Wavehill was commissioned to provide an independent evaluation of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) Wales programme. Funded by the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020, this fund provided support to 46 projects across Wales to trial innovative techniques and technologies within the farming and forestry sectors. The intent was to bring together experts from business, research, NGOs, and other stakeholders to work in collaboration to tackle common industry-wide issues and challenges and to improve practice through innovation across the sector.
The interim report, which was published by Welsh Government in January 2023, showed the successful delivery of the EIP. It found that the projects supported have been appropriate with a number potentially able to scale up, which was aided by a robust application and appraisal process, and effective facilitation support.
Building on this, a final report was published by the Welsh Government in October 2024 outlining the impact of EIP as a mechanism for farmers and foresters to pilot their ideas with support, and how this has often led to transformational change across the sector. It highlights several areas of change including the impact of implementing new practices that have resulted in improvements to animal health, the reduction in health-related costs, improvements to business produce, and environmental outcomes. Several projects reported the impact of gaining new skills and knowledge, whilst others noted cost savings or new income streams because of the EIP-funded projects. The evaluation also showed the importance that participants attached to the expertise received from the scheme and facilitation support over the financial support offered.
You can read the eight recommendations from the interim report focused on the process analysis. The key findings from this and the final evaluation will be used to inform future innovation support for the farming and forestry sectors.
For more on our work across rural development contact Ioan Teifi and Endaf Griffiths
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