Catch up with the latest news and enjoy a look back at the year... Scroll to read or view in full here .

FRAMEwork representatives visit our sister project... What is SHOWcase? The EU Horizon 2020 project SHOWCASE (SHOWCASing synergies between agriculture, biodiversity, and ecosystem services) is dedicated to promoting sustainable farming by integrating biodiversity into agricultural practices. With farmland biodiversity in Europe facing steep declines, the project aims to bridge the gap between agricultural incentives and biodiversity management. SHOWcase is a sister project to FRAMEwork with similar goals and activities. It brings together scientists, socio-economists, farmers, NGOs, and citizen science networks to co-develop innovative solutions in 'Experimental Biodiversity Areas' across Europe. By evaluating incentives, regulatory frameworks, and communication strategies, SHOWCASE seeks to inspire farmers and policymakers to adopt biodiversity-friendly practices that enhance both agricultural productivity and ecosystem health. Why Did FRAMEwork Attend? Between the 5-6th November, SHOWcase held their annual meeting in Cadiz, Spain. FRAMEwork's Coordinator Dr Graham Begg attended as a member of SHOWcase's Project Advisory Board. Deputy coordinator Alastair Simmons attended to build on mutually-beneficial collaboration opportunities explored in meetings between SHOWcase leadership and Taskscape throughout 2024. His presentation summarised opportunities mutually identified so far, including cross-promotion to joint target audiences, sharing resources and video abstracts on FRAMEwork's platform Recodo and taking part in the associated event series. Alastair was additionally invited to take part in a session for early career researches on approaches to interdisciplinary research. This session focused on addressing complex problems, like those central to both projects, where solutions require combining empirical data with cross-sector involvement and action. "It was a real pleasure to meet many SHOWcase colleagues in person for the first time to share and discuss opportunities to overlap our projects' outputs and impacts for legacy benefits. We have in common many of the same networks of landscape actors and audiences as well as the desire to support and inform them. The competing advice and issues landscape networks face are complex. Sharing our projects' outputs in a complimentary way will help how both projects can add to the guidance, conversations and debates underway about more biodiversity-sensitive land management." ~ Alastair Simmons, Taskscape Associates Ltd More Information: highlights from SHOWcase worth checking out! In the lead-up to major climate and biodiversity conferences , SHOWCASE has been actively contributing to policy discussions on sustainable farming and biodiversity. For COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, it released its second policy brief, “Enhancing biodiversity-friendly farming practices in Europe,” which highlights key research findings and offers policy recommendations such as tailoring incentive programs and promoting holistic views of biodiversity. Earlier, at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, SHOWCASE presented its first policy brief emphasizing the need to economically reward farmers for conservation management, underscoring the importance of integrating biodiversity into agricultural policies. Beyond policy work, SHOWCASE has developed tools and materials to raise awareness about biodiversity-friendly farming. Partnering with Scienseed, it released infographics and factsheets that connect biodiversity with food security and offer actionable tips like composting and building birdhouses. Additionally, the project launched Insectscount , a gamified insect monitoring app featured on the EU platform CORDIS , which engages communities in tracking pollinators as a step toward sustainable agriculture. These initiatives aim to foster understanding and action at both the policy and grassroots levels. You can read SHOWcases latest newsletter featuring FRAMEwork here .

