Sustaining Rural Innovation: Reflexivity, Diversity and Co-creation
(Closed)
Share This Topical Collection
Editors
Dr. Áine Macken-Walsh
Dr. Áine Macken-Walsh
E-Mail
Website
Collection Editor
Department of Agri-Food business and Spatial Analysis, Rural Economy Development Programme, Teagasc, Ireland
Interests: governance, power, gender, co-creation, multi-actor approach (MAA)
Dr. Anita Naughton
Dr. Anita Naughton
E-Mail
Collection Editor
Department of Agri-Food business and Spatial Analysis, Rural Economy Development Programme, Teagasc, Ireland
Interests: race, ethnicity, multi-actor approach (MAA), rural innovation
Topical Collection Information
Dear Colleagues,
Stimulating and sustaining rural innovation is a central mission of future European and global policies, seen as a necessary response to contemporary sustainability challenges. Narrow sectoral and monodisciplinary approaches to tackling grand societal challenges are acknowledged to lack effectiveness. Cross-sectoral, multi-actor and genuinely transdisciplinary approaches are needed to find creative solutions and opportunities. But, how may these approaches be proactively stimulated, sustained and improved? For this, social science knowledge is critically needed to reach rigorous understandings of the processes at play. Only then can ‘good’ practices and features of rural innovation be identified, and challenges and threats. We understand the challenge of sustaining rural innovation as occurring in interplays between a range of technical and human relational processes. For the ‘virtuous spiral’ of rural innovation to emerge and be sustained, there must be continuous attentiveness to and investment in how diverse actors are facilitated to become involved and co-create.
This Topical Collection gathers perspectives from social scientists working in the field of rural innovation. It aims to present new knowledge of how social science insights are used to practically enhance rural innovation. Particularly welcome are papers focusing on frameworks for the identification of good practices; tools for supporting multi-actor co-design; strategies that aim to understand and build networks; and evaluation practices that stimulate reflexivity. Social science theories of gender, diversity, participation and power will frame the practical approaches in the papers chosen for this Topical Collection. Papers selected for this Topical Collection will be subject to a rigorous peer-review process with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.
Dr. Áine Macken-Walsh
Dr. Anita Naughton
Collection Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the collection website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript.
The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs).
Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's
English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- rural innovation
- sustainability
- co-creation
- co-design
- governance
- networks
- multi-actor approach (MAA)
Published Papers (6 papers)
Open AccessArticle
An Analysis of Irish Dairy Farmers’ Participation in the Bioeconomy: Exploring Power and Knowledge Dynamics in a Multi-actor EIP-AGRI Operational Group
by
Kieran Harrahill, Áine Macken-Walsh, Eoin O’Neill and Mick Lennon
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2007
Abstract
The European Commission’s European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI), part of the European Commission’s Europe 2020 strategy, aims to ‘achieve more and better from less’ by bringing together a diversity of innovation actors to harness their combined knowledges to creatively
[...] Read more.
The European Commission’s European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI), part of the European Commission’s Europe 2020 strategy, aims to ‘achieve more and better from less’ by bringing together a diversity of innovation actors to harness their combined knowledges to creatively achieve sustainability goals. The creation and novel use of biomaterials remains both a significant challenge and opportunity and bringing together all the relevant actors from primary production through to refinement and processing is anticipated to make progress in bringing into practice pilot operational approaches on the ground. For the bioeconomy, a nascent sector, it is a significant challenge for it to become established; grow; innovate and engage all the relevant actors. It has been noted internationally that primary producers, among other cohorts, remain marginalised from bioeconomy activities, which significantly compromises how inclusive and innovative the bioeconomy is likely to be henceforth. In this context, an interesting case study is the
Biorefinery Glas Operational Group (OG), located in Ireland. The OG was a ‘small-scale-farmer-led green biorefinery supporting farmer diversification into the circular bioeconomy’. The central research question of this paper concerns the dynamics of farmers’ participation in the OG, focusing specifically on how their knowledges shaped the operation of the OG and bioeconomy activities within it. This paper presents a social network graph illustrating the diverse actors involved in the OG, their relative degrees of connectedness to each other, and an overview of the differing levels of actors’ influence in the network. Interrogating the roles of different actors further, a lens of power theory is used to explore how farmers’ knowledges were used in combination with others’ knowledges to shape the development of the OG and innovation within it. The overall conclusion from an analysis of interviews conducted with farmer and non-farmer participants in the
OG is that while farmers were highly connected with other members of the OG and viewed their involvement in the OG positively, the level of influence they had in decision-making processes in some areas of the OG was relatively limited. Different types of members of the OG tended to work in a relatively segmented way, with farmers contributing as input suppliers and on the practical side at the farm level, while other members of the OG such as scientists worked on more technical aspects. This paper concludes by providing conclusions and lessons of relevance to innovation-brokers and practitioners, and for the operation of OGs involving farmers elsewhere.
