FRAMEwork representatives visit our sister project...
What is SHOWcase?
The EU Horizon 2020 project SHOWCASE (SHOWCASing synergies between agriculture, biodiversity, and ecosystem services) is dedicated to promoting sustainable farming by integrating biodiversity into agricultural practices. With farmland biodiversity in Europe facing steep declines, the project aims to bridge the gap between agricultural incentives and biodiversity management.
SHOWcase is a sister project to FRAMEwork with similar goals and activities. It brings together scientists, socio-economists, farmers, NGOs, and citizen science networks to co-develop innovative solutions in 'Experimental Biodiversity Areas' across Europe. By evaluating incentives, regulatory frameworks, and communication strategies, SHOWCASE seeks to inspire farmers and policymakers to adopt biodiversity-friendly practices that enhance both agricultural productivity and ecosystem health.
Why Did FRAMEwork Attend?
Between the 5-6th November, SHOWcase held their annual meeting in Cadiz, Spain. FRAMEwork's Coordinator Dr Graham Begg attended as a member of SHOWcase's Project Advisory Board. Deputy coordinator Alastair Simmons attended to build on mutually-beneficial collaboration opportunities explored in meetings between SHOWcase leadership and Taskscape throughout 2024.
His presentation summarised opportunities mutually identified so far, including cross-promotion to joint target audiences, sharing resources and video abstracts on FRAMEwork's platform Recodo and taking part in the associated event series.
Alastair was additionally invited to take part in a session for early career researches on approaches to interdisciplinary research. This session focused on addressing complex problems, like those central to both projects, where solutions require combining empirical data with cross-sector involvement and action.
"It was a real pleasure to meet many SHOWcase colleagues in person for the first time to share and discuss opportunities to overlap our projects' outputs and impacts for legacy benefits. We have in common many of the same networks of landscape actors and audiences as well as the desire to support and inform them. The competing advice and issues landscape networks face are complex. Sharing our projects' outputs in a complimentary way will help how both projects can add to the guidance, conversations and debates underway about more biodiversity-sensitive land management."
~ Alastair Simmons, Taskscape Associates Ltd
More Information: highlights from SHOWcase worth checking out!
In the lead-up to major climate and biodiversity conferences, SHOWCASE has been actively contributing to policy discussions on sustainable farming and biodiversity. For COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, it released its second policy brief, “Enhancing biodiversity-friendly farming practices in Europe,” which highlights key research findings and offers policy recommendations such as tailoring incentive programs and promoting holistic views of biodiversity. Earlier, at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, SHOWCASE presented its first policy brief emphasizing the need to economically reward farmers for conservation management, underscoring the importance of integrating biodiversity into agricultural policies.
Beyond policy work, SHOWCASE has developed tools and materials to raise awareness about biodiversity-friendly farming. Partnering with Scienseed, it released infographics and factsheets that connect biodiversity with food security and offer actionable tips like composting and building birdhouses.
Additionally, the project launched Insectscount, a gamified insect monitoring app featured on the EU platform CORDIS, which engages communities in tracking pollinators as a step toward sustainable agriculture. These initiatives aim to foster understanding and action at both the policy and grassroots levels.
You can read SHOWcases latest newsletter featuring FRAMEwork here.
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