A stakeholder co-design approach for improving small ruminant welfare: the TechCare Project
Résumé
The small ruminant (SR) value chain in Europe is a complex matrix of stakeholders with very different interests and profiles where it is not possible to establish one-size-fits-all solutions. The aim of this paper is to present the TechCare
strategies to manage animal welfare using innovative technologies, that are investigated through a multi-actor approach which takes into account the local SR production systems and involves all relevant stakeholders, from farmers to
transporters, slaughterhouse, consumers and regulators. This co-design approach aims to: (1) Identify all relevant actors in SR value chain and train facilitators to engage stakeholders in continuous interaction and feedback to the rest of the project activities; (2) explore attitudes, behavioural dynamics and perceptions of stakeholders and their implications for prioritizing welfare issues and using innovative technologies to manage animal welfare at different production stages, and analyse the sustainability of the identified technologies by exploring their environmental, social, economic and cultural impacts. A series of engagements (i.e. one-on-one interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, nominal group
techniques, concept mapping, etc.) will be set at regular stages in the project, for consultation and exchange of ideas and thus allowing co-design and co-innovation in a multi-actor approach. Among those, two national workshops per
year are planned in each of the nine partner countries to allow feedback and to effectively design business models and develop training and dissemination activities.