Full article
►▼
Show Figures
Open AccessArticle
Ecosystems of Collaboration for Sustainability-Oriented Innovation: The Importance of Values in the Agri-Food Value-Chain
by
José A. Gutiérrez and Áine Macken-Walsh
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1692
Abstract
There is growing recognition that sustainable innovation is not necessarily about new technologies, but about new or adapted organisational models, behaviours, and networks. How people engage in or with innovation is driven by values, but values differ across actor categories in agri-food value-chains.
[...] Read more.
There is growing recognition that sustainable innovation is not necessarily about new technologies, but about new or adapted organisational models, behaviours, and networks. How people engage in or with innovation is driven by values, but values differ across actor categories in agri-food value-chains. Understanding actors’ values helps us to identify potential for collaborative innovation within agri-food value-chains, and to address potential barriers and obstacles. In the context of the Ploutos H2020 project, we conducted participatory focus group (FG) sessions at the EU level involving actors across the value-chain to brainstorm values, enablers, and hindrances in the process of sustainability-oriented innovation. Participants co-created stories showing scenarios within sustainability-oriented innovation where conflicts could occur between values and others where mutual values were created by multi-actor alliances. Based on a qualitative description of the data collected in these FGs, we identify a range of cultural and social values in decision-making and innovation processes, creating dilemmas and trade-offs, but also opportunities for sustainability-oriented innovation. A strong ecosystem of collaboration across the value-chain, based on relationships of shared interests and trust, is fundamental to innovation. We provide detailed insights regarding the use of participatory approaches to working with innovation actors to increase awareness of diversity in value systems and how it can be negotiated. Our findings are of particular interest to practice oriented scholars, practitioners, and innovation brokers working on the ground to further SOI.
Full article
►▼
Show Figures
Open AccessArticle
What Do the Public Want to Know about Farming and Why? Findings from a Farmer-Initiated Public Consultation Exercise in Ireland
by
Áine Regan and Ursula Kenny
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2230
Abstract
With advances in information communication technologies and sustainability-driven changes in consumer behavior, farmer–citizen communication is a communicative dyad that is receiving attention. Farmers and citizens view farming practices through very different lenses of prior knowledge, experiences, beliefs, and values, presenting unique communication challenges.
[...] Read more.
With advances in information communication technologies and sustainability-driven changes in consumer behavior, farmer–citizen communication is a communicative dyad that is receiving attention. Farmers and citizens view farming practices through very different lenses of prior knowledge, experiences, beliefs, and values, presenting unique communication challenges. Dialogue-based communication can help to build empathy and trust. Initiated by a committee of farmers, a public consultation exercise was carried out to facilitate citizens to deliberate over farming and farming practices in Ireland to better understand their views and perspectives, and identify information needs and knowledge gaps. Employing a participatory deliberative approach, 10 focus groups were carried out with members of the public (
n = 65) carefully selected to represent diverse demographics in the general population. Findings are structured around two central themes. ‘Bridging the disconnect’ reflects the strong support found across the focus groups for farmer-led dialogic communication with citizens on farming practices. ‘Understanding knowledge gaps’ revealed the nature and underlying motivations of public information needs and knowledge gaps in specific areas: (1) the basics of farming; (2) the life of the farmer; (3) minding animals; (4) minding the environment; and (5) buying local and natural. Dialogue-based communication between farmers and citizens offers opportunities for supporting connected and sustainable food and farming systems through value-driven and responsive behavior change.
Full article
Open AccessArticle
Creating a Rainbow for Sustainability: The Case of Sustainable Beef
by
Richard Lynch, Maeve Henchion, John J. Hyland and José A. Gutiérrez
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2112
Abstract
Sustainability is a complex, multi-dimensional issue that requires contributions from diverse disciplines, perspectives, and actors. Research and innovation are recognised as having the potential to help address some of the trade-offs and synergies associated with sustainability, and interactive innovation in particular offers many
[...] Read more.
