Digital Agronomy – stakeholder workshop
On October 9th, the CHAP Innovation team organised a workshop in Leeds to explore the potential benefits of developing digital agronomy services and tools.
On October 9th, the CHAP Innovation team organised a workshop in Leeds to explore the potential benefits of developing digital agronomy services and tools.
The event, attended by 18 delegates representing a broad range of perspectives from the agriculture sector, aimed to find solutions to current market failures and create a compelling value proposition for growers, as well as drive the sustainability of UK agriculture.
The Innovation team is currently developing the concept using the business case methodology recommended by HM Treasury – the Five Case Model – as a structure for its thinking. The aims of this first workshop were to explore the strategic context and possible solutions
After welcoming the delegates, Innovation director, Dr Ruth Bastow, gave a brief overview of the context and issues faced by the sector; before the Five Case Model methodology was introduced. Delegates were asked to comment on the presented articulation of the problem and opportunity during a facilitated discussion, in order to challenge and test any assumptions being made. This interactive workshop continued with several facilitated sessions, giving delegates plenty of opportunities to share their views and ideas, enabling the team to gain a better understanding of the needs and priorities of different players across the sector.
The CHAP Innovation team will use the outcome of this first stakeholders’ engagement workshop to develop its thinking further and draft a list of options. A follow-up session will take place in November 2019 to focus on a short-list of possible solutions with the aim of identifying those that will deliver the real, sustainable, transformation required in the industry.