Drawing upon literature from both impact assessment of development projects and agricultural research, the aim of this article is to analyse the pilot testing of a new multi-dimensional assessment framework for defining and evaluating the societal impact of agricultural research and corresponding education. The research approach involves an action research effort of pilot testing in three case studies from three different countries. The framework assumes a systems view, understands impact as socially embedded, and adopts the concepts of contribution and productive interactions rather than cause-and-effect attribution. The emerging experiences include developing both project-specific and universal indicators; gauging impacts at different levels and sustainability dimensions; handling the issues of attribution and time frame; and the role of stakeholder involvement. The results have the potential to support the development of a new role for impact assessment, by enabling principal actors in research and higher education institutions to take responsibility for contributing to concrete and demonstrable sustainability changes in society.

This paper presents the concept of a Beekeeping Knowledge and Innovation System (B-KIS). This concept is closely related to the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) – both theoretically and methodologically. By adopting a B-KIS approach we can: a) depict the general structure and functioning of activities aiming for knowledge development, innovation and learning within the apicultural sector; b) improve understanding of how services for beekeepers are embedded into national B-KIS; and c) provide some conceptual elements to support the development of a national or regionally adapted communication strategy for improved sustainability of beekeeping. From a policy perspective, it is important that the B-KIS becomes integrated into the national strategic AKIS plans.

The aim of this study is to investigate how horticultural firms meet their need for innovation within the innovation system. A comparative process ethnography approach was applied to two cases of long-term collaboration between multiple actors in Swedish horticulture. The retrospective reconstruction of the cases through documentation and interviews allowed for triangulation of data in a grounded theory approach. The leverage points of the developing collaborative processes were found to be; having agency and a network approach, the forming of collective agency through social learning, enhancing resource access, and operationalization of results. The concept of leverage points is useful for understanding evolutionary changes in multi-actor collaborations. The use of the concept of collective agency contributes to the understanding of the dynamics of demand articulation, illustrating a reciprocal process between the actors’ individual agencies, and evolving over time through their social learning. The results point to a need for policymakers and practitioners to develop a broader understanding of how actors work in the innovation system to enhance knowledge development and innovation.

The background of this thesis is new directions in international and national politics, the challenges of contemporary innovation systems, and the challenges and potentials in Swedish horticulture. The aim is to investigate how the knowledge and innovation system in Swedish horticulture can be reinforced to meet current and future challenges. The research questions focus on how network facilitation, social learning, and impact orientation can contribute to a reinforced knowledge and innovation system. The frame of reference takes in theories of systems of innovation, and, in particular, agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS). The thesis is also complemented with theories of social processes related to learning and impact. The methods include qualitative case studies in a progression from traditional qualitative research methods towards an action research approach. The results identified processes of network brokering, dialogue, co-agency and inclusion as central to reinforcing the knowledge and innovation system of Swedish horticulture. The findings point to a need to balance a structural interpretation of the horticultural knowledge and innovation system with a process perspective, to actively invite the agency of engaged and entrepreneurial individuals, and to balance the historical ‘supply side innovation’ perspective with a prioritization on the creation of societal impact. These results provide a contribution to the debate around different systems perspectives of the AKIS. They also highlight how changes in everyday work at the micro-level are a precondition for system level change, and how actions at the micro-level have the potential of improving the ability to meet current and future challenges and contribute to societal impact and change.

The aim of this study is to investigate how horticultural firms meet their need for innovation within the innovation system. A comparative process ethnography approach was applied to two cases of long-term collaboration between multiple actors in Swedish horticulture. The retrospective reconstruction of the cases through documentation and interviews allowed for triangulation of data in a grounded theory approach. The leverage points of the developing collaborative processes were found to be; having agency and a network approach, the forming of collective agency through social learning, enhancing resource access, and operationalization of results. The concept of leverage points is useful for understanding evolutionary changes in multi-actor collaborations. The use of the concept of collective agency contributes to the understanding of the dynamics of demand articulation, illustrating a reciprocal process between the actors’ individual agencies, and evolving over time through their social learning. The results point to a need for policymakers and practitioners to develop a broader understanding of how actors work in the innovation system to enhance knowledge development and innovation.

This dataset contains underlying metadata for the NextFood Sustainability Impact Assessment Framework, intended for the monitoring, reporting and evaluation of quality assured knowledge transfer through practice-oriented research and education. The approach is intended to support the planning for a desired impact, the inclusion of relevant actors, and the fostering of interaction and mutual learning between actors.

Agriculture is facing mounting challenges across the globe and must move towards more sustainable practices to combat climate change and meet changed production requirements. Education has been acknowledged as highly important in a sustainable transition, but there is no clear agreement about what skills are needed for professionals in the agricultural system. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse skills needed for professionals in the agricultural system to engage in the transition towards sustainable agriculture and elaborate on the implications of this for a transition towards sustainable agriculture. The review is based on a qualitative semi-systematic literature review of 20 peer-reviewed articles concerned with sustainability, skills, and agriculture. Five categories of skills were identified and analysed, including systems perspective, lifelong learning, knowledge integration, building and maintaining networks and learning communities, and technical and subject-specific knowledge and technology. As the identified categories of skills have emerged from different contextual settings and a diverse group of actors, these five categories encourage a broad and inclusive understanding of skills that can be translated into different contextual settings, scales, and professions within the agricultural system. The article concludes that professionals engaged in the transition towards sustainable agriculture need skills that encourage a perspective that moves beyond generic discipline-based skills and instead builds on heterogeneity, inclusion, and use of different actors’ knowledge, practices, and experiences, and the ability to respond and be proactive in a constantly changing world.

