Regional Implementation of Knowledge Management and Communications Strategy

Strengthening knowledge management and communication to showcase regional agri-food innovation

Context of the story

FONTAGRO identified a strategic opportunity to strengthen networking with its member institutions, partners, and sponsors, with the purpose of generating synergies that would expand the dissemination of the results of the projects it co-finances. Throughout this process, recurring challenges in knowledge sharing were recognized, along with the need to continuously strengthen the capacities of researchers, technical teams, and actors linked to the projects.

The initiative was developed in a context in which FONTAGRO sought to consolidate its institutional positioning and increase the visibility of its results, in alignment with its 2015–2020 Medium-Term Plan and, subsequently, its 2020–2025 Medium-Term Plan. To this end, more active communication was promoted through both traditional media and digital channels, including social media.

Knowledge Management to Connect, Showcase, and Multiply Results

The Implemented Initiative

The initiative aimed to contribute to increasing the visibility of FONTAGRO and the results of the projects it co-finances, while also consolidating knowledge management together with its member countries. Its approach combined capacity strengthening, content generation, information systematization, and strategic dissemination, so that the knowledge produced by the projects could reach key audiences more effectively.

This initiative made it possible to move toward a more organized management of institutional knowledge, helping ensure that technical results, lessons learned, and knowledge products derived from the projects did not remain dispersed, but could instead be transformed into useful inputs for researchers, institutions, and actors within the regional agri-food ecosystem.

Digitalizing Information to Improve Access, Dissemination, and Visibility

The technological solution

The proposed technological solution consisted of generating technological tools to digitalize information from FONTAGRO projects and achieve greater visibility of their results.

This approach made it possible to organize technical and financial project information in a digital platform, develop communication tools, and strengthen institutional capacity to disseminate content, messages, and knowledge products in a more coordinated manner.

"Knowledge creation is a human activity."

— Ikujiro Nonaka, 2008.

Loading map...

Type of project

Knowledge Management

Value chains and markets

Strategic

Technological-Organizational-Institutional

Crops, Cattle raising, Natural resources

Capacity building

Results

Among the main results reported by the project, the following stand out:

Analysis of Institutional Capacities and Regional Synergies

An analysis was conducted of the capacities of FONTAGRO member institutions, as well as possible interinstitutional and interregional synergies. This information was key to guiding the Knowledge Management and Communications strategy for the following years.

Digitalization of Technical and Financial Information

Information from FONTAGRO projects was incorporated into a digital platform and became part of technical and financial databases. In addition, tools such as FONTAGRO Tech, posters, webstories, and databases of researchers linked to the projects were developed, with more than 1,000 records.

Strengthening Capacities in Knowledge Management and Communication

Knowledge Management and Communications workshops were carried out with the participation of institutional delegates, professionals from universities, and representatives of international organizations.

Specialized Training for Researchers

The course on preparing competitive profiles for regional agricultural research and innovation projects was implemented together with the University of Lleida. In addition, a course on preparing and publishing scientific papers was conducted together with FAUBA.

Production and Dissemination of Institutional Content

Two FONTAGRO videos were developed — one institutional video and one focused on projects — 12 press releases were disseminated, and at least two webstories were published on the website.

Commemoration of FONTAGRO’s 20th Anniversary

The project supported the commemorative event celebrating FONTAGRO’s 20th anniversary, accompanied by a publication that helped showcase the mechanism’s milestones, evolution, innovations generated, impact, and future vision.