Use the Farmland Ecosystem Assessment Tool to plan habitat creation and more... The FRAMEwork project’s platform for those at the frontiers of farming and biodiversity, Recodo.io , has a new key resource available - the Farmland Ecosystem Assessment Support Tool. This innovative prototype software supports more sustainable land management by helping users evaluate the relationship between land use, agrobiodiversity and ecosystem services. What is FEAST? In sustainable agricultural systems, understanding and using agroecological information is critical to implementing practices that support productivity while enhancing or preserving environmental health. The Farmland Ecosystem Assessment Support Tool is a free resource for assessing and modeling the health of farmland ecosystems and the decisions which impact them. FEAST provides a hands-on way to evaluate agroecosystems, offering insights into how practices like crop rotation, reduced tillage, habitat creation and integrated pest management can benefit both farm buisnesses and their surrounding environments. Through visualisations, the tool gamifies the modeling of complex ecological data, helping stakeholders asses how diverse land-use practices impact both environmental and economic outcomes. The tool assists pioneer farmers, researchers and environmental planners in making informed land management decisions - by focusing on ecosystem aspects like habitats, soil health, water management, functional biodiversity and species of concern. This allows users to prioritise ecological integrity and long-term sustainability in their productive landscapes. For example, by facilitating landscape scale management supporting the lifecycle of a specific species, or the implementation and assessment of agri-environmental schemes. Key Features of the Farmland Ecosystem Assessment Support Tool Species distribution and habitat mapping Economic and ecology data parameters Quick access biodiversity info Best-practice materials Find out more on Recodo: How Does FEAST Work? Users can input real, or hypothetical, environmental and economic data to model different land use outcomes. Case studies, ecological requirements and historic agrobiodiversity datasets are also available, with further expansions planned. FEAST is currently a Windows application for Windows 10 or higher. The tool integrates a range of metrics from several EU projects, including H2020 FRAMEwork. Our Farmer Cluster Network learnings and consortium feedback has helped facilitate the development of new datasets and functionalities. Why Engage with FEAST? Tools like FEAST are desperately needed. Europe's agritech market and research tools currently underserve landscape stakeholders looking to asses and manage their region's agroecology. By   connecting agricultural management practices with measurable ecosystem outcomes, we're seeking to empower people to make informed decisions that contribute to the resilience of their landscapes. Are you looking to benefit the resilience of farming systems or plan out actions towards conservation and sustainability goals in your area? Are you comfortable using agritech or research tools? Consider trying FEAST! Feedback and engagement is welcomed by the development team. Your input will help FEAST evolve and expand what's available within the application. How Can I Access FEAST? Access to the beta application is available on request from the Agriculture and Environment Research Unit at the University of Hertfordshire. Please visit the tool's Recodo  landing page for more information or email: aeru@herts.ac.uk . In Summary Bringing sustainable land management tools to people is an important part of informing Europe's transition to greener agricultural systems. FEAST can help generate essential insights into local environments, supporting more informed land management decisions that help enhance farmlands ecological health and resilience within specific business and policy contexts. Through the addition of FEAST to Recodo, the project's pleased to provide those at the frontiers of managing agrobiodiversity with access to this unique resource. FEAST is a tool that's both ahead of it's time and very much needed today.

