Transcript Richard Howell - Irish Department for Agriculture

EEB Conference, Croke Park – 10th April 2013
Innovation Session
Richard Howell, Senior Inspector
Research Division,
Dept. of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Outline of Presentation
• Context & Background
• Supports for innovation in the agri-food and
wider bio-economy sectors in Ireland
• EIP: Agricultural Productivity & Sustainability
What is Innovation?
– new, improved or successfully applied products, processes or
services, for instance products with adapted quality, new
production methods, opening to new markets and new forms of
organization
– innovation is more than dissemination of research: it occurs as a
result of the creativity and interplay between actors for
combining new and/or existing (tacit) knowledge
– In the end, it is only when a new creation really becomes more
or less mainstream that it is called an “innovation”.
In short: ideas put into practice with success
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Developments at National Level
Commitment to R, D & I;
Exploiting key areas in the bioeconomy;
Investing in skills & infrastructure;
Supporting start-up companies;
Building competitive advantage;
Developing a Green Economy Strategy
Sustainable food production & processing;
Food for Health
Marine Renewable Energy
Processing Technologies & Novel Materials
Manufacturing Competitiveness
Irish Activity in context of Bioeconomy
Launched in
November 2012Commitment
within to develop
Bioeconomy
Strategy
Economic Growth –
Food Harvest 2020
The Innovation Support Landscape
DAFM Competitive Research Programmes
FIRM
•Primary funding mechanism for institutional food research
•Create knowledge base in generic technologies to support a
consumer-focused industry
•Innovation, product development, safety
Stimulus
•Focus on modern animal / plant biosciences, agri- environment &
non-food land use, agri-economics & finance.
•Support sustainably competitive agric. practices & policies
CoFoRD
•Support forest policy, sustainable forest management , use of forest
products and provision of public goods /ecosystem services.
All ‘public good’ in nature
Agri-Food
Industry
Strategic
Research Agendas
Outputs / Impacts of DAFM Funded Research
Academic
• Publications
• PhDs; MSc; Contract Researchers, Postdoctoral scientists,
• Conferences
• Centre of Excellence
Commercial
• New technology, product, or process
• Invention disclosure/Patent/Licences/Spinouts –work with EI
• Trained graduates for Industry / State Agencies e.g. AFFGDP
• Sound basis for Extension to inform farming practice
• Consultancy / Contract research / Workshops
Other
• Leverage funding from other sources e.g. FP
• Inter-Institute collaboration lead to specialised units able to
participate in Industry-led research & SFI / EI Centres (e.g.
APC, FHI) & in EU/global initiatives (JPI’s, GRA, etc.)
• Contribute to Evidence-based policy development
Nutramara: marine
functional foods research
Feasibility study
Mapping of marine resources, IP
Audit, Consumer attitudes and
market analysis, Regulatory
affairs, Literature Searches,
Identification of knowledge gaps
Toxicity & Dietary
intervention
Sourcing &
Processing of
raw materials
Algae, Products/Byproducts of processing,
Aquaculture
VISION: To create an
internationally recognised
capability for the discovery
and validation of marine
based bioactive components
and for the sustainable
exploitation of their use in
functional foods
Scale-up & delivery
Pilot scale isolation & extraction, Formulation
Stabilisation
Bioavailability
Production of model foods
Shelf life studies
Sensory assessment
Bio-active discovery
& generation
Extraction, Characterisation
Purification, Mining (Chemical
and enzymatic hydrolysis) ,
Algal production optimisation
Bio-active
screening &
validation
Model systems, Gene
expression, Cell Cultures
Animal models
Mission
To support science-based innovation
in the Agri-food sector and the
wider bio-economy that will
underpin profitability,
competitiveness and sustainability.
> 40,000 farmer clients
> 1,800 FTEs in full time education
and 500 FTE in continuing education
Dedicated Food Industry Development
Department and pilot plants
EI Support for Innovation/R&D
Helping companies of all sizes to engage in Research and Innovation
Innovation Vouchers - €5,000 for small companies to get innovative
solutions to technical and business challenges
The R&D Fund – grants for inhouse R&D projects, small and large, and
collaboration bonuses for company-to-company collaboration
Innovation Partnerships – up to €250,000 available for collaborative
projects between companies and research teams in Higher Education
Applied Research Enhancement Centres – collaborate in clusters of
companies and access equipment and technology
Technology Centres – industry-led research in emerging
technology sectors
EU, FP7 and ESA – access funding and research partners
across Europe
What is FHI ?
