THE CONTEXT The farming sector has never stopped innovating and every generation brings new technological and organisational improvements and competencies. However, the pace of technological innovation is proceeding faster than ever before, and it is important to ensure that EU farmers take full advantage of this “digital revolution”. Policy advisors underline that the main concern for farmers is access to training and that this should be considered especially from a small farm perspective otherwise Europe will fail to maximise the benefits of digital technology. MAIN OBJECTIVE The SFIB project will be implemented by 8 complementary project partners from 5 countries and focus on minding the gap between current farming industry digitization trends and the digital & smart technology era. The project wants to open a way to a new digital and technology innovation-oriented training method in the farming industry by combining the “Innovation Broker” approach in the farming sector with the current efforts put in place by the EU in the field of “Digital Innovation Hubs”. TARGET GRUPS AND PARTICIPANTS 1) Owners, Managers, operations and technical staff of SMEs of the farming sector 2) Cluster & Technical Service and Coaching staff, Thematic Business Consultants, Trainers of Cluster & Sectorial Organizations 3) Technical Service and Coaching Staff, Consultants of Technology Parks, Business Development Centres, Digital Innovation Hubs 4) Policy officers, Technical staff involved in defining innovation and training strategies, policies & action plans of Economic Development Bodies 5) Directors, Teaching staff, Learners & students, Phds of VET and Higher Education institutions 6) Innovation brokers NEEDS A) RAISE & INCREASE AWARENESS about the potential of digital and smart farming potential B) OBSERVE & UNDERSTAND TECHNOLOGY AT WORK thus facilitating digitization and smart tech understanding C) IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF DIGITAL INNOVATION LEARNING APPROACHES by introducing a new professional figure and new cooperation-based learning mechanisms targeted to the farming sector E) Guarantee the AVAILABILITY OF CONNECTED TRANSNATIONAL INNOVATION LEARNING STRUCTURES that will facilitate the distributed availability WORKING METHOD The project has been designed around 8 workpackages. WP 1 - Management – Indicator: Project implemented respecting time and quality WP2 - Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation – Indicators: 1) Extended stakeholder base (including Innovation Brokers and DIHs), 2) Extended interested final beneficiaries, 3) Project anchored to professional training policies WP3 - SMART TECH-MAP: M2-M5, focused on Intellectual Output 1 to answer the need “RAISE & INCREASE AWARENESS about the potential of digital and smart farming potential”. Indicators: 1) Increased knowledge about farming smart technology trends, 2) Increased knowledge level about knowledge gaps in the farming sector WP4 – DIGITAL INNO BROKER MAP: M6-M8, focused on Intellectual Output 2 to answer the need “RAISE & INCREASE AWARENESS about the potential of digital and smart farming potential”. Indicator: 1) Consolidated network of Innovation Brokers WP5 – DIGITAL INNOVATION HUBS FOR SMART FARMING: M9-M12, focused on Intellectual Output 3 to answer 2 needs: “RAISE & INCREASE AWARENESS about the potential of digital and smart farming potential” and “OBSERVE & UNDERSTAND TECHNOLOGY AT WORK thus facilitating digitization and smart tech understanding”. Indicator: 1) Consolidated network of DIHs WP6 – SMART TECH & DIGITAL INNOVATION BROKERS: COMPETENCE PROFILE: M13-M18, focused on Intellectual Output 4 to answer 2 needs: “IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF DIGITAL INNOVATION LEARNING APPROACHES” and “Guarantee the AVAILABILITY OF CONNECTED TRANSNATIONAL INNOVATION LEARNING STRUCTURES”. Indicators: 1) Available Competence profile of the Digital Innovation Broker, 2) Available Training Method, Package & Tools, 3) Cooperation Agreements between Innovation Brokers and DIHs WP7 – SMART TECH & DIGITAL READINESS & INNOVATION TRAINING: INCREASING THE FARMING INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVEL: M19-M30, focused on Intellectual Output 5 to complete the answer to the 2 above needs “IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF DIGITAL INNOVATION LEARNING APPROACHES” and “Guarantee the AVAILABILITY OF CONNECTED TRANSNATIONAL INNOVATION LEARNING STRUCTURES”. Indicators: 1) Available digital readiness assessment tool for the farming sector, 2) Available Smart Tech & Digital Readiness Training WP8 – SHARE, VALIDATE AND TRANSFER EVIDENCES: M31-M36 focused on Intellectual Output 6 to answer the need “Guarantee the AVAILABILITY OF CONNECTED TRANSNATIONAL INNOVATION LEARNING STRUCTURES” Indicators: 1) Available list of extended stakeholders, 2) Completed Transfer Sessions, 3) Increased number of interested rural / regional areas in our method, 4) Method transferred to other EU areas.