Explore new content and resources on the platform... Following the public launch of the project’s Recodo platform this summer, we’re thrilled to share news of an important autumn update, which includes the release of several new knowledge tools.  Recodo is an open access online platform designed to support anyone making efforts to monitor, maintain or restore vital ecosystems in farmed landscapes. The platform provides an online home for Farmer Clusters and a place to share knowledge and resources on biodiversity with key landscape stakeholders.  Recodo offers a range of resources including materials on citizen science and professional biodiversity monitoring as well as ecosystem assessment and data tools. Visitors can discover first-hand stories and media from across Europe, sharing on the ground accounts from the frontiers of farming and biodiversity.  "The knowledge tools launched in this update provide valuable new avenues for expanding our shared understanding of agrobiodiversity and its management. They have been designed by FRAMEwork project teams to meet some of the pressing needs of those looking to conserve and leverage biodiversity".  The Farmland Ecosystem Assessment Support Tool  from the University of Hertfordshire is a prototype software application enabling users to explore the dynamics between land use and biodiversity. Users can test the impact of biodiversity-sensitive land management decisions virtually using real-world data. The application’s innovative interface makes the process accessible and engaging - transforming the visualisation of complex habitat management data in ways that will be familiar to anyone who has used microsoft paint! FEAST enables users to input, manage and visualise biodiversity data; assess the performance of landscapes for indicator species and ecosystem services; construct maps to a plan management actions; generate reports and access relevant guidance.   Learn More  The FRAMEwork Data Hub from the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, Barcelona, is a web application opening up biodiversity data from across our Cluster Network. The Data Hub provides a catalogue of geospatial and biodiversity datasets gathered from various Farmer Clusters and presented in an accessible format. The hub facilitates the effective management, discovery and sharing of spatially referenced biodiversity data from across existing and new Farmer Clusters in Europe. It’s designed to help inform scientists, pioneer Farmers, Farmer Cluster Facilitators and policymakers working to understand regional agrobiodiversity. Learn More   The FrameTest Decision Support Tool , created by The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, is a prototype tool aiming to support decision makers. It enables users to observe and predict complex socio-economic and ecological interactions within landscapes and agricultural communities. By simulating the behaviour of hypothetical farmers who may form cooperative clusters, the tool will model how different socio-economic factors affect the economic and environmental sustainability of a farmer cluster. As FrameTest develops, beta-testing feedback from food system stakeholders is invaluable, so through launching it on Recodo LIST are inviting input from the platform’s community. You can help shape impactful solutions. Learn More Video Abstracts created by Taskscape alongside project participants are concise, accessible and shareable media summaries of research papers.  On Recodo, you can learn how to make and submit your own video abstract on topics relevant to the platform’s community. You can also watch video abstracts from FRAMEwork and others as they appear on the platform. These videos are designed to help researchers enhance dissemination impacts and support simplifying knowledge exchange with stakeholders who are interested in applied research.  Learn More   Recodo In Real Life is an an event series developed for the platform by Taskscape alongside the FRAMEwork project consortium. The series programme will run from Q1-Q2 2025 and feature online and offline events that bring the platform’s extended network together with external stakeholders for the first time.  These events will provide an opportunity to share knowledge and learnings, discuss challenges and explore future directions of progress on key issues.  Learn More  Summary  In a fast-changing world, managing agrobiodiversity is fundamental to more sustainable food production, ecological restoration and environmental resilience. Recodo aims to help increase the availability of vital information for key stakeholders in agriculture’s green transition. By providing accessible tools and resources in an inclusive setting, the platform helps to empower and inform people acting for agrobiodiversity where they are.  You can read more about the platform’s development   here . Get Involved! Recodo facilitates free profiles for Farmer Groups, joining the platform is easier than many social networks. The platform team welcome suitable resource and audience sharing collaborations with other projects, scientists and NGOs. If you would like to get in touch, please email: info@recodo.io , o r submit a contact form .

Taskscape spent October on the road meeting Framework participants, capturing media content and more... As partner for Communication, Knowledge Exchange & Participation, over four weeks Taskscape travelled by train and hybrid vehicle to visit project partners across the continent and to cover and present at ESP Europe 2022 . This involved working with researchers, facilitators and Agrifood businesses engaged in Framework's Farmer Clusters on the ground. It was a fantastic opportunity to capture media content for use at the ESP Conference, on the Foodlands podcast as well as for media being developed for Framework's online platform and to help advertise project resources. Overall, It was an incredibly fruitful trip with many useful conversations and activities captured. The Taskscape team found the historic Autumn drought in many of the regions visited focused important discussions on developing more sustainable agriculture under challenging Global Heating conditions. 40 interviews were conducted and project activity was covered in: the Netherlands with UVA and their local Cluster; Crete with HUTTON, GWCT, ESP and YESS; Italy with SSSA, their local Cluster and the NGO Sportello Agroecologico and France with INRAE, GRAB and their local Farmer Cluster. From this content capture, three initial videos are being published: A video presentation recorded and screened at ESP Europe 2022 drawing on interviews with FRAMEwork's Dutch Farmer Cluster. A further video on FRAMEwork at ESP, to raise the project's profile. A short projecr trailer for on the landing page of the Framework website Media content capture trips are being planned for later in 2023 and 2024, to support the creation of mini-documentaries that communicate the important issues and activities of the project on the ground. Please keep an eye on the media centre to see videos as they are released. BTS Photos from the Autumn 2023 shoot | © Taskscape Media

