VALERIE Final Symposium - November 2017

VALERIE Final Symposium
Copa-Cogeca, Brussels, Belgium, 14^th November 2017

Around 50 participants from 12 countries representing the VALERIE project team, national & regional farmer unions, Agricultural Knowledge & Innovation Systems (AKIS) Working Groups, the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) and European Innovation Partnership (EIP) Operational Groups attended the VALERIE Final Symposium in Brussels on 14^th November. The main aim of the Final Symposium was to demonstrate the ask-Valerie tool, to discuss the VALERIE project approach & outcomes in the context of European AKIS, and to discuss future issues associated with access to knowledge for innovation.

 The Final Symposium:
• Provided an overview of the VALERIE project, including its approach in using case studies for stakeholder-driven innovation, as well as how the project captured knowledge for innovation for use in the ask-Valerie tool
• Heard from external speakers on ‘Agricultural Knowledge & Innovation in Europe’ (Krijn Poppe, Wageningen), ‘The Adviser’s Perspective’ (Tom Kelly, Teagsac & EUFRAS), and ‘Networking Tools & the Latest Developments on the EIP-AGRI Website’ (Willemine Brinkman, EIP-AGRI)
• Demonstrated the ask-Valerie tool and its unique features; a purpose built vocabulary of key agricultural and forestry terms, which are integrated with: (1) a specially constructed document base; (2) a dedicated search tool; (3) an interactive user-interface; and (4) a communication platform

Parallel breakout sessions held in discussion groups debated two key questions on knowledge & communication tools for innovation:
• What is the most suitable format for ‘translating’ research outcomes into practical outputs? Do the ‘issue-solution’ pairs used in ask-Valerie, VALERIE factsheets and org-prints provide a good structure?
• What needs to be done to make a knowledge platform such as ask-Valerie work in the long run? What strategies can be used and what resources are needed to develop a community of users (e.g. How could users contribute towards maintaining the system?)?

The workshop wrapped up with feedback from the working discussion groups. The presentations given can be downloaded from the ‘Download’ section on this web-site.

The ask-Valerie tool will be launched in December 2017.