Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ALL-Ready (The European Agroecology Living Lab and Research Infrastructure Network: Preparation phase)
Reporting period: 2022-05-01 to 2023-10-31
In light of the multiple challenges that the agricultural sector is facing today including climate change, loss of biodiversity, dwindling resources, degradation of soil and water quality, today there is wide recognition that “business as usual” is no longer an option. The European Green Deal sets out ambitious targets for a Europe, including no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, economic growth that is decoupled from resource use, and no person and no place are left behind.
The Green Deal will be implemented through specific strategies, including the “Farm to Fork” and the 2030 Biodiversity strategy, both of which cite agroecology as a sustainable practice and a means to reducing the use of pesticides, fertilisers and antimicrobials. Furthermore, as part of Horizon Europe, a new set of co-funded European partnerships – mobilising resources from Member States and Associated Countries and from the European Commission – are being developed that are designed to have societal impact. Among these is one on “Accelerating farming systems transition: agroecology living labs and research infrastructures” (AGROECOLOGY). In line with the Farm to Fork Strategy, this partnership recognises the urgent need to transform our agri-food systems.
ALL-Ready is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) funded by the European Commission with the aim of contributing significantly to the future partnership by preparing a framework for a future European network of living labs and research infrastructures that will enable the transition towards agroecology throughout Europe.
The partnership builds on the premise that agroecology can strengthen the sustainability and resilience of farming systems. It further supposes that living labs, which are user-centred, function in real life conditions and in a co-creative approach involving a multitude of different actors, are particularly suited for accelerating this transition, supported by research infrastructures. Research infrastructures can be facilities for agroecology transition. They are dedicated to research communities, and allow scientists to observe / experiment / predict agroecosystem and agri-food redesign. All together they contribute to bringing a corpus of scientific knowledge on agroecology available for agroecology transition.
The ALL-Ready project has defined, in a co-creation process, a conceptual framework that includes a vision and mission for a European Network of Living Labs and Research Infrastructures, which is designed to accelerate the transition to agroecology. A second achievement concerns the wide-scale mapping, analysis and overview of existing mechanisms (in EU and beyond) for participatory agroecological research and innovation for the network implementation. This involved defining a set of inclusion criteria for the network, exploring barriers and enablers, including policies, to agroecology transition, examining funding mechanisms, preparing an inventory of European living labs and research infrastructures that can contribute to agroecology transition and finally identifying exemplary cases.
A small-scale pilot network of 20 living labs and research infrastructures was established that allowed the testing of the functioning and activities of the network. In conjunction with the pilot network, guidance for an implementation plan was designed, based on an iterative process of assessing the needs of potential network members. It also addresses how to ensure the long-term implementation and sustainability of the network. In parallel, the ALL-Ready project has developed a capacity building programme including training actions and packages that were tested with the pilot network. Finally, the project has provided evidence-based knowledge to support the transition to agroecology. Cross-cutting issues included involving stakeholders in every step of the project, communication and dissemination of project results and the preparation of a virtual lab containing information supporting agroecology transition.
The Green Deal will be implemented through specific strategies, including the “Farm to Fork” and the 2030 Biodiversity strategy, both of which cite agroecology as a sustainable practice and a means to reducing the use of pesticides, fertilisers and antimicrobials. Furthermore, as part of Horizon Europe, a new set of co-funded European partnerships – mobilising resources from Member States and Associated Countries and from the European Commission – are being developed that are designed to have societal impact. Among these is one on “Accelerating farming systems transition: agroecology living labs and research infrastructures” (AGROECOLOGY). In line with the Farm to Fork Strategy, this partnership recognises the urgent need to transform our agri-food systems.
ALL-Ready is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) funded by the European Commission with the aim of contributing significantly to the future partnership by preparing a framework for a future European network of living labs and research infrastructures that will enable the transition towards agroecology throughout Europe.
The partnership builds on the premise that agroecology can strengthen the sustainability and resilience of farming systems. It further supposes that living labs, which are user-centred, function in real life conditions and in a co-creative approach involving a multitude of different actors, are particularly suited for accelerating this transition, supported by research infrastructures. Research infrastructures can be facilities for agroecology transition. They are dedicated to research communities, and allow scientists to observe / experiment / predict agroecosystem and agri-food redesign. All together they contribute to bringing a corpus of scientific knowledge on agroecology available for agroecology transition.
