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Living Lab: Improving the advisory service by bringing the innovation closer to farmers

Navarra, Spain

The Spanish Living Lab aimed to involve advisors and farmers in the co-design of an improved regional advisory service that brings innovation closer to farmers.

AgriLink Living Lab Spain

Context, theme and target group

INTIA is a public advisory service that plays a key role providing support to farmers in the region of Navarra in Spain.  The advisory service is based on the information gained from its own research and development activities, the technical and economic data of the farms it advises and other sources of information from literature or connections with other organisations.
INTIA works in a context in which farmers are constantly trying to adapt to new laws, changes in consumers’ demand and new challenges and needs regarding profitability and sustainability.  Traditionally researchers and other experts have worked to develop tools and solutions to help farmers, and the new knowledge generated has been transferred to farmers by advisors.
However, in order to make a more efficient advisory service it is necessary to involve all the actors in experimentation and the development of solutions, transfer of knowledge, enhancement of peer-to-peer learning and demonstration of practical use in the field.
The theme of the Living Lab was therefore the exploration of new ways to connect researchers (and other experts), advisors and farmers in order build a more efficient advisory service improving the practical decision-making processes of farmers in the field.
The Living Lab worked with two main groups: 1) advisors (to identify their needs and better design the advisory service they offer), and; 2) farmers (the end-users of the service).  The farmers were members of three different cooperatives with different needs, different crops and in different areas of the region.  The aim of this was to test the Living Lab methodology in different situations.

Partner and contact person

Institute for Agrifood Technology and Infrastructures of Navarra (INTIA)

Noelia Telletxea, ntelletxea@intiasa.es

INTIA has a long experience providing different services to farmers in Navarra. This Living lab was a good opportunity to work together with farmers and advisors on the identification of new needs and challenges of the advisory service.

https://www.intiasa.es/

The Living Lab story

The Living Lab was started in 2018.  The initial idea was to test the methodology on the development of a specific Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tool, but after a diagnosis phase involving discussions with INTIA advisors and other stakeholders it decided that the Living Lab could be broadened to cover more areas of INTIA’s advisory service on IPM.
A meeting was first organised with the advisory team of INTIA.  Different issues regarding the IPM advisory service were discussed and various ideas were proposed and prioritised.  Three contrasting cooperatives were then chosen as “pilots” to assess whether the Living Lab methodology could be replicated more widely in the region.
Meetings were organised with each of the three cooperatives to define the scope of the Living Lab more precisely for each of them.  During 2019, some of the proposals made by technicians and farmers in these cooperatives were tested.
In one cooperative the aim was to develop farmers’ micro-networks that together with advisors could be used to promote peer-to-peer learning and bring the innovations in IPM closer to the cooperative.  In the other two cooperatives the aim was to integrate the use of innovative IPM tools and technologies by advisors and farmers directly into the field.  
Overall, the Living Lab approach was a positive experience with potential for replication, not only in other cooperatives but also in other areas of INTIA’s work.

Lessons learned

A methodology for co-creation of new services
The Living Lab methodology offers an interesting approach for developing new innovation support services.  It fosters the active participation of farmers, collaboration among different entities and peer to peer transfer of solutions.  All of which enrich the results of the co-creation process and guarantee the continued interest of participants, although it is clearly necessary to ensure that the subject is interesting for farmers from the outset (bottom-up).  
Attitudes
The attitude of participants can have great influence on the outcome.  They can guarantee the continuity of the experience or they can block progress. It may be necessary to find ways to motivate participants at times during the process.
Context
The Living Lab methodology works differently in different situations.  It is easier to organise activities and to run a Living Lab where there is already a functional structure such as a group of farmers who are used to meeting, talking, and exchanging ideas etc.
Clear scope and boundaries
It is necessary to define clear scope for the Living Lab.  New ideas or proposals that were not planned at the beginning of the Living Lab may emerge.  Although these can be interesting, it may be necessary to maintain clearly defined boundaries in order to avoid deviation from the original objectives of the Lab.

More info about Spanish Living Lab (in English)

Practice Abstract 6 – Living Lab INTIA: Improving the advisory service on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) (INTIA)

Articles about Spain Living Lab (in Spanish):

Video  presentation of the Spanish Living Lab: https://www.agrilink2020.eu/news-video-presentation-of-the-spanish-living-lab/