Harnessing the Potential of Living Labs in European Research Projects on Agriculture. The Case of Promoting Prudent Use of Antimicrobials in Livestock

Abstract

SummaryThe urgency to reduce the use of antimicrobials in the livestock sector has become part of the European Farm‐to‐Fork agenda. To develop innovations and pave the way for prudent antimicrobial use (AMU), the H2020 four‐year‐long ROADMAP project implemented the approach of Living Labs (LL). It stands for a process that involves a heterogeneous group of stakeholders in co‐creation, testing and evaluating innovations in real‐world contexts. The use of LLs has gained momentum to accelerate transformation of European agriculture by developing innovations through end‐user (farmer) involvement. However, the LL‐approach is new in the livestock sector. During the project, 11 LLs were established in seven European countries, each with its own settings but linked to the project's overarching goals. Some LLs developed a common understanding of AMU within the sector or between farmers and veterinarians, while others focussed on policy development or better management practices. During the ROADMAP project, we learned about the potential and limitations of the LL approach in the livestock sector. Using the approach of social innovations, we developed recommendations on how to realise the potential of LLs in a research context to meet the goals of the EU Farm‐to‐Fork strategy of prudent AMU.