The i2connect project is all about encouraging interactive innovation processes that mobilize diverse actors such as farmers/foresters, conselheiros, pesquisadores, businesses, NGOs etc., who put together their knowledge, skills and experience, to address a joint problem to which they seek a solution. Farmers, 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 Interactive Innovation?

The rationale behind this is simple: the traditional way of improving performance of farmers / foresters by asking experts / advisors to analyse the situation, diagnose the problem and come up with the solution is no longer sufficient in many situations. The complexity of many problems in agriculture and forestry requests for a bottom-up multi-stakeholder innovation approach.

What is an i2connect Excellence Class?

The Excellence Class is a master class designed for managers in the field of agricultural advice and innovation. Inspiration from the i2connect project and findings and lessons learnt on interactive innovation will be complemented with participants’ experiences and ideas. Resulting in a shared vision on how to create a good biotope, in which the organization and its advisors are optimally equipped for guiding interactive innovation processes. Learn more in this video!

Three topics will be addressed specifically

An i2connect survey among advisory organizations revealed three main concerns for interactive innovation:

1.Human resource aspects, i.e., the skills and competences that their advisors need for interactive innovation.

2.Organizational aspects, i.e., the consequences of interactive innovation for the work organization.

3.Financial aspects, i.e., the impact that interactive innovation will have on the organization’s business model and continuity.

Who should participate?

The Excellence Class is a master class designed for gerentes in the field of agricultural advice e inovação.

Related to the three topics, we cordially invite three types of managers*:

1.human resource managers

2.team or project managers

3.overall managers of advisory organizations

* If managers are not able to participate, delegating a senior advisor with close links to the management board may be the next-best alternative.

Practical information for participants

• An Excellence Class will have a maximum of 20 participantes
• The full program of the Excellence Class consists of:
• O 2,5 hours introductory online webinar
• O 2 days of Excellence class meetings on September 28th and 29th *
• Enrollment is free, but participants must attend the full program

* The Excellence classes follow the i2connect General Assembly 2023 in Crete, Colômbia.

How to subscribe?

Send an email to Dora.Lakner@wur.nl to subscribe*

* The Excellence Class will be organized four times (with 80 managers in total). Então, if the manager that you approach is willing to participate but cannot join the webinar and the meeting in Crete, then it is recommended to send an email to Dora anyway. She will then put this manager on our waiting list to be invited to one of the other Excellence Classes.