THE CONTEXT The farming sector has never stopped innovating and every generation brings new technological and organisational improvements and competencies. However, the pace of technological innovation is proceeding faster than ever before, and it is important to ensure that EU farmers take full advantage of this “digital revolution”. Policy advisors underline that the main concern for farmers is access to training and that this should be considered especially from a small farm perspective otherwise Europe will fail to maximise the benefits of digital technology. MAIN OBJECTIVE The SFIB project will be implemented by 8 complementary project partners from 5 countries and focus on minding the gap between current farming industry digitization trends and the digital & smart technology era. The project wants to open a way to a new digital and technology innovation-oriented training method in the farming industry by combining the “Innovation Broker” approach in the farming sector with the current efforts put in place by the EU in the field of “Digital Innovation Hubs”. TARGET GROUPS AND PARTICIPANTS 1) Owners, Managers, operations and technical staff of SMEs of the farming sector 2) Cluster & Technical Service and Coaching staff, Advisors/Consultants for the farming sector, Trainers of Cluster & Sectorial Organizations 3) Technical Service and Coaching Staff, Consultants of Technology Parks, Business Development Centres, Digital Innovation Hubs 4) Policy officers, mainly from managing authorities of rural development programmes 5) Directors, Teaching staff, Learners & students of VET and Higher Education institutions 6) Innovation brokers NEEDS A) RAISE & INCREASE AWARENESS about the potential of digital and smart farming potential B) OBSERVE & UNDERSTAND TECHNOLOGY AT WORK thus facilitating digitization and smart tech understanding C) IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF DIGITAL INNOVATION LEARNING APPROACHES by introducing a new professional figure and new cooperation-based learning mechanisms targeted to the farming sector E) Guarantee the AVAILABILITY OF CONNECTED TRANSNATIONAL SMART FARMING INNOVATION initiatives that will facilitate the distributed availability WORKING METHOD The project has been designed around 8 work packages. WP 1 - Management – Indicator: Project implemented respecting time and quality WP2 - Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation WP3 - DIH AGRIFOOD MAP focused on Intellectual Output 1 to answer the need “RAISE & INCREASE AWARENESS about the potential of digital and smart farming potential”. Indicators: 1) Increased knowledge about farming smart technology trends, 2) Increased knowledge level about knowledge gaps in the farming sector WP4 – DIGITAL AGRIFOOD PLATFORM focused on Intellectual Output 2 to answer the need “RAISE & INCREASE AWARENESS about the potential of digital and smart farming potential”. WP5 – DIGITAL INNOVATION HUBS FOR SMART FARMING focused on Intellectual Output 3 to answer 2 needs: “RAISE & INCREASE AWARENESS about the potential of digital and smart farming potential” and “OBSERVE & UNDERSTAND TECHNOLOGY AT WORK thus facilitating digitization and smart tech understanding”. WP6 – SMART TECH & DIGITAL INNOVATION BROKERS: COMPETENCE PROFILE focused on Intellectual Output 4 to answer 2 needs: “IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF DIGITAL INNOVATION LEARNING APPROACHES” and “Guarantee the AVAILABILITY OF CONNECTED TRANSNATIONAL INNOVATION LEARNING STRUCTURES”. WP7 – SMART TECH & DIGITAL READINESS & INNOVATION TRAINING: INCREASING THE FARMING INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVEL focused on Intellectual Output 5 to complete the answer to the 2 above needs “IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF DIGITAL INNOVATION LEARNING APPROACHES” and “Guarantee the AVAILABILITY OF CONNECTED TRANSNATIONAL INNOVATION LEARNING STRUCTURES”. WP8 – SHARE, VALIDATE AND TRANSFER pieces of evidence focused on Intellectual Output 6 to answer the need “Guarantee the AVAILABILITY OF CONNECTED TRANSNATIONAL INNOVATION SMART FARMING INITIATIVES