Better Rural Innovation: Linking Actors, Instruments and Policies through Networks - LIAISON

European Rural Innovation Contest - EURIC

Applications closed

The LIAISON project has organised the European Rural Innovation Contest, the EURIC, with the aim of seeking-out innovative, inspiring and ground-breaking initiatives from within farming, forestry and the agri-food supply chain or bioeconomy or nature conservation field. We were particularly interested in partnerships that bring together diverse expertise from collaborating partners with different backgrounds.

Until the deadline on March 15th 2019, more than 200 applications from all European regions were received. The 21st of June, a story map with all collected entries will appear on the LIAISON website. Afterwards, a jury of internal and external experts will select the 15 Rural Innovation Ambassadors! The winners will receive international recognition, networking opportunities, personalised promotional material to use for future engagement and the invitation to join a prestigious award ceremony in Autumn 2019.

All Rural Innovation Ambassadors will also be given the opportunity to produce a movie about their project for the EURIC and for their future activities.

Why LIAISON?

The European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI) was launched by the European Commission in 2012. The core concept promoted and facilitated by the EIP-AGRI is
the ‘interactive innovation approach’.

This is an exciting new approach that’s already working very well in EIP-AGRI Operational Groups and Horizon 2020 multi-actor projects, but there is lots of potential to make it work even better!

How are we working in LIAISON?

LIAISON is a truly multi-actor project that is bringing together a diverse community of researchers, actors from innovation projects, initiatives and networks, decision-makers and administrators in a highly interactive work programme to jointly investigate the design and implementation of interactive innovation projects – both inside and outside of the EIP-AGRI.

LIAISON has seven main workpackages (WPs):

WP1 provides the conceptual framework and – very importantly - builds a solid foundation for the whole project through the common understanding of key terms and concepts.
WP2 aims to enhance the participatory methods we use to work together in the Project.
WP3 is central to the Project and involves the ‘light-touch review’ of the experiences of 200 projects and other innovation initiatives through
which we will assess the infrastructure of H2020 and Rural Development Programmes at the project, national and European levels.
WP4 will take the review process in WP3 further through the in-depth assessment of 32 interactive innovation projects in a range of
sectors and countries.
WP5 is focussed upon testing and enhancing the methods used for assessing the effectiveness and impact of interactive innovation projects.
WP6 will integrate the findings of WPs 1-5 and synthesise the main project recommendations.
WP7 brings practitioners and stakeholders to the project, and facilitates the dissemination and exploitation of project results.

Structure of Work

What can you expect from LIAISON?

LIAISON will produce practice-ready methods and tools for optimising the use of the interactive innovation approach in projects funded within the
framework of the EIP-AGRI – and beyond. During the lifetime of LIAISON there will be:

A European Rural Innovation Contest concluding with an interactive database (Story Map) of around 150 case studies and the nomination of 14 Innovation Ambassadors
On-going support provided to the AKIS Strategic Working Group of the DG AGRI Standing Committee on Agricultural Research
A series of in-depth, hands-on 'How To’ Guides for fostering co-creation and co-learning when working with interactive innovation projects (e.g. innovation support services)
Policy Briefs on improving the institutional environment for interactive innovation projects (e.g. for RDP Managing Authorities) implementing the EIP-AGRI at national / regional level
Videos and other communication materials presenting good practices in the planning and implementation of interactive innovation projects

All of the above – and more – available as a web-based Interactive Innovation Tool Box.
All practice and policy-orientated project outputs generated by LIAISON will be subject to a process of validation and fine-tuning process
based upon practical peer-review by consortium members and other closely involved actors and stakeholders.

BILD

Eberswalde city campus on the 24th of May 2018: Kick-off meeting of LIAISON partners and experts from the PAG

Members of the Consortium

Participant organisation name (Acronym)	Kind of organisation	Country
Hochschule für Nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde - Policies and Markets Group (HNEE)	Higher education and research	Germany
Stichting Groep van Brugge - Independent Network on European Agricultural and Rural Development Policy (GdB)	Foundation	Netherlands
Highclere Consulting SRL (Highclere)	SME	Romania
Boerenbond Vereniging voor Innovatieve Projecten — Innovatiesteunpunt - Innovation Support Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (ISP)	Non-profit organisation	Belgium
Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge (ISSK)	Non-profit organisation	Bulgaria
Institut de l'Elevage — French Livestock Institute (IDELE)	SME	France
Agriculture and Food Development Authority (TEAGASC)	Research, education and advisory	Ireland
Stiftelsen Norsk Senter for Bygdeforskning — Centre for Rural Research (CRR)	Non-profit organisation	Norway
Centrum Doradztwa Rolniczego W Brwinowie — Agricultural Advisory Centre Brwinowie (AAC	Advisory	Poland
Forschungsinstitut für Biologischen Landbau Stiftung (FiBL)	SME	Switzerland
Universidade de Évora (UÉVORA) - Institute of Mediterranean Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (ICAAM)	Higher education and research	Portugal
Universita di Pisa — Agriculture, Food and Environment (UPISA)	Higher education and research	Italy
The Soil Association Limited (SA)	SME	United Kingdom
Agrargazdasagi Kutato Intezet — Rural DevelopmentResearch Department (AKI)	Research	Hungary
Geography at the University of Exeter — Human Geography (UEXE)	Higher education and research	United Kingdom
Eigen Vermogen van het Instituut voor Landbouw en Visserijonderzoek - Institute	Research	Belgium
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid — Planning and Evaluation Group (UPM)	Higher education and research	Spain

Get involved!

Get involved with LIAISON if you are a farmer, forester, adviser, researcher, innovation broker, policy maker – or indeed, anyone else! – that is
involved and/or interested in EIP-AGRI Operational Groups, H2020 multi-actor projects or any other type of project using the interactive
innovation approach.
We want to work with you to improve future implementation of the EIP-AGRI!

Contact persons

Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Häring
Dr. Susanne v. Münchhausen

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme