The i2connect project is all about encouraging interactive innovation processes that mobilize diverse actors such as farmers/foresters, σύμβουλοι, ερευνητές, επιχειρήσεις, ΜΚΟ κ.λπ., που συγκέντρωσαν τις γνώσεις τους, δεξιότητες και εμπειρία, to address a joint problem στην οποία αναζητούν λύση. Στη διαδραστική καινοτομία, δασοκομία, practitioners or end-users as experts, share power and responsibility and actively contribute to influence the process thereby resulting in joint ownership of the outcome.
Why interaction innovation?
Η λογική πίσω από αυτό είναι απλή: the traditional way of improving performance of farmers / δασολόγοι ρωτώντας ειδικούς / σύμβουλοι για να αναλύσουν την κατάσταση, να διαγνώσει το πρόβλημα και να βρει τη λύση είναι δεν επαρκεί πλέον σε πολλές περιπτώσεις. The complexity of many problems in agriculture and forestry requests for a bottom-up multi-stakeholder innovation approach as described above.
The purpose of Excellence Classes
In every days’ advisory practice there may be many obstacles for moving into interactive innovation processes. Some of these relate to the skills and tools that advisors need themselves. For this the I2Connect project executes train-the-trainer-programmes and develops a pool of experts to share experiences and learn from each other. Ακόμη, even when an advisor recognizes the importance of interaction innovation and knows what to do to realise successful interactive innovation projects, it needs an enabling environment, δηλ., το αντίγραφο ασφαλείας του οργανισμού του/της, to move forward. The purpose of the Excellence Classes is to work on this enabling environment.
The three most-prominent concerns
Earlier in this project a survey among advisory organisations has been executed revealing that managers in advisory organisations (being important actors in the enabling environment) have the most-prominent concerns on three aspects of interactive innovation:
- human resource aspects, δηλ., τις δεξιότητες και τις ικανότητες που χρειάζονται οι σύμβουλοί τους για διαδραστική καινοτομία
- organisational aspects, δηλ., τις συνέπειες της διαδραστικής καινοτομίας για την οργάνωση της εργασίας, και
- financial aspects, δηλ., τον αντίκτυπο που θα έχει η διαδραστική καινοτομία στο επιχειρηματικό μοντέλο και τη συνέχεια του οργανισμού.
Participants for the Excellence Classes
In the Excellence Class we will elaborate on and discuss above three concerns. This means that the Excellence Classes will be of particular interest for three types of managers in advisory organisations: διαχειριστές ανθρώπινου δυναμικού, διευθυντές ομάδας ή έργου, και overall managers (CEO/CFO). Ακόμη, we have also learnt in this project that across organisations in Europe there are considerable differences in familiarity with bottom-up multi-stakeholder innovation processes. Managers who have little experience with such processes within their organisation may be unwilling to participate in Excellence Classes. In such cases it is useful to look for the next-best alternative, e.g., a senior advisor with close links to the management, to participate. The I2Connect project tries to push boundaries with respect to interactive innovation so European-wide participation is of eminent importance. The content and the discussions in the Excellence Class will certainly help the senior advisor to trigger managers to open up for the new approach and otherwise this participant has built a network in the Excellence Class with managers who he or she could link to the own managers to discuss about it.
Some practicalities
The Excellence Classes will be held with a maximum of 20 συμμετέχοντες, and each Excellence Class consists of an introductory online meeting of 2,5 hours and two days of physical meetings. The introductory online meeting of the Excellence Class will be held on May 3rd, 2022. The other two days will be held on June 20ου and June 21st 2022 in Lugo / Σαντιάγο ντε Κομποστέλα (Ισπανία) preceding the International conference of IALB, EUFRAS and SEASN which is held in the week of June 21st till June 26ου 2022.
For any questions and inquiries about the upcoming excellence classes, please contact: Dora Lakner dora.lakner@wur.nl and Jos Verstegen jos.verstegen@wur.nl
Prepared by: Jos Verstegen, Ugo Denis, Dora Lakner