About

What is the project’s goal?

The project is on a mission to create a more sustainable future by highlighting the role of women in agriculture and rural areas. FLIARA will boost understanding of the needs and challenges facing women leading innovative environmental and rural development practices in EU farming and rural areas.

The Challenge

Women have long been overlooked and under-represented in the agriculture and rural sectors. Many women-led innovations and practices go unnoticed, which not only limits their potential impact but also perpetuates the idea that women have a smaller role to play in these fields. The challenge, therefore, is to increase visibility and recognition of women’s contributions and support them in becoming key players in shaping the future of agriculture and rural areas.

The Solution

FLIARA offers a unique and transdisciplinary approach that combines foresight and case study methods, network building, and policy benchmarking. Our approach enables us to identify innovative and sustainable solutions for farming and rural areas that meet the needs of today and tomorrow.

Our goal is to identify visions for sustainable farm and rural futures and the sustainability innovations needed to realise these visions. We believe that women-led innovation is a key factor in achieving this goal, and we strive to empower women to lead the way.

To achieve our goal, we are building a Community of Practice that brings together women identified throughout the case studies and key innovation policy and governance stakeholders. We believe that building on the power of social networks will allow us to create a supportive and collaborative environment that encourages innovation and sustainability.

We will also launch a Campaign of Visibility for women-led rural innovations to spotlight women as key innovation actors. By sharing their stories and highlighting their achievements, we hope to inspire and empower other women to lead innovative practices in farming and rural areas.

Overall, our project outcomes will result in end-user ready resources, including policy proposals and practical tools supporting women-led innovation, ultimately paving the way for a more sustainable future.

Sustainability
dimensions

EU Women in Agriculture and Rural Areas

Work Packages

WP1

Contextual and Conceptual Assessment and Frameworks

WP1 develops a conceptual framework to underpin the project. A comprehensive literature, using a transdisciplinary approach will be developed and used extensively in respective WPs, along with an initial assessment guidelines for WP3.

WP2

Foresight and Trend Analysis

WP2 uses a novel Foresight Trend and Analysis methodology to envision future sustainability trends in farming and rural areas and the role women will play in these future trends.

WP3

Women-Led Innovations in Farming and Rural Areas

WP3 uses a case study approach to identify 200 women-led innovations in farming and rural areas. The innovations will follow a thematic approach focusing on the four dimensions of sustainability (environment, economic, social and cultural). The thematic case studies provide an opportunity to identify women’s pathways to innovation success as well as detecting issues encountered.

WP4

FLIARA Community of Practice Network

WP4 establishes a Community of Practice Network, which acts as an EU-wide interchange platform for multi-actor exchanges, with innovative rural and farming women playing a central role as Innovation Ambassadors. The Community of Practice Network provides the FLIARA Toolkit as an additional element of this practical user-centre interactive initiative.

WP5

Policy Design and Assessment

WP5 utilises the knowledge and learnings of previous WPs, while carrying out a participatory scenario development approach to ascertain more effective policy and governance frameworks, leading to enhancing women-led innovations in farming and rural areas.

WP6

Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation

WP6 employs key communication, dissemination and exploitation initiatives to invigorate an overall Campaign of Visibility for women-leading innovations in farming and rural areas within a sustainability context. The visibility campaign will foster and promote the empowerment of rural and farming women, allowing them to become more embedded in current innovative ecosystems.

WP7