Informing more sustainable decision making through innovative models... Recodo.io , the FRAMEwork project's growing platform for digital resources that support more nature-friendly farming and environmental decision-making, has just added an exciting new resource - the FRAMEtest DST! What is FRAMEtest? FRAMEtest provides valuable insights into how clusters of farmers might adapt to socio-economic shifts, as well as the impacts of different agricultural practices on the environment. This innovative prototype Decision Support Tool (DST), is an agent-based model designed to simulate the behavior of farmers within a specific landscape. Its purpose is to help farmers, researchers, and policymakers better understand the complex dynamics of agricultural practices, particularly those that integrate biodiversity and sustainability considerations. Developed using the AFRICA modeling framework and powered by the 'pacha' simulation software from the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), FRAMEtest examines the socio-economic and environmental factors influencing farming. Through virtual agents, representing individual farmers within a landscape, it can help simulate farmers' decision making, taking into account the unique motivations and constraints that informing their balancing of economic goals with sustainability. What are some key features? Modeling Economic and Environmental Performance Modeling Impacts on the Food Supply Chain Comprehensive Lifecycle Environmental Assessments Find out more on Recodo: How Does FRAMEtest Work? FRAMEtest allows users to explore different scenarios by adjusting various parameters. Each virtual farmer in the model makes decisions based on economic incentives as well as their “preference” for environmental and biodiversity considerations. Users can modify the importance given to these non-economic factors, thereby simulating a range of behaviors and outcomes. This interactive approach enables users to test assumptions and predict outcomes, creating a powerful, real-world learning experience. Why should I engage with the tool? The tool is designed with a user-friendly interface, making it accessible for diverse users, including farmers, environmental planners, and researchers. Its intuitive layout allows users to easily manipulate model parameters and observe outcomes, even if they don’t have technical expertise in agent-based modeling! FRAMEtest is in a beta stage - so your engagement is appreciated and will help improve how it can serve your needs. How can I access FRAMEtest? For those interested in exploring FRAMEtest further, please visit Recodo . By following the simple instructions provided there, anyone can obtain a token to clone the repository and run FRAMEtest locally! In summary The FRAMEtest DST is a key output of H2020 FRAMEwork. Its addition to our knowledge and action platform Recodo.io significantly enhances the support offered to landscape stake holders evaluating economic and environmental impacts of farming strategies and seeking to make informed decisions that contribute to a more sustainable future for agriculture.

Explore on-farm ecological data from across Europe... Recodo.io , the FRAMEwork project’s platform supporting people at the frontiers of farming and biodiversity, has launched a useful new feature - the Data Hub! What is the Data Hub? The H2020 FRAMEwork Data Hub, created by CREAF, serves as a comprehensive digital repository of ecological datasets from across project areas. It's been designed for landscape stakeholders to access and leverage information on biodiversity in their regions. The hub also enables new Farmer Clusters and others beyond the project to easily add and maintain data collections. In modern agriculture, access to ecological data is essential for balancing productivity with sustainability. The Data Hub facilitates data-driven insights into a range of farming systems, climatic zones and land management practices. Users can explore trends, analyze outcomes and contextualise practices to inform knowledge and action activities which enhance both agricultural productivity and environmental resilience. Key Features of the Data Hub Professionally recorded biodiversity data Citizen Science biodiversity observations Dataset creation tools for stakeholders Metadata-enhanced navigation Export tools for researchers Find out more on Recodo: How Does the Data Hub Work? To navigate and interact with the datasets, users can access the Data Hub through its landing page on Recodo. The hub offers multiple filtering and visualization options, allowing users to view data specific to their geographic and topic-based interests. To support accessibility, CREAF built the hub based on the open source web-based catalogue GeoNetwork, part of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation. Why Engage with the Data Hub? The Data Hub is designed to support users inside and outside FRAMEwork in accessing and adding to project data. It's an easy and expansive way to view and leverage the combined records we've captured, using both standardised protocols and citizen science observations, over the four years of the project. How Can I Access the Data Hub? To explore the Data Hub and start using it as a resource for data insights, visit Recodo.io. There you'll be able to access tutorials and other helpful information before diving in. In Summary Through this consolidated resource, FRAMEwork's delivering on our ambition to help mitigate the fragmented data landscape which currently hinders progress towards more informed agrobiodiversity management. By centralizing the project's biodiversity data from across nine European regions, the Data Hub seeks to provide accessibility and legacy functionality. With the addition of the Hub to Recodo, the platform continues to expand its suite of resources supporting research and action for more sustainable agriculture.

