Enhancing innovation in agriculture at the policy level: The potential contribution of Technology Assessment

Vanclay, Frank; Russell, A. Wendy; Kimber, J

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.08.004

Cited by 29 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…It is often the case that the terms revolutionary or radical are used in the context of innovation, though it can equally apply to smaller more incremental changes (OECD, 2013) or mimicking (e.g., where a successful technology or approach from outside food production is transferred or applied in the agricultural industry or copied within the sector). As some refer to innovation as a complex social process (Vanclay et al, 2013), it is not surprising that there is considerable ambiguity in terms of defining innovation, which became obvious by considering the above mentioned innovation possibilities. In this article, we adopt the view that innovation is a broader set of complementary strategies (OECD, 2010) and measure innovation by three components : (i) innovation adoption, which are modes of innovation relating to farm Source: DAFM performance improvement, (ii) acquisition of knowledge, taking into account the importance of knowledge development for innovation Spielman and Birner, 2008), and (iii) continuous innovation, underlining the need for ongoing innovation (OECD, 2013;VanGalen, 2009).…”

Section: Agricultural Innovation and Spatial Influence Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What drives innovation in the agricultural sector? A spatial analysis of knowledge spillovers

et al. 2016

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Section: Agricultural Innovation and Spatial Influence Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What drives innovation in the agricultural sector? A spatial analysis of knowledge spillovers

et al. 2016

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“…Although these findings are directed at biosecurity uses for UAVs, they support the literature on technologies acceptance with the public, including the need for structures and practical approaches for technology assessments [52]. Vanclay et al [53] note that social concerns around agricultural technologies need to become part of the thinking for governments and primary industries sectors for endorsing and regulating technology development and use. However, tools for including these considerations during technology design processes have not yet been developed.…”

Section: Design Lessonsmentioning

confidence: 66%

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Biosecurity: Enabling Participatory-Design to Help Address Social Licence to Operate Issues

Ogilvie

McCarthy

Allen

et al. 2019

Forests

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Forest health can be adversely affected by invasive organisms. Biosecurity measures to prevent the establishment of harmful invasive organisms at national points of entry (e.g., airports or shipping ports) are vital to protect forest health. Innovations in pest eradication technologies are being developed based on their efficiencies and effectiveness. However, the question of whether people find them acceptable is rarely considered. In New Zealand, research is underway into the use of highly targeted pesticide spraying using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a novel technology to eradicate pest species that impact forest, food, and fibre sectors. Public approval for such technologies, however, can be a critical aspect for their success. A tool can be technically effective (achieve eradication), but uptake may be impossible if communities do not trust the technology. We developed a method for enabling discussions about the use of UAVs and their acceptability in general before being operationalized for biosecurity. This paper presents an investigation of how “participatory-design”, an often tactile, visual, and inclusive process of community engagement can improve the acceptance of technology use in the public sphere. We asked people, both scientists and citizens, to evaluate the acceptability of a range of UAV uses (including biosecurity) along a continuum and then explored the reasons for their placement. Key criteria for acceptable and unacceptable uses were subsequently developed to help technology designers and operators consider aspects of social acceptability during design processes. Our tool and approach facilitated discussions around technology acceptability that were subsequently adopted by our technical design team for the development and the use of acceptable UAVs for biosecurity. This research shows how systematic approaches to design can help uncover and mitigate social acceptability issues through inclusive design under increasing threats of biosecurity, whether related to challenges of trade or climate change.

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“…It is acknowledged that scientific knowledge is only one component of the innovation system and that there are wider systemic challenges to innovation, with social, institutional and political factors affecting both the conduct of agricultural science and the translation of research results into farming practices (Sewell et al, 2014;Hall et al, 2001). It is also recognsed that innovation can happen at different points along the value chain (Vanclay et al, 2013). These aspects are considered in the project, however there is insufficient space to fully report on them here.…”

Section: Constituent Translation Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconceptualising translation in agricultural innovation: A co-translation approach to bring research knowledge and practice closer together

et al. 2018

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Scientific research continues to play a significant role in meeting the multiple innovation challenges in agriculture. If this role is to be fulfilled, provision needs to be made for effective translation of research outputs, where translation is understood to be the process whereby science becomes part of useful knowledge for decision making. There is increasing interest in enhancing translation in the European agricultural innovation, research and policy context, and specifically in making it a more collaborative process. This new attention calls for a reorientation of how the concept is understood, theorised and operationalised. This paper considers these needs and specifically asks how can interactive innovation approaches be integrated with science-driven approaches to enhance translation; and how can this help to reveal the constituent translation processes? An interactive stakeholder methodology is described drawing on three agricultural case studies examined in the xx project which aims to make translation of existing bodies of scientific knowledge more effective. Analysis to date shows how this interactive methodology enables a communicative and reciprocal set of translation processes to evolve which comprise: identification, prioritisation, articulation, searching, retrieval, extraction and synthesis, and evaluation of innovation issues and solutions. These insights allow us to move beyond an understanding of translation as science-or innovationdriven to envisaging co-translation, where multiple processes interact in a fluid middle-ground, and where the actors involved develop the capacity to jointly analyse innovation issues and solutions. From the perspective of the EU's policy ambitions to stimulate collaborative translation, operationalising translation needs rethinking with respect to requirements for new mind-sets and skills, and in particular for committed and well-resourced intermediaries who can foster these multiactors approaches.

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Enhancing innovation in agriculture at the policy level: The potential contribution of Technology Assessment

Cited by 29 publications

References 70 publications

What drives innovation in the agricultural sector? A spatial analysis of knowledge spillovers

What drives innovation in the agricultural sector? A spatial analysis of knowledge spillovers

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Biosecurity: Enabling Participatory-Design to Help Address Social Licence to Operate Issues

Reconceptualising translation in agricultural innovation: A co-translation approach to bring research knowledge and practice closer together

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