March 26, 2025
AKIS Assessment and Evaluation Strategies
The event “AKIS Assessment and Evaluation of the AKIS Strategies: Concepts, Meanings, and Purposes” provided a comprehensive overview of the importance of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) in the context of Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS). Funded under the CAP Strategic Plans, AKIS plays a crucial role in advancing agricultural innovation and knowledge exchange. This event explored the opportunities and regulatory requirements for assessing and evaluating AKIS and its strategies, ensuring alignment with EU policies and best practices.
Key Themes and Discussions:
✅ Understanding M&E in AKIS – Differentiating between monitoring, evaluation, and assessment, and their application to AKIS strategies.
✅ Structural-Oriented AKIS Diagnosis – Examining the foundational elements of AKIS to assess its strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
✅ Functionalist vs. Transformative Perspectives – Exploring different methodologies in AKIS assessment, including how systems function and how they can be transformed for better outcomes.
✅ Evaluation of AKIS Strategies – Ensuring compliance with European Commission regulations while enhancing the effectiveness of AKIS strategies.
Speakers and Their Contributions:
🔹 Valentina Carta (CREA) – Opened the event with an introduction to the core concepts of monitoring, evaluation, and assessment, setting the stage for the discussions that followed.
🔹 Maria Gester-Betanya (UHOH) – Focused on the structural-oriented diagnosis of AKIS, providing insights into how AKIS can be analyzed to identify key components and areas for development.
🔹 Simona Cristiano (CREA) – Presented the functionalist and transformative approaches to AKIS assessment, highlighting how these perspectives shape evaluation methods and their impact on innovation.
🔹 Marili Parissaki (EU CAP Network Evaluation Helpdesk) – Concluded with an in-depth discussion on evaluating AKIS strategies in line with EU regulations, offering a roadmap for effective implementation.
Key Takeaways:
This event provided a solid framework for understanding and implementing Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) in AKIS, ensuring that strategies are efficient, aligned with policy requirements, and capable of driving meaningful agricultural innovation. Participants left with a clearer understanding of how to distinguish between monitoring, evaluation, and assessment, as well as how to apply these concepts to strengthen AKIS strategies.
Stay tuned for more discussions on improving and evaluating agricultural knowledge and innovation systems!
Access the presentations to learn more:
Overview on Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment: First approach (Valentina Carta, CREA)
AKIS Assessment: Functionalist and transformative perspectives (Simona Cristiano, CREA)
Evaluating AKIS in the CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) (Marili Parissaki, EU CAP Network)
Diagnosing of the AKIS in the context of T4.5 (Maria Gerster-Bentaya, UHOH)
