Stakeholder Engagement Support for OSCIA’s Living Lab Proposal

Client: Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA)

We were pleased to provide the Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) with engagement support in the development of its Living Labs proposal. This proposal contained a full project submission for a five-year Living Lab project in Ontario.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) administers the Living Laboratories Initiative, which is an innovative agricultural approach that aims to help Canadian farmers adopt and implement sustainable practices and technologies.

We supported OSCIA by:

• Facilitating 5 Project Consortium meetings and 4 subcommittee meetings with researchers, and representatives of farm groups and commodity organizations

• Preparing meeting minutes with action items and recommendations

• Planning and facilitating 3 focus groups with a total of 23 farmers and industry advisors (e.g., Certified Crop Advisors and Professional Agrologists)

• Developing a survey to identify priority beneficial management practices (BMPs) and research questions; analyzed responses from 165 farmers and industry advisors

• Developing the governance framework for the proposed Living Lab

• Preparing a What we Heard Report summarizing the key findings from the stakeholder engagement

Ultimately, our efforts helped the OSCIA gather invaluable insights into which BMPs farmers and their advisors are most interested in, and what research questions they would like researchers to explore. OSCIA used this information to develop a successful Living Lab proposal.  

Are you looking to build consensus and identify opportunities for collaboration with a diversity of industry players? Our team of professionals can assist you in creating a collaborative environment that welcomes participants to establish a shared vision and chart a new path forward!

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