 Partnership between:
 Public Research Organizations
 Irish food industry
 Funded by
 Enterprise Ireland and Industry
partners
 Total budget € 22,5 mio
 Industry-led research agenda:
 Infant nutrition, metabolic health,
infection/immunity and healthy
ageing
 Stipulated dairy based
 Strong market position of industry
partners
One centre
aimed at
developing,
manufacturing,
marketing and
selling functional
food products to
improve
people’s health
and wellness
Opportunities in Ireland
Ireland’s Excellent Biorefining Potential results
from highest growth rates of agricultural biomass
per hectare of any EU country
Irish Technology Centre For Biorefining &
Bioenergy
Membership – Industry led programme
comprised of Industry Members, Research
Members and Public Service
Bodies/Agencies
Objective - Leverage skills, resources and cooperation of Industry members, Academic
institutions and Government Agencies working
together to deliver economic benefits from
respective themes
SCAR &
AGRI EIP
SCAR- Standing Committee on Agricultural Research
• Advises COM & MS on coordination of research across the
ERA relating to the Bioeconomy including forestry and
marine. Works through Plenary + SCAR WG + dedicated
Collaborative WG’s.
• CWG on Agr. Knowledge & Innovation Systems (AKIS):
– Science driven (H2020) V Innovation driven (CAP)
research
– Innovation is bottom-up, social process needing
interaction of many partners (not just research,
advisors, education, etc
– Primarily up to business but also warrants Govt
investment - Spill-overs & mitigate problems
EIP - General Principles
The EIP will provide challenge-driven solutions based on:
– interlinking innovation-related measures and initiatives to
achieve synergies and enhance effectiveness
– facilitating communication among stakeholders and creating
workable links between science and practice
– providing EU value added through networking and enhancing
complementarity
– using a lean governance structure, based on existing
mechanisms
Closing The Innovation Gap
Research
Interaction
Advisors
Farming Practice
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The interactive innovation model
• The innovation model under the agricultural EIP goes far beyond
speeding up transfer from laboratory to practice through diffusion
of new scientific knowledge ("linear innovation model").
• The EIP adheres to the "interactive innovation model" which
focuses on forming partnerships - using bottom-up approaches and
linking farmers, advisors, researchers, businesses, and other actors
in Operational Groups.
• This knowledge “exchange” will generate new insights and ideas
and mould existing tacit knowledge into focused solutions. Such an
approach will stimulate innovation from all sides and will help to
target the research agenda.
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Means to support operational groups (OGs)
1. Rural Development Programmes:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Cooperation (establishing operational groups)
Knowledge transfer, including demonstration projects
Advisory services, including training of advisors
Investment in physical assets
Business development
Quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
2. European Union Research Policy (Horizon 2020)
– Applied research enhancing the knowledge base
– Clusters of applied innovation actions and multi-actor projects
– Support innovation brokers and innovation centres
– On farm experimentation
Functions of EIP Network Facility
– Interlinking innovation-related actions of Rural Development Policy
and the EU Research and Innovation Framework
– Collection of relevant information (data bases, project lists, etc.)
– Ensuring an effective flow of information and providing advice on
opportunities provided by EU policies (helpdesk function)
– Exchange on innovation topics, best practice, and accompanying
research (focus groups, seminars, workshops, field days)
– Systematic feedback to scientific community on practice needs
– Exchange with Technology Platforms (ETPs), Research Area
Networks (ERA-NETs), Joint Programming Initiatives, etc.
– Interface with SCAR)
Innovation Themes
• Primary production: technical solutions to increasing productivity
and economic viability
• Resource management: ecosystem services, soil functionality, water
management, and genetic resources (“public goods”)
• Bioeconomy: innovative technology for the bio-based economy
recycling; new products; reduction of post harvest loss
• Supply chain: integrated supply chain solutions; new services;
logistics, and management systems
• Quality and consumers: food quality, food safety, and healthy
lifestyles (consumer information and consumer choice)
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Research & Innovation
Framework:
Steering Board (SIP & Sherpas)
European Innovation Partnership
‚Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability ‘
Rural
Development
Network
Steering Group
EIP
Network
•
•
•
•
•
Standing
Committee
on Agricultural
Research
(SCAR)
Rural
Development
Committee
ETPs, ERANets, JPIs,
etc.
Rural Development
Policy:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Knowledge transfer
Cooperation
Pilot projects
Demonstration
Advisory services
Investment
Research projects
Multi-actor projects
Pilot project clusters
Innovation brokers
On-farm experiments
Operational
Groups
Member
States
Programmes
Operational
Groups
Operational
Groups
Horizon 2020
Programme
Committee
Operational
Groups
Operational
Groups
Farmers . Advisers . Enterprises . Scientists. NGOs