The aim of this study is to explore the concept of value creating meetings that connect agri-food firms with other crucial actors with whom they can collaborate or co-innovate, and related to this, examine the role of innovation intermediary organisations in the forming of such value creating meetings. The research design involves three case studies of intermediary organisations, within the agri-food sector in Sweden, each with an adherent case of a value creating meeting. The method comprises data collected through documents, interviews and insider accounts. The findings include the notion that three factors – problem, professionals and platform – are important to combine in order to facilitate value creation. We also show that intermediaries play an important role in the value creation process and that this process could be summarised into four steps: problem recognition, contact creation, dialogue facilitation and value creation. We elaborate on the role of innovation intermediaries, give examples of how value creating meetings could be arranged and what such meetings can lead to in case of outcome. Practical implications for policy makers and agri-food business firms include that intermediary organisations can play an important bridging role in a complex and fragmented context, offering contacts, networks and value creating meetings for targeted actors. Intermediary organisations need to focus on forming value creating meetings, work actively across sectoral boundaries, and allocate adequate resources for mediating efforts.

Syftet är att föreslå ett antal begrepp som verktyg för att tonsätta och bråka med ledning och organisering av samverkan i praktiken. Tonsätta innebär att begreppen hjälper praktiker att benämna fenomen som man tidigare inte haft ett språk för. Bråka innebär att med hjälp av begrepp lära sig att se nya saker som också utmanar, både ens tidigare föreställningar och tidigare forskning utmanas. I kontrast till modeller, system eller liknande stöd för handlande fokuserar vi på begrepp som kan vara till stöd för att förstå och utveckla komplexa processer av samverkan i praktiken.

The study aims to understand and explore situations of collaboration between various actors in connection with a university-driven innovation intermediary organisation, and how the intermediary organisation facilitates collaboration in the making. To this end, we employ a case of a university-driven long-lasting intermediary organisation within the agricultural and forestry sectors. We examine three collaborative situations, using practice-based research and process theories as theoretical perspectives. A narrative approach is adopted as the method of investigation. The findings are presented in a conceptual model where the structures of the intermediary organisation are translated into practices, against which individuals can develop their collaboration processes. It is concluded that collaboration in the making is formed in the interplay between structures, practices and processes in relations between people. This implies that the organising of collaboration should focus its attention not only on structures but also on the practices and processes formed between people. The study contributes to the understanding of the organising of university innovation intermediary organisations by untangling the relations between structures, practices and processes in situations of collaboration between people.

Collaborative learning and evaluation in the multi-actor context of an innovation intermediary : How can intermediary organisations be understood and developed through the lenses of complexity and learning theories

Agricultural land is one of the primary natural resources for human life. Climate change, peak oil, peak soil and a growing world population are factors that are likely to increase the importance of land in relation to both food production and the cultivation of energy crops. The current legal protection for agricultural land in Sweden is considered weak. The aim of this paper is to present the 'state of art' in respect of how Swedish municipalities approach the issue of preserving agricultural land. The topic is analysed in the context of municipal spatial planning, through which policies, strategies and motives pertaining to the preservation of agricultural land are asserted. Results from three empirical studies show that a relatively high degree of the responding municipalities stated an interest in the preservation of agricultural land. However, their actual planning practice did not confirm such an approach.

