Title: Digitisation: Economic and Social Impacts on Rural Areas
Funding source: EU H2020 Project, Grant agreement No. 818194.
Total funding: EUR 4 991 503.45
Funding for BSC: EUR 113 743.75
Implementation period: 01.06.2019.-31.05.2023.
Coordinator: University of Pisa (Italy)
Latvian partners: Baltic Studies Centre, Union "Farmers' Parliament" (Zemnieku Saeima)
Aim: DESIRA aimed to improve the capacity of society and political bodies to respond to the challenges that digitisation generates in rural areas, agriculture and forestry, and to provide a comprehensive assessment of both opportunities and threats.
The project brought together 25 organisations from across sectors and disciplines including research institutes, NGOs, and SMEs. This consortium met on Wednesday 4 September in Pisa for two and a half days to kick off the project.
To achieve its goal, DESIRA built a knowledge and methodological base that makes it easier to assess the past, current and future socio-economic impacts of ICT-related innovation. It sought to embed Responsible Research and Innovation into researchers’, developers’ and users’ practices and policies, and looked to offer mechanisms and tools that would support decision-making on challenges and opportunities related to digitisation.
These and other goals were carried out by:
- Mobilising a network of Rural businesses and services, Public Authorities, Citizen groups, Digital technology operators, Farmers, Media and Academics which will be organised together in 20 Living Labs and one EU-level Rural Digitisation Forum (RDF);
- Building a Conceptual and Analytical Framework and a Taxonomy and Inventory of Digital Game Changers based upon the concept of a Socio-Cyber-Physical System;
- Drafting a participatory indicator-based method for impact assessment of past, current and future digitisation trends, according to the principles of Responsible Research and Innovation and aligned with the Sustainable Development;
- Developing 80 digitisation scenarios and communicating them through digital storytelling;
- Producing 5 Use Cases, and Showcase technologies including a virtual reality Virtual Farm Platform for ICT-based solutions to emerging rural/agricultural/forestry problems;
- Producing a Policy Analysis, a Roadmap and an Ethical Code;
- Using a Virtual Research Environment to boost the potential of participatory research.
Project webpage: https://desira2020.agr.unipi.it/
CORDIS project overview: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/818194
Deliverables:
T4.2 - National Policy Framework Analysis (Latvia)
Expert recommendations:
Brunori, G., Nieto, E., Casares, B., Debruyne, L., Tisenkopfs, T., Brunori, A., (2021). DESIRA H2020, Briefing: Experts' recommendations to boost sustainable digitalisation of agriculture, forestry and rural areas by 2040.
Policy briefs:
Beef farmers and digital marketing
Academic publications:
Grivins, M., Kilis, E. 2023. Engaging with barriers hampering uptake of digital tools. Italian Review of Agricultural Economics, 78(2): 29–38. https://doi.org/10.36253/rea-14304
Other materials produced with the involvement of the BSC team members:
Tisenkopfs, T., Grivins, M., Knickel, M., Sumane, S., Brunori, G., Casares, B., & Nieto, E. (2021). Key Digital Game Changers Shaping the Future of Rural Areas in 2040. Views from DESIRA's Rural Digitalisation Forum Experts. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6573601
Materials on the Latvian Living lab: https://desira2020.agr.unipi.it/digital-marketing-strategy-latvia/
National policy analysis: https://desira2020.agr.unipi.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WP4.-National-Policy-Framework-Analysis_Latvia.pdf