The ALL-Ready project has defined, in a co-creation process, a conceptual framework that includes a vision and mission for a European Network of Living Labs and Research Infrastructures, which is designed to accelerate the transition to agroecology. A second achievement concerns the wide-scale mapping, analysis and overview of existing mechanisms (in EU and beyond) for participatory agroecological research and innovation for the network implementation. This involved defining a set of inclusion criteria for the network, exploring barriers and enablers, including policies, to agroecology transition, examining funding mechanisms, preparing an inventory of European living labs and research infrastructures that can contribute to agroecology transition and finally identifying exemplary cases.
A small-scale pilot network of 20 living labs and research infrastructures was established that allowed the testing of the functioning and activities of the network. In conjunction with the pilot network, guidance for an implementation plan was designed, based on an iterative process of assessing the needs of potential network members. It also addresses how to ensure the long-term implementation and sustainability of the network. In parallel, the ALL-Ready project has developed a capacity building programme including training actions and packages that were tested with the pilot network. Finally, the project has provided evidence-based knowledge to support the transition to agroecology. Cross-cutting issues included involving stakeholders in every step of the project, communication and dissemination of project results and the preparation of a virtual lab containing information supporting agroecology transition.
A thorough literature review as well as an extensive co-creation process has led to the definition key concepts and a vision and mission for the network of living labs and research infrastructures for agroecology transition and a related paper providing definitions and a set of inclusion criteria for agroecology living labs, pertinent research infrastructures and their synergies. In turn, this work allowed the creation of an online survey that allows potential network members to describe themselves with respect to the criteria defined by the project. In this way, mapping of relevant initiatives has been carried out, including barriers and enablers to transition and best practices (incl. funding) were identified. A second main result concerns the pilot network, which is constituted of 20 living labs and research infrastructures who served as a testbed for the activities of the network. The pilot network members worked closely with the leaders on capacity building, implementation of the network and the virtual lab to co-define needs and activities. The resulting implementation plan for the network which describes the added value of the network and key factors and recommendations for the sustainable long-term implementation of the network.
Additionally, the capacity building programme has been co-created with pilot network members, focusing on their needs. In addition to 3 modules on “Understanding Living Lab Concepts and Co-creation”, a specific session on systems thinking was designed at the request of pilot network members. A final meeting allowed them also to give their feedback on the capacity building programme that was developed. A Virtual Lab was built, also based on the needs of the pilot network members. Finally, communication and dissemination of project results were carried out via the web site, flyers, participation in international conferences and meetings and through active participation in the SCAR Agroecology Strategic Working Group that is building the partnership proposal. A final joint ALL-Ready-AE4EU conference attracted a large audience and showcased the results of the two CSAs.
Additionally, the capacity building programme has been co-created with pilot network members, focusing on their needs. In addition to 3 modules on “Understanding Living Lab Concepts and Co-creation”, a specific session on systems thinking was designed at the request of pilot network members. A final meeting allowed them also to give their feedback on the capacity building programme that was developed. A Virtual Lab was built, also based on the needs of the pilot network members. Finally, communication and dissemination of project results were carried out via the web site, flyers, participation in international conferences and meetings and through active participation in the SCAR Agroecology Strategic Working Group that is building the partnership proposal. A final joint ALL-Ready-AE4EU conference attracted a large audience and showcased the results of the two CSAs.
As cited above, extensive work within ALL-Ready has led to definition of key concepts that serve as the basis for the future network. These concepts draw from the existing literature as well as extensive stakeholder input and have allowed the formulation of a survey that assesses the contribution to agroecology transition and the maturity of relevant initiatives. These criteria have also allowed the mapping of living labs, research infrastructures and other open innovation arrangements and the building of a pilot network. A pilot network with diverse living labs and research infrastructures has been built and will be expanded during the AGROECOLOGY partnership. Principles and activities for the future European network were co-created and tested within the pilot network, allowing an efficient and effective functioning of the network. In this way, the ALL-Ready project has contributed significantly to the European partnership AGROECOLOGY and at the same time, has contributed itself to agroecology transition in Europe through concept definition and awareness raising.