Multi-actor perspectives in extension, education and system-wide innovations

Abstract

Systemic, multi-actor, user-centric approaches are increasingly used and promoted by innovation policies to meet complex societal challenges that, often, require socio-technical systems transitions or transformations, and for which there are no ‘one size fits all’ innovations (Ingram et al. 2020; Fieldsend et al. 2021). Integration of different knowledge and perspectives is crucial to catalyse transformative forms of innovation, able to promote more sustainable and resilient development pathways aimed at addressing problems, opportunities and challenges. (Beers, Sol, and Wals 2010; Moschitz et al. 2015). Multi-actor approaches involve a diversity of actors, including end users of innovation, who engage in iterative learning for change processes (Ingram et al. 2020). These processes demand, in many cases, co-production of knowledge and contact with a range of actors in numerous settings and networks at different scale levels (Leeuwis and Arts 2011). Indeed, transformative changes occur when local bottom-up initiatives are aligned with changes in innovation systems at multiple spatial or institutional scales (Moore, Riddell, and Vocisano 2015). Therefore, innovation can be described as a complex social learning process which develops through a progressive aggregation and mutual adjustment of roles and identities among actors of different systems (Arkesteijn, van Mierlo, and Leeuwis 2015; Klerkx, Aarts, and Leeuwis 2010; Douthwaite et al. 2017). Actors engaged in multi-actor approaches have different skills, languages, interests and goals, and there is need to create conditions to identify and discuss solutions and new ideas combining knowledge, perspectives and resources (Calliera et al. 2021). This requires capacities to effectively engage participants in productive interactions, and methods and tools that foster interaction, complementarity, trust, and appropriation of co-produced results by the involved actors. The implementation of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) for agricultural productivity and sustainability is fertile ground to gather experiences from multi-actor innovation processes, analyse the skills and capacities needed to strengthen links between farmers and researchers, identify approaches, methods, and tools to improve the effectiveness and impacts of innovation processes, and explore experiences, both in policy implementation and governance, to support an ‘enabling environments’ for innovation. These were some of the challenges given to participants who submitted papers to the 24th European Seminar on Extension and Education (ESEE) held in Acireale (Italy) in 2019. This issue of the Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension presents five papers which deal with multi-actor processes under different perspectives, drawing lessons for improving the engagement and interactivity between actors, changing the attitudes and competences of advisors and engaging actors in co-producing knowledge for agricultural innovation system transformation and evaluation. In the first paper, Dernat, Rigolot, Vollet, Cayre, and Dumont explore the integration of game-based support to promote joint participation of actors within a long-term process. They argue that the operationalisation of knowledge sharing in practice remains challenging