Research Session 3: Case studies in Living Lab application domains

The 4th ENoLL Living Lab Summer School 27th-30 August 2013

Manchester School of Arts

Defining a strategy to attract stakeholders into an open innovation eco-system for precision agriculture in the region of Vojvodina

(Serbia)

Grigorios Chatzikostas[1] and Spyros Fountas[2]

[1]BioSense Center, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia chatzikostas@biosense.rs[2] Agricultural University of Athens, Greece

Overview

The Problem: Precision agriculture adoption rates comparatively (very) low in Europe, particularly SEE

The Opportunity: Vojvodina (Serbia) demonstrates a strong value chain in agriculture and advanced ICT sector

The Challenge: Employing open innovation to engage users and raise the rates of PA adoption in the region

Precision Agriculture (PA)

A farming management concept based on observing, measuring and responding to inter and intra-field variability in crops through the use of advanced ICTs, with significant economic, environmental and other benefits.

Adoption Rates

USA

20%-80%

Europe

0%-24%

(Winstead et al 2009) (Lawson et al, 2011; Reichardt and Jurgens, 2008)

PA: Is it about technology or about users?

Current approach is technology-push rather than user driven.

Focus on creation of devices, limited learning and knowledge development among users, thus low adoption rates.

This is where the Open Innovation approach becomes essential, in stimulating a mindset change across the entire value chain.

Agriculture in Vojvodina: Facts and Figures

Chernozem, also known as “black earth” a black-coloured soil containing a high

percentage of humus, phosphoric acids, phosphorous and ammonia

very fertile, produces high agricultural yieldcovers 52% of the agricultural land in Vojvodina

Vojvodina accounts for 35% of the total agricultural land in Serbia and the agricultural sector provides 40% of the total industrial production of the region.

+: A dynamic and extrovert ICT sector with strong established

companies and lots of start ups

Challenges for a newly established LL focused on PA in Vojvodina

LL methodology mostly developed for software/ digital services domain.

Farmers are among most vulnerable groups with respect to digital divide.

We need to:Map our stakeholders

(Foray, 2009)Adapt the methodologyAttract a significant

volume of users

Stakeholders Mapping (1/3):Excited Goblins

Features: Stakeholders eager to innovate and engage in co-design activities, even without external stimuli, essential for the inception phase of the LL.

Strong Points: Early adopters, able to attract others, already familiar with concept of innovation.

Weak Points: Very likely to dominate the LL and attract all resources at later stages of deployment.

Vojvodina Case: Research Community, Vojvodina ICT Cluster, One individual farming company with strong export orientation and technological infrastructure

Stakeholders Mapping (2/3):Sleeping Giants

Features: Stakeholders that have a great potential and a great impact in the innovation process but require a specific strategy to be engaged in an open innovation assignment.

Strong Points: Huge benefits from getting involved into the process, able to provide insights and validate technologies.

Weak Points: Difficult to approach individually, low level of familiarization with innovation processes.

Vojvodina Case: Regional Government of Vojvodina, Individual farmers

Features: Stakeholders that would not enter early stages of innovation but would rather wait until the innovation process becomes financially lucrative.

Strong Points: Able to contribute in the long-term sustainability of a LL and the commercialization of its results.

Weak Points: Unwilling to participate at early stages, interested only in short term financial benefits.

Vojvodina Case: Collective bodies of farmers (i.e. associations), Agricultural equipment vendors.

Stakeholders Mapping (3/3):Hungry Dwarves

Our Strategy

Phase

Establishment

Initial Deployment

Maturity/ Sustainability

Stakeholders

Excited Goblins

Sleeping Giants

Hungry Dwarves

In Practice

Hosting Organization

Individual Farmers

LL Partners

Shamans (spiritual healers) of indigenous tribes always gave the most difficult tasks to the young shamans because these young spirits didn't yet believe that these tasks were "impossible."

Thank you for your kind attention

Grigoris Chatzikostas

BioSense Center, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad

chatzikostas@biosense.rs  http://www.biosense.uns.ac.rs/