with the production of knowledge. Here are its main achievements:
- A review paper, defining and explaining the concepts relevant to the project
- 30 AKIS country reports, published in 2021 and updated in 2024, supplemented by a cross-country analysis and three scientific articles
- The Advisory Services Database, including more than 1,000 organisations and almost 3,500 advisors
- A detailed competency profile for innovation advisors, summarised in a tool to assess each individual competency and identify training needs
- More than 100 topical insights, i.e. relevant inputs to feed the reflections of the project team
- A questionnaire for individual reflection, filled in by project partners after project events; around 200 individual questionnaires were analysed and discussed collectively to draw useful lessons.
The second work package was devoted to practical cases of interactive innovation:
- 294 practical cases were collected from all over Europe and compiled in an online catalogue
- 40 cases were selected, field reviewed and analysed in depth, to understand how they were initiated and developed, what difficulties were encountered, what solutions were found and what was the role played by the advisor.
- Based on these 40 analyses, 56 best practices were identified, i.e. practices that have contributed to the success of these actions and can be recommended for other projects.
The third and fourth work packages concerned the design of training contents, the delivery of training courses and the creation of a toolbox for advisors. Here are the results achieved:
- Design of training contents and methods for the project's four target groups
- A summary paper entitled "Recommendations about didactical strategies"
- Policy recommendations
- A toolbox for advisors, consisting of Quick Reference Cards translated into 17 languages and short videos explaining the methods and tools: network analysis, facilitation methods, etc.
- Training of 81 trainers, responsible for running courses in their respective countries
- Training of 680 advisors to initiate and facilitate interactive innovation processes
- Training of 68 managers on innovation support services
- Training of 75 students and teachers in the various aspects of interactive innovation.
In addition to the training courses, which focused on mindset, creativity and interaction between the trainees, we organised complementary activities to put into practice the skills acquired:
- Online coaching sessions to review progress with advisors a few months after each training
- 10 cross visits involving 141 participants, to encourage peer-to-peer learning between advisors from various countries
- Funding 13 "pilot projects" enabling selected advisors to initiate an interactive innovation project
- Setting up a European network of trainers of innovation advisors.
The fifth work package was devoted to communicating the project's activities and disseminating its results via:
- The i2connect website
- LinkedIn (> 4,450 followers), Twitter (> 2,360 followers) and Facebook (> 510 followers)
- The i2connect newsletter (7 issues), flyers, posters, etc.
- 200 EIP-AGRI practice abstracts
- Four online workshops to present and discuss the AKIS country reports
- Two conferences, in Bulgaria and Hungary, each attended by around one hundred participants
- 74 videos presenting practical cases, cross-visits, events and the main methods and tools
- Presentations of project activities and results at events: national events such as national rural network meetings, SCAR AKIS Strategic Working Group meetings, events organised by the EIP-AGRI / EU CAP Network, annual meetings of the associations EUFRAS, IALB and SEASN, scientific conferences organised by ESEE and IFSA
- Engaging with fifteen relevant European projects. All the training contents and tools have been shared with the ATTRACTISS and modernAKIS projects, and the Advisory Services Database will be handed over to these two projects to be further developed.
The first work package dealt with the production of knowledge. Here are its main achievements:
- A review paper, defining and explaining the concepts relevant to the project
- 30 AKIS country reports, published in 2021 and updated in 2024, supplemented by a cross-country analysis and three scientific articles
- The Advisory Services Database, including more than 1,000 organisations and almost 3,500 advisors
- A detailed competency profile for innovation advisors, summarised in a tool to assess each individual competency and identify training needs
- More than 100 topical insights, i.e. relevant inputs to feed the reflections of the project team
- A questionnaire for individual reflection, filled in by project partners after project events; around 200 individual questionnaires were analysed and discussed collectively to draw useful lessons.
The second work package was devoted to practical cases of interactive innovation:
- 294 practical cases were collected from all over Europe and compiled in an online catalogue
- 40 cases were selected, field reviewed and analysed in depth, to understand how they were initiated and developed, what difficulties were encountered, what solutions were found and what was the role played by the advisor.
- Based on these 40 analyses, 56 best practices were identified, i.e. practices that have contributed to the success of these actions and can be recommended for other projects.
The third and fourth work packages concerned the design of training contents, the delivery of training courses and the creation of a toolbox for advisors. Here are the results achieved:
- Design of training contents and methods for the project's four target groups
- A summary paper entitled "Recommendations about didactical strategies"
- Policy recommendations
- A toolbox for advisors, consisting of Quick Reference Cards translated into 17 languages and short videos explaining the methods and tools: network analysis, facilitation methods, etc.
