VALERIE EIP-AGRI Mid-Term Stakeholder Workshop
Copa-Cogeca, Brussels, Belgium, 1st June 2016
Around 30 participants from 11 countries representing national & regional farmer unions, AKIS Working Groups, the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) and European Innovation Partnership (EIP) Operational Groups attended a VALERIE EIP-AGRI mid-term stakeholder workshop in Brussels on 1st June. The main aim of the workshop, co-organised with EIP-AGRI, was to give participants an opportunity to provide feedback on how the VALERIE project is progressing, and included a project overview, information on the VALERIE case studies and demonstration of the ask-Valerie.eu virtual adviser tool & EIP-AGRI website.
The workshop:
• Provided an update on the VALERIE project and its approach to improving access to information and promoting innovation in agriculture and forestry
• Provided an opportunity for stakeholders to steer and give feedback on how the VALERIE project is progressing in relation to its aims of boosting innovation by facilitating knowledge exchange between practitioners and researchers
• Discussed how VALERIE and ask-Valerie.eu, the virtual adviser tool (under development as part of the project), can be integrated into current and future methods of accessing knowledge.
Parallel sessions held in discussion groups debated key questions:
• How do EU farmers and advisers currently access information and how will this develop in the future?
• How can ask-Valerie.eu be adapted to help AKIS perform better?
• Who are the potential users? Can ask-Valerie.eu be adapted as a tool for both farmers and advisers?
• How can we best promote the awareness and use of ask-Valerie.eu?
• How can access to information from EU and national projects be improved?
The workshop wrapped up with feedback from the working discussion groups. A further VALERIE AKIS workshop will be held towards the end of the project in autumn 2017.