VALERIE Objectives

VALERIE is a 7th Framework Programme project focusing on improving the flow of information between farmers, advisers and researchers to help drive innovation. It has pioneered a stakeholder-driven approach to identify farming issues and matched these to adviser knowledge and recent research outputs to help useful information arrive ‘on the ground’ more quickly and drive applied research that responds to farmers’ needs.

VALERIE’s key achievements include:

• Building a ‘virtual adviser’ tool (ask-Valerie.eu) to enable access to knowledge for innovation; and to support communication among practitioners and advisers
• Consulting stakeholders (farmers, foresters, advisers and supply chain partners) in ten case studies to identify knowledge gaps, assess technical and economic viability of innovative solutions and to reveal barriers to uptake
• Converting research outcomes with innovation potential into formats accessible for end users (farmers, advisers, and enterprises in the supply chain)

Symposium Aims

The aim of this final symposium is to:

• Demonstrate the ‘ask-Valerie’ tool
• Discuss the VALERIE project approach and outcomes in the context of European Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS)
• Discuss future issues associated with access to knowledge for innovatio