Second pilot network meeting held in Ghent

The second pilot network meeting was successfully held 4-5 July 2022 in Ghent. The meeting involved the pilot network members and relevant stakeholders, who had the opportunity to get familiar with the activities of each living lab and research infrastructure.

In the first session, held on 4 July, priorities for involving future network stakeholders were discussed. Furthermore, members of the Pilot Network shared significant insights and raised challenges related to co-creation or stakeholder engagement during a learning roundtable.

On the second day, 5 July, the main findings of the previous interviews and meetings on the Network's needs, challenges and benefits were presented. For example, the lacking motivation of stakeholders, the differing needs and expectations of researchers and farmers and also the technical and time-related constraints were addressed. To overcome those challenges, a clear understanding of the benefits and added value of the network is needed.

In addition, other key topics such as the prototyping of the capacity building programme and the functionalities of the Virtual Lab were also discussed.

The Workshop ended with a magnificent living lab demonstration at ILVO's agro-ecological testing platform in Hansbeke.