- Training of 81 trainers, responsible for running courses in their respective countries
- Training of 680 advisors to initiate and facilitate interactive innovation processes
- Training of 68 managers on innovation support services
- Training of 75 students and teachers in the various aspects of interactive innovation.
In addition to the training courses, which focused on mindset, creativity and interaction between the trainees, we organised complementary activities to put into practice the skills acquired:
- Online coaching sessions to review progress with advisors a few months after each training
- 10 cross visits involving 141 participants, to encourage peer-to-peer learning between advisors from various countries
- Funding 13 "pilot projects" enabling selected advisors to initiate an interactive innovation project
- Setting up a European network of trainers of innovation advisors.
The fifth work package was devoted to communicating the project's activities and disseminating its results via:
- The i2connect website
- LinkedIn (> 4,450 followers), Twitter (> 2,360 followers) and Facebook (> 510 followers)
- The i2connect newsletter (7 issues), flyers, posters, etc.
- 200 EIP-AGRI practice abstracts
- Four online workshops to present and discuss the AKIS country reports
- Two conferences, in Bulgaria and Hungary, each attended by around one hundred participants
- 74 videos presenting practical cases, cross-visits, events and the main methods and tools
- Presentations of project activities and results at events: national events such as national rural network meetings, SCAR AKIS Strategic Working Group meetings, events organised by the EIP-AGRI / EU CAP Network, annual meetings of the associations EUFRAS, IALB and SEASN, scientific conferences organised by ESEE and IFSA
- Engaging with fifteen relevant European projects. All the training contents and tools have been shared with the ATTRACTISS and modernAKIS projects, and the Advisory Services Database will be handed over to these two projects to be further developed.
Throughout the project, i2connect consistently exceeded or fully achieved most of its key performance indicators (KPIs). Highlights include conducting training sessions for trainers and advisors, organizing cross-visits and pilot projects, and producing a wealth of multimedia materials and practice abstracts. These efforts contributed to significant quantitative impacts, such as:
- Advisor training: Exceeding the target by 13%, with 680 advisors trained across 52 sessions
- Advisor participation in cross-visits: 176% of the target, with 141 advisors involved
- Videos and multimedia materials: A 195% achievement of targets, with 74 items produced
While some objectives fell short of their ambitious targets - such as social media engagement (73%) and the number of advisors registered in the Advisory Services Database (23%) - the groundwork laid by the project ensures continued progress. Notably, the database will be further developed under the ATTRACTISS and ModernAKIS project, ensuring its long-term sustainability and impact.
Beyond numerical achievements, i2connect made significant qualitative contributions that reinforced the project's goals:
- Empowering Advisors: The development of tools like the competency profile and Quick Reference cards, coupled with immersive training and workshops, bolstered advisors’ capacity to drive interactive innovation processes
- Elevating Advisors’ Profiles: The AKIS country reports, the practical cases and our dissemination efforts emphasized advisors' pivotal roles in fostering interactive innovation
- Building a Collaborative Culture: By organizing cross-visits, conferences and workshops, and fostering partnerships with relevant EU projects and networks like EUFRAS, IALB and SEASN, i2connect cultivated a thriving community of practice that spans national and regional boundaries.
- Advisor training: Exceeding the target by 13%, with 680 advisors trained across 52 sessions
- Advisor participation in cross-visits: 176% of the target, with 141 advisors involved
- Videos and multimedia materials: A 195% achievement of targets, with 74 items produced
While some objectives fell short of their ambitious targets - such as social media engagement (73%) and the number of advisors registered in the Advisory Services Database (23%) - the groundwork laid by the project ensures continued progress. Notably, the database will be further developed under the ATTRACTISS and ModernAKIS project, ensuring its long-term sustainability and impact.
Beyond numerical achievements, i2connect made significant qualitative contributions that reinforced the project's goals:
- Empowering Advisors: The development of tools like the competency profile and Quick Reference cards, coupled with immersive training and workshops, bolstered advisors’ capacity to drive interactive innovation processes
- Elevating Advisors’ Profiles: The AKIS country reports, the practical cases and our dissemination efforts emphasized advisors' pivotal roles in fostering interactive innovation
- Building a Collaborative Culture: By organizing cross-visits, conferences and workshops, and fostering partnerships with relevant EU projects and networks like EUFRAS, IALB and SEASN, i2connect cultivated a thriving community of practice that spans national and regional boundaries.