Learning Outcomes 1
- Knowledge: Knows different types of innovations, their scope and application
- Skills: Can assess and compare different kinds of innovations, their scope and application
- Competencies: Is able to identify the different types of innovation (or the lack thereof) on their own farm
- Link to Content: Overview types of innovation for CSA
Learning Outcomes 2
- Knowledge: Knows different degrees of innovation
- Skills: Can assess and compare different degrees of innovations
- Competencies: Is able to assess the degree of innovation and the need for further development on their own farm
- Link to Content: Overview degrees of innovation for CSA
Learning Outcomes 3
- Knowledge: Knows different phases of innovation process
- Skills: Can assess and compare different phases of innovation
- Competencies: Is able to assess which phase the own farm is in and which steps and players are necessary for the coming phases
- Link to Content: Spiral of innovations
Learning Outcomes 4
- Knowledge: Knows principles of interactive innovation
- Skills: Can assess whether principles of interactive innovation apply
- Competencies: Is able to recognise how interactive innovation and co-creation helps to further develop their own farm
- Link to Content: Spiral of Innovations; Co-creation
Learning Outcomes 5
- Knowledge: Knows different factors influencing innovation processes
- Skills: Can evaluate different factors influencing innovation processes
- Competencies: Is able to identify the factors influencing the development of innovations on their own farm and can identify solutions for this
- Link to Content: Spiral of Innovations; Co-creation
Introduction
Welcome to the learning module on “Introduction to Innovation Management for Climate-Smart Agriculture.” In the face of rapidly changing climate patterns and the pressing need for sustainable food production, the agricultural sector is undergoing a transformative shift. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a vital approach to address these challenges, focusing on enhancing productivity, increasing resilience, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions within the agricultural system.
This module delves into the diverse range of innovations that contribute to climate-smart agriculture, considering both the types of innovations and the varying degrees of their impact. Furthermore, you will learn about interactive innovation processes and the various factors influencing their success. By the end of this module, you will have a comprehensive understanding of interactive innovation processes.
Types of Innovation in CSA
Different types of innovations tackle challenges related to CSA at different levels and leverage points.
Agronomic and technical innovations in CSA are designed to enhance the sustainability, resilience, and productivity of agricultural systems in the context of climate change. These innovations focus on improving resource management, reducing climate impacts, and increasing the adaptability of farming practices.
- Precision Agriculture and Data-Driven Decision-Making: Use technology and data to precisely manage inputs, optimize yields, minimize climate impacts and improve overall resource efficiency.
- Climate Information Services: Providing farmers with accurate weather and climate data for decision-making. Integrates climate data and forecasts into farm planning processes to make informed decisions about cropping patterns, timing, and resource allocation.
- Carbon footprint calculators: measure and quantify the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, associated with various activities within agricultural operations and means to reduce them.
- Renewable Energy Integration: Utilizing renewable energy sources to power agricultural operations.
- Climate-Resilient Crops: Developing crop varieties that can withstand extreme weather conditions
- Regenerative Agriculture: Implementing soil-friendly practices like minimal soil disturbance to increase soil fertility and minimize erosion.
- Crop Rotation: Implement crop diversification and rotation strategies to improve resilience against climate variability and reduce pest and disease pressures.
- Agroforestry: Integrating trees and shrubs into agricultural systems for improved sustainability and carbon sequestration.
- Water Management: Employing efficient irrigation techniques and water conservation measures.
- Livestock Management: Adopting practices to reduce the climate impact of livestock production.
Market Innovations for CSA involve innovative products, marketing strategies and value chains. These innovations focus on reshaping agricultural supply chains, enhancing market mechanisms, and promoting sustainable consumption patterns.
Different types of market innovations include:
- Certification and Labeling
- Agricultural products with a lower carbon footprint can be marketed as “climate-friendly” or “low-carbon” to attract environmentally conscious consumers.
- Effective communication of reduced emissions in marketing campaigns can drive demand for products produced with climate-smart practices.
- Retailers may offer premium prices for products produced using climate-smart practices, recognizing the added value of sustainable production.
- Direct-to-Consumer Platforms / Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs)
- Online platforms and farmers’ markets connect consumers directly with producers, allowing farmers to share information about their climate-smart practices.
- This builds trust and enables consumers to support local, sustainable agriculture.
- Innovative Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) such as Community supported agriculture (CSA) connect farmers to consumers, create trust and transparency, enable risk sharing and increase the value of agricultural products.
- An Innovation Inventory for SFSCs across Europe can be accessed here.
- Carbon Farming Markets
- Farmers can participate in carbon offset markets by implementing practices that sequester carbon or reduce emissions. They can sell carbon credits to industries seeking to offset their emissions.
- This creates a financial incentive for farmers to adopt climate-smart practices and generate additional revenue streams.
