Participation@Large: Digital Media for Empowering Large-Scale Farmer and Citizen Participation in AgriFood Research and Policy-Making

Agricultural research and policy have struggled to meet the diverse needs and realities of individual farmers and consumers, leading to research and policies that are either inefficient or biased towards few, vocal stakeholders. Networked digital media provide new opportunities to consult, involve, and organize individuals at scale; however, these opportunities have been explored unsystematically across agri-food. This project therefore convenes experts in digital media, agriculture, and environmental research with farmer and consumer stakeholders to identify how digital media can best empower individual farmers and consumers to inform agricultural research and policy and organize collective interests. Sandpit-style workshops and stakeholder consultations with design concepts will map the state of the art and key opportunities and challenges; develop, prioritise, and validate scenarios; and forge a multidisciplinary network across N8 universities and non-academic partners in the UK and developing countries to frame future large-scale impact-driven research endeavors.