Sustainability is a complex, multi-dimensional issue that requires contributions from diverse disciplines, perspectives, and actors. Research and innovation are recognised as having the potential to help address some of the trade-offs and synergies associated with sustainability, and interactive innovation in particular offers many advantages. The beef sector has faced significant sustainability challenges in recent times, with criticisms relating to greenhouse gas (GHG) production, biodiversity, water quality, human health, and animal welfare, along with economic challenges to the viability of the sector. Furthermore, the low level of adoption of solutions proposed by research to address these challenges indicates the need for a pan-European multi-actor network to produce actionable and usable information to support European beef farmers. Drawing on practice-based research, the purpose of this exploratory paper was to examine how interactive innovation can be supported in a sector that, to date, has been the focus of limited interactive innovation efforts. It concluded that a “rainbow” of actors and diverse knowledges, along with different types of innovation intermediaries, can enhance the sustainability of the beef sector.
Full article
►▼
Show Figures
Open AccessArticle
Multi-Actor Social Networks: A Social Practice Approach to Understanding Food Hubs
by
John J. Hyland and Áine Macken-Walsh
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3274
Abstract
Food hubs are collaborative entities that strategically manage the assemblage, delivery, and promotion of food from a range of local food producers. They are essentially multi-actor institutions, involving horizontal collaboration between producers and vertical collaborations up and down the food chain, involving all
[...] Read more.
Food hubs are collaborative entities that strategically manage the assemblage, delivery, and promotion of food from a range of local food producers. They are essentially multi-actor institutions, involving horizontal collaboration between producers and vertical collaborations up and down the food chain, involving all actors required to bring food products from producers to consumers. Although food hubs offer many advantages to both producers and consumers, they remain a recognisably neglected research topic in Europe. Furthermore, the strategic networks of actors involved in these collaborative entities is often overlooked. Empirically, this study draws from a collection of ‘good practices’ gathered for the Short Supply Chain Knowledge and Innovation Network (SKIN) EU-funded H2020 project. Drawing on a social practice approach and network diagrams, this article explores the good practices of three food hub typologies. This study primarily investigates the context in which food hubs practice multi-actor food provision. We apply social practice as a lens to ’zoom in’ and explore the shared materials, meanings and skills that aid such systems of provision. Social network diagrams are utilised to ‘zoom out’ to examine and facilitate the detection of key actors involved in food hubs’ strategic networks. This research addresses the lack of academic attention on European food hubs by placing practice as the central unit of focus. Our approach enables better comprehension of what constitutes a short food supply chain (SFSC) when orchestrated within three main typologies of food hubs. The findings are of interest to researchers, policy makers, agricultural development intermediaries, and actors involved in systems of food provision who are interested in understanding and supporting the functioning of SFSCs.
Full article
►▼
Show Figures
Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle
Competencies for Agricultural Advisors in Innovation Support
by
Charlotte Lybaert, Lies Debruyne, Eva Kyndt and Fleur Marchand
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3680
Abstract
The expectation that agricultural advisors will facilitate Interactive Innovation is accompanied by novel expectations for their competency profile. In addition to their traditional technical basis, advisors are now expected to organise multi-actor processes, facilitate learning, mediate conflict, etc. Innovation support services are inherently
[...] Read more.
The expectation that agricultural advisors will facilitate Interactive Innovation is accompanied by novel expectations for their competency profile. In addition to their traditional technical basis, advisors are now expected to organise multi-actor processes, facilitate learning, mediate conflict, etc. Innovation support services are inherently diverse. To date, no precise list of competencies required by agricultural advisors to support Interactive Innovation has been defined. To form the basis for a competency profile, we examine the competencies currently being expected from an agricultural advisor. This suggested profile, developed in the context of the H2020 i2connect project, is based on a literature review, semi-structured interviews with co-creation experts, and an online validation workshop. We explore five themes: (a) basic disposition and attitude, (b) content competence, (c) methodological competence, (d) organisational competence, and (e) reflection, learning, and personal development. In practice, the profile can be used as either a tool for setting up co-creation processes or as the foundation for the development of new training materials. We conclude with a recommendation to create teams of advisors rather than relying on individuals, as a team is more likely to comprise the diversity of required competencies.
Full article
►▼
Show Figures