Social, organizational, and management innovations for CSA encompass a wide range of strategies that focus on transforming behaviors, improving collaboration and engagement of stakeholders, knowledge sharing, and adaptive capacity within farming communities. These innovations are essential for promoting the adoption of CSA as they relate to the context of their implementation. Social innovations for CSA recognize that addressing climate challenges requires fostering social connections, promoting local ownership, and ensuring that solutions are contextually relevant and community-driven. They encompass, among others:
- Community-Based Climate Adaptation:
- Engages local communities in identifying climate risks and collectively developing strategies to adapt to changing conditions.
- Promotes collaborative decision-making and resource-sharing among farmers.
- Guides the development of context-specific interventions.
- Farmer-Led Knowledge and Learning Networks:
- Establishes platforms for farmers to exchange traditional knowledge, experiences, and climate-resilient practices.
- Create spaces for farmers to learn, experiment, and adapt CSA practices in their own fields.
- Enhances local knowledge base and enables peer-to-peer learning.
- Multi-Actor Partnerships
- Brings together diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, NGOs, private sector, and communities, to collaborate on CSA initiatives.
- Facilitates coordination, enhances cooperation and resource sharing between different stakeholders.
In agriculture, innovations can be categorized into different degrees based on the duration of development/implementation, the extent of their impact, novelty, and transformative nature. These degrees of innovation help distinguish between improvement innovation and more radical shifts:
- Improvement Innovations:
- These are small-scale improvements or modifications to existing practices, technologies, or processes.
- These innovations build upon existing knowledge and technologies to address evolving challenges.
- Improvement innovations aim to enhance efficiency, productivity, or sustainability without fundamentally altering the underlying approach or methodology.
- Improvement innovations are valuable for optimizing resource use, reducing environmental impacts, and incrementally advancing agricultural systems.
- Examples include adopting slightly improved crop varieties, refining irrigation techniques, or optimizing fertilizer application
- Radical Innovations:
- Radical innovations involve transformative shifts that fundamentally change the way agriculture is practiced.
- They often challenge conventional norms and paradigms, leading to entirely new approaches or systems.
- Radical innovations can reshape entire agricultural systems and have the potential to create substantial economic, social, and environmental change.
- Examples include the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), vertical farming, and the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices.
It’s important to note that the distinction between these degrees of innovation is not always clear-cut, and innovations can span multiple categories. Additionally, the choice of innovation degree depends on various factors, including the local context, available resources, technological advancements, and the specific challenges being addressed.
Activity WP 4.I (Part I)
- What distinguishes the different types of innovation?
- Think about which challenges your farm is facing with regard to climate change. Think about which types of innovation are available to you, based on the farm’s production system and the challenges it is facing.
- Which actors do you have to get on board in order to tackle the implementation of that innovation?
- Which resources do you have to mobilize in order to tackle the implementation of that innovation?
Principles of interactive innovation processes
Interactive innovation, often referred to as co-innovation, involves active collaboration among various stakeholders, including farmers, researchers, policymakers, industry partners and consumers, to collectively develop and implement CSA innovations.
This approach recognizes that addressing complex challenges like climate change requires diverse expertise, local knowledge, and cross-sectoral collaboration.
Interactive innovation plays a pivotal role in the successful implementation of CSA innovations by fostering knowledge sharing, integrating local insights, and ensuring that solutions are contextually relevant and effective.
Such a process is different from technology transfer, in which the solution is transferred from a source to an end user.
It also differs from a production process, in which the product to be delivered has been defined and specified by the client.
In interactive innovation processes, the result emerges from co-creation. The knowledge, experience and creativity of people involved are needed to create solutions that cannot be known beforehand.
Interactive Innovation is based on the Multi-actor approach and involves all the relevant actors along the entire project; from the participation in the planning of work, their execution, up until the dissemination of results and possible demonstration phase.
Interactive innovation processes ideally run in seven phases.
Phases of interactive innovation processes
To illustrate the different phases of interactive innovation, let‘s take a look at the spiral of initatives, often referred to as the „Innovation Spiral“.
The spiral of initiatives shows the development of an initiative. Each phase requires different activities, and the involvement of different actors.
It is not a linear process from A to B. Sometimes it is necessary to take a step backwards. This is why the process is presented as a spiral, rather than a line.
The Spiral of Initiatives is fed by warm and cold processes.
An introduction to the Innovation Spiral can be found here: (41) The Spiral of Initiative/Innovations – Tools for analyzing networks (i2connect 2/4) – YouTube and here: Spiral of Initiatives – Identifying specific needs of projects in different phases – YouTube
Warm and Cold Processes
| Phase | Actors | Activities |
|---|---|---|
|
Initial Idea |
Pioneers |
Looking outside the box |
|
Inspiration |
Supporters |
Mobilising a warm network |
|
Planning |
Managers Financers |
Negotiating space for experimentation |
|
Development |
Experts Suppliers |
Trying new practices |
|
Realisation |
Stakeholders |
Acquiring position to put the innovation into practice |
|
Dissemination |
Users |
Sharing experience with those who could benefit |
|
Embedding |
Managers Gatekeepers |
Improving conditions that enable it to become a common practice |
WARM PROCESS
People:
Everything starts with people who want something.
