ClimateSmartAdvisors - Connecting and mobilizing the EU agricultural advisory community to support the transition to Climate Smart Farming
ClimateSmartAdvisors focuses on the crucial role of advisory services in developing and disseminating climate-smart innovations and practices. By strengthening climate knowledge among European agricultural advisors, the project will accelerate the uptake of climate-smart agriculture at practical level and in multidisciplinary agricultural networks in 27 European countries.
Communities of Practice to build expertise
Project activities will focus on building the capacity of agricultural experts and advisory service providers to adopt climate-smart advice and strengthen their role in the transition to climate-smart farming. The project will establish 260 Community of Practices (CoPs) to promote peer learning, knowledge exchange and interaction on climate-smart agricultural practices and methods at national and European level.
These CoPs will form the core of a climate-smart knowledge exchange that will grow over the course of the project to support the development of at least 1500 European advisors as climate-smart agriculture advisors. Of these, 140 will be trained as Climate Smart Coaches, who can further support their peers in building their capacity as Climate Smart Agriculture experts. The project will provide them with both training and channels for information exchange. Their access to innovation projects, CS-AKIS* and EU projects and initiatives will be enhanced, and they will be provided with tools, practices and approaches for climate-smart agriculture, which will be developed in cooperation with the sister project ClimateFarmDemo.
International climate expertise
By 2030 the project has brought together an experienced network of agricultural experts, consisting of 140 climate-smart agricultural coaches and 1360 advisors with expertise in collaborative development and innovation work, as well as international cooperation opportunities.
In Finland, as the project progresses, at least 25 climate-smart agriculture advisors will be trained, and at least four of whom will also acquire the skills to act as coaches. The training and the implementation of the communities of practice will take place in four waves during the project, each wave lasting for two years.
The trainers will include experts from 12 thematic areas on climate change adaptation and mitigation from across Europe. The experts will share their expertise with national and international CoMs in their respective areas of competence and work together to strengthen knowledge exchange and update the latest knowledge.
12 thematic areas for climate change adaptation and mitigation actions
Learn more: https://climatesmartadvisors.eu
You can see the project partners and budget on the EU's Cordis service.
The project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant decision number 101084179.
*CS-AKIS (Climate Smart - Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation systems)
Community of Practice groups (CoP) in Finland
Community of Practice groups (CoP) bring together experts interested in climate action to learn, share experiences, and develop their expertise together. These groups form an inspiring and committed learning community that focuses on a climate-related theme chosen by the group to support their advisory work. Each group is supported by a trained climate coach who helps create a safe and motivating learning environment and guides the group’s activities toward shared goals.
The groups develop a two-year plan outlining the main learning themes, working methods, and necessary training. The plan is evaluated and updated along the way to ensure it genuinely meets the group’s needs. Another goal is to identify and draw on expertise from outside the group. The groups will meet at least eight times over the course of two years—and will also develop ways to stay connected between meetings. Four CoP groups will be launched in Finland during the project. See below for more information on the groups that have already been established.
Watch a video from our Community of Practice "Healthy soil supports climate smart farming practices"
