Modernisation of Agriculture through more efficient and effective Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems

Summary: modernAKIS aims to improve AKIS actors’ capacities to leverage individual, organizational and systemic resources needed for the transformation towards more coherent, effective and efficient AKIS systems and the transition to a more sustainable management and use of natural resources in farming and forestry.

To this end it will build and foster a European network of at least 1.000 key AKIS actors, including AKIS coordination bodies, from all EU MS, who will act as linchpins in the transformation of the AKIS systems towards a more effective governance and the modernization of the European agri-food sector. The project will also build the capacities of these key AKIS actors towards systems understanding and engagement, enabling them to enact long-term system changes that will improve the AKIS. In addition, it will set up at least 1 Community of Practice in each Member State, enabling thus participants to act as vectors of change in their communities. In addition, modernAKIS will provide a comprehensive digital catalogue with new know-how, and at least 80 tools and methods supporting key AKIS actors to improve the knowledge flows and develop a well-functioning AKIS in line with relevant policy objectives, e.g the Green Deal, Farm2Fork, SDGs.

The ten interrelated specific objectives of modernAKIS are:

1. Build and foster a European network of at least 1.000 key AKIS actors, including AKIS coordination bodies, from all EU MS, who will spearhead the transformation of the AKIS systems towards a more effective governance and modernized European agro-food sector.
2. Provide a comprehensive knowledge exchange platform with new know-how, and at least 80 tools and methods supporting key AKIS actors to improve the knowledge flows and develop a well-functioning AKIS in line with relevant policy objectives, e.g the Green Deal, Farm2Fork, SDGs.
3. Build capacities of at least 1.000 key AKIS actors towards systems understanding and engagement, enabling them to enact long-term system changes that will improve the AKIS.
4. Co-design 1 benchmarking tool for comparing various types of AKIS as well as reference indicators enabling MS to assess and monitor their AKIS, identify innovative governance solutions and suitable interventions for their individual situation.
5. Build capacities of AKIS coordination bodies and key AKIS actors from MS, using a coherent, effective and context-aware approach accompanied by reflexive exercises, advice and coaching, to monitor, measure and improve the organization and functioning of their AKIS and to enhance interaction between AKIS actors.
6. Provide a forum to support AKIS coordination bodies to identify change management issues arising around AKIS systems, including success factors and multi-faceted barriers, and enable them to find adequate governance solutions to improve knowledge and innovation sharing.
7. Collect and exchange practice-oriented knowledge on how advisors and innovation support can be integrated into the AKIS and how researchers can be incentivized to deliver practice-ready research and knowledge.
8. Build capacities of key AKIS actors, coach them to set-up, and sustain local/regional/national AKIS Communities of Practice in all MS, linking projects and practitioners from research, education, advisory, farming practice and EIP Operational Groups to facilitate the uptake of knowledge and innovation through dynamic peer-to-peer learning experiences.
9. Support the co-design and development of cross-border approaches to initiate and incentivize innovation projects in 10 cross-border events with local/regional/national Communities of Practice and share the best practices throughout the EU-wide AKIS network and online catalogue.
10. Provide the project results and materials in the form of 100 ‘practice abstracts’ to EIP-AGRI, to MS AKIS and as digital documentation to the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

modernAKIS project team and representatives of AKIS coordinating institutions from all EU countries

Join modernAKIS network and receive relevant AKIS information here.

modernAKIS network connections are listed here.

Trainings on AKIS (in Lithuanian) can be found here.