Ambition:
Motivation to act.
Connection:
Contact and linking with others for action.
Energy:
Released by the new possibilities which arise around shared ambition.
Goals:
Articulated collaboratively,
to turn ambitions into action.
COLD PROCESS
Goals:
Where should the plans lead to? What is the desired outcome?
Instruments:
What strategies and procedures are chosen?
What resources are needed?
Competences:
What knowledges and skills are required?
Indicators:
How can progress be measured?
People:
How can we make sure that people will contribute as planned?
The Innovation Spiral
Different types of technological / agronomic innovations will be introduced in detail in Module 2.
I. Initial Idea
An initiative begins with an initial idea. It may come from an individual or emerge from a group as a response to a felt problem, challenge or inspiration.
Actors: Pioneers and other change agents with capacities to developp new ideas.
Activities: Look beyond the usual and think outside the box; employ creativtiy techniques.
II. Inspiration
Initiators look for likeminded people. Others become inspired and together they form and informal network around the initiative. A vision is developed, which generates energy and shared ambition.
Actors: People with shared ambitions and energy to support the initiative.
Activities: Communication and Networking with peers; vision development.
Useful tools for vision development are introduced in Module 4.III
III. Planning
During this phase, initiators formulate plans for action, and they negotiate space for experiments. The advisor connects people who need to work together and access key resources and fine-tunes advisory services.
Actors: People / gatekeepers / funding agencies who can provide space and resources for experimenting.
Activities: plan activities and negotiate division of tasks and contributions from partners; write proposals & apply for funds
Useful tools for planning activities and taking strategic action are provided in Module 4.III
IV. Development
This is the phase of experimentation to develop new practices and to collect evidence. The advisor provides access to knowledge, advice and back stopping and then networking and access to resources from ‘outside’.
Actors: Outside expertise and other assistance; involve stakeholders proactively
Activities: Make experiments, pilots, create experiences and communicate within „enabling community“
Useful tools for collaboration in the developmental phase are introduced in Module 4.IV
V. Realisation
For the new practice to be implemented on a wider scale, actors must move. The initiative tries to implement the new practice in real life scale, where other actors give way for it. Negotiation, strategic positioning and power play dominate this stage. A balance must be found between give and take.
Actors: Representatives of stakeholders; support networks
Activities: Acquire position and negotiate; persuade others of benefits; find compromises
Useful tools for engaging stakeholders and achieving impact are provided in Module 4.V and 4.IV
VI. Dissemination
This is the phase where effective new practices are being picked up by others. During this phase more “standardized” (transfer) services are needed, mainly directed at farmers. It is pivotal to consider the target group, and which channels and links are best to reach them
Actors: people with similar interests and problems (users)
Activities: provide access to experience; roll out dissemination strategy
Useful tools for sharing results and achieving impact are introduced in Module 4.V
VII. Embedding
The change becomes regular practice to which the structure adapts itself (new laws, subsidies, taxes etc.). Those who maintain the structure need to be engaged. Where structure and practice do not fit well together, new ideas and initiatives will emerge, and the spiral will start again.
Actors: managers, policy-makers, gatekeepers
Activities: facilitate structural change
Useful tools for engaging stakeholders and achieving impact are provided in Module 4.V and 4.IV
Summary
- The Innovation Spiral is a diagnostic tool, which provides guidance through complex innovation processes
- Innovation processes follow a curly road, rather than a straight line
- The spiral distinguishes seven phases and gives hints which actions to take, actors to involve and pitfalls to avoid
- The spiral helps to analyze where an initiative is in the process and what needs to be done to enter the following phase
- Warm phases usually generate energy, while cold phases cost energy
- An application of the spiral for the analysis of interactive innovation can be found here: (41) Analyse der operationellen Gruppe ArboNovateur anhand der Innovationsspirale – YouTube
Activity WP 4.I (Part II)
- What are the phases of the innovation process?
- What distinguishes “warm” and “cold” phases?
- Think about prior initiatives undertaken in terms of the seven phases:
- When the initiative has been successful, in how far can its success be related to the principles and phases of interactive innovation?
- When the initiative has not been successful, in how far can you understand its shortcomings by drawing on the principles and phases of interactive innovation?
- Think about planning the next initiative:
- What is the initiative about?
- In which phase are you? What has to be done and who has to be involved in order to move forward? Use this worksheet (blank version of the innovation spiral) for this purpose.
Group work ‘Co-creation’ / interactive innovation:
- Everyone builds a paper plane individually within 2 minutes. Then compare which paper plane flies the furthest.
- Repeat the process but this time work in groups. You can use your experiences from phase 1 and try to build an airplane that flies further than in phase 1.
- Compare the two phases: What worked better/worse in each phase? Was the result better in phase 2? What was the reason for this?
- In phase 2: What role did the individuals play? Did power relations become visible?
- What do we learn from the two phases? What are the advantages and disadvantages of co-creation processes? What factors contribute to a successful co-creation process?