Intresset for manniskans matvanor har varit stort sedan lang tid tillbaka. Matvaneundersokningar gors for att utvardera huruvida manniskorna i en befolkning far sitt narings- och energibehov tillfredsstallt. Det finns fler olika satt att utfora matvaneundersokningar som exempelvis Food Frequency Questionnarie (FFQ), kostintervjuer och kostregistrering. Syftet med denna rapport var att gora en jamforelse mellan tva olika metoder (som Livsmedelsverket anvander for att ta fram konsumtions- och intagsdata), for att se hur resultaten skiljer sig dem emellan. Den forsta metoden var Matkorgen 2010, vilken grundar sig pa Jordbruksverkets konsumtions- och forsaljningsstatistik, och den andra metoden var Riksmaten 2010-11, vilken ar en fyra dagar lang kostregistrering. Syftet var ocksa att se hur konsumtionen i Matkorgen forandrats mellan ar 1999 och ar 2010, samt att se hur intaget av nagra utvalda toxiska metaller och nagra utvalda naringsamnen ser ut i Riksmaten 2010-11, med haltdata tagen fran analyserna i Matkorgen 2010. De undersokta metallerna var bly (Pb), kadmium (Cd), kvicksilver (Hg) samt arsenik (As) och de undersokta naringsamnena var jarn (Fe), natrium (Na) samt vitamin D. Generellt lag livsmedelskonsumtionen och intaget hogre i Matkorgen 2010 an i Riksmaten 2010-11, vilket beror pa fler saker. T.ex. att Matkorgen 2010 inte tar hansyn till det livsmedelssvinn som uppstar i hushallen, att i Riksmaten 2010-11 ar underrapportering vanligt forekommande, att Matkorgen 2010:s data baseras pa hela den svenska befolkningen medan Riksmaten 2010-11 endast tar hansyn till den vuxna befolkningens konsumtion samt att livsmedlen i Matkorgen 2010 analyserades i det skick de inhandlades, medan livsmedlen i Riksmaten 2010-11 var tillagade. Nar det galler forandringen i konsumtion mellan ar 1999 och ar 2010 syntes en okning i konsumtionen av lask, cerealier, bakverk, fisk, frukt, kott, gronsaker, socker o dylikt, medan konsumtionen av mejeriprodukter, potatis, matfett och agg hade minskat. Nar det galler de toxiska metallerna bor inte intaget utgora nagon fara for halsan, da det lag pa en sadan lag niva. Dock rader lite osakerhet kring arsenik pga. svarigheter att faststalla ett accepterat dagligt intag. Ser man till naringsamnena ar intaget inte lika tillfredsstallande.

This literature research is meant to answer the following questions: • What was the Swedes consumption of fat from 1935 to 2009? • How has the fat consumption corresponded to the current recommendations? • What is LCHF and which are the main advantages and disadvantages? Fat supplies us with energy, isolates and protect organs from bumps and punches. Fat is insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents. The properties of a fat depend on its structure. The most common fat in human food is triacylglycerides. Linolic acid and linoleic acid are the essential fatty acids and have to be consumed. The information was mainly obtained from literature from the Swedish National Food Administration and from the library at SLU. Jordbruksstatistisk arsbok from the Swedish Board of Agriculture and the Central Bureau of Statistics has also been very helpful. The fat consumption in E% increased in the beginning of the sixties but soon after, it decreased again. The total consumption of fat in g did not vary much from 1935 to 2009. The consumption of butter greatly decreased after the fifties but around 2000 it was stabilized. The consumption of margarine duplicated from 1950 to 1982 and was halved to 2006. The ice cream consumption increased by more than 1900 % from 1950 to 1993. The fat consumption (E%) has always exceeded the recommendations but in 2005 the consumption decreased to a value close to the recommended. The idea of the LCHF diet is to increase the fat intake (to 75 E%) and to decrease the carbohydrate intake (to 5 E%). Advantages pointed out by the followers are reduction in body weight, prolonged feeling of fullness and an enhanced feeling of energy. Disadvantages according to the Swedish Nutrition Recommendations (SNR) are the increased intake of saturated fat and cholesterol.

In disturbed rain forests, large, living remnant trees may be of significant importance for postdisturbance reorganization either directly, by producing large quantities of seeds, or indirectly, by attracting vertebrate seed dispersers. In addition, remnant trees may also be important in providing a favorable microhabitat for seedlings of late-successional species. This study focused on the role of large remnant trees (> 40 cm dbh) in patterns of regeneration after cyclone and fire damage in the Tafua and Falealupo Rain Forest Preserves, Savaii, Samoa. At Tafua, 10 large trees at each of two sites (one site burned in 1990) were investigated with regard to numbers of species and densities of plants from three different size classes at different distances from remnant trees. At the burned site, both species richness and the densities of plants < 1cm dbh were significantly higher inside the canopies of remnant trees than outside of them. At the unburned site, no or only marginally significant differences were observed. At Falealupo, two burned sites (burned in 1993 and 1998) were investigated using seed traps. At both sites, the seed rain from vertebrate dispersers was disproportionally higher under the canopies of remnant trees than in outside areas. No differences in soil characteristics were found when comparing samples taken from inside and outside canopies. Our results are congruent with the prediction that large remnant trees surviving in severely disturbed rain-forest areas represent biological legacies and serve as nuclei for reorganization. Based on this study and our previous work, we suggest that three factors represent essential components of the spatial resilience of tropical forest ecosystems and should be targeted for active management in tropical forests exposed to large-scale disturbances, particularly fire: remnant trees, refugia, and vertebrate dispersers.

A method for environmental assessment of agricultural land use is outlined. Environmental objectives and indicators of the land use quality are defined. The method is tested in case studies of cultivated vegetable oil crops: Swedish rape seed, Brazilian soybean and Malaysian oil palm. The results from this study lead us to believe that the indicators soil erosion, soil organic matter, soil structure, soil pH, phosphorus and potassium status of the soil, and the impact on biodiversity are a good choice of indicators. These indicators would give a good picture of long-term soil fertility and biodiversity. However, taking them together involves results that are a mix of quantitative and qualitative information, which makes it difficult to aggregate in an acceptable way. Therefore, land use assessment performed in this way includes not only quantitative results but also qualitative descriptions.