Czech partners hold a two day discussion and workshop event... On the 21st and 22nd November, FRAMEwork representatives from Czech Uni of Life Sciences (CULS)   were able to share insights from the project with farmers and landowners at a two-day event held in the Velké Hostěrádky Farmer Cluster region.  The event, a conference for local landowners called “Towards a Healthier Agricultural Landscape,” was hosted by FRAMEwork associate organisation and lead cluster farm Ekofarma Probio .  All the farms in the Velké Hostěrádky were invited and discussions focussed on different methods and opportunities for networking between farmers, landowners and municipalities.  FRAMEwork was presented as a case study by Jan Travnicek of CULS, and you can view his presentation on the Czech Society for Ornithology YouTube channel .  The conference was part of a wider series of events centred around Ekofarma Probio, including the completion of the cluster's new biodiversity path   and a communal tree-planting activity organised by CULS in collaboration with the farm.

Congratulations to Thomas Rellensman from the University of Osnabrück, who has been awarded this year’s REECAP award  for his paper "Combined result-based and collective agri-environmental schemes for landscape-scale benefits: Experimental evidence from Germany!". The Research Network on Economic Experiments for the Common Agricultural Policy (REECAP) is an EU-wide network founded in 2017 to contribute to the improvement of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) through the use of economic experimental approaches for more evidence-based policy design and evaluation. Their annual award celebrating stellar contributions by young researchers to the field of agri-experimental economics.  The select work must exhibit: scientific merit policy relevance clarity and structure of the presentation.  A valued member of the FRAMEwork consortium, Thomas’ research practice examines how payments for environmental services can be applied to promote environmentally-friendly practices on agricultural lands. He was presented the award at the fifth annual REECAP meeting in Warsaw, before an audience of 50 fellow researchers.  Thomas, pictured here on the left. When we caught up to congratulate him he shared some thoughts: “It is really great to receive the REECAP award as a recognition of the effort that we put into developing and implementing a sound economic experiment. We hope that our research provides policymakers with new insights on the potential of combining novel designs within agri-environmental schemes. By combining result-based payments with collective contracts, novel schemes can not only provide economic support for collaborative farmer groups such as Farmer Clusters but, potentially, even improve the effectiveness of agri-environmental schemes on the ground.’ The other recipient of this year’s award was Damien Mayaux from the Paris School of Economics for his paper “Promoting Green Consumption in Retail Markets: Behavioural Interventions under Strategic Pricing”.  We’re so pleased Thomas’ valuable work has been recognised at this international scale and look forward to his research developing further.

A new paper authored by FRAMEwork researchers Laura Mansier and Paul van Rijn from University of Amsterdam   has been published in the  Journal of Applied Ecology .  Titled “Modelling Agricultural Landscape Complementation for Natural Pest Control”, the paper shares the dynamic model (and its results) that Laura, a PHD researcher at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) of UVA, presented at several conferences earlier this year and in 2023 .  The model provides guidelines for optimising the landscape around fields for natural pest control, showing that natural pest control in agriculture is more promising if there are sufficient other landscape elements near a field that provide additional food for predatory insects. It also shows that it is good to grow several crops side by side that differ in growth period. With these measures, the model shows that pest density can be reduced by as much as 95%.  To find out what mix of factors is optimal to support year-round hoverflies in and around a field, Laura used a mathematical model to mimic the influence of landscape composition.  Paul van Rijn, IBED senior researcher and supervising co-author of the study, said:  “So-called landscape complementation is about designing the landscape in such a way that essential resources are available all season long. You can enhance sustainable agriculture by planting species that provide these. For this group of hoverflies, suitable flower species include buckwheat, different umbellifers and true chamomile. Hazel, field maple and guelder rose are examples of suitable trees and shrubs, because they flower early and host aphids.” An interesting result of the model, according to the authors, is also that the numbers of pests can fluctuate from year to year, even if the weather conditions in those years would be exactly the same. Laura says:  “If one of the elements is missing from the landscape, these multi-year fluctuations can become very large, so you find quite low pest densities in one year and suddenly very high in the next year. So, a well-designed landscape can provide lower and more stable pest densities over multiple years.” The Journal of Applied Ecology publishes novel, broad-reaching papers on the interface between ecological science and the management of the natural environment. It is part of the prestigious British Ecological Society portfolio.

This year’s meeting set out to strengthen and enlarge the REECAP community... We were pleased to share news last year of Osnabruck researcher Thomas Rellensmann receiving an award for his project research design at REECAP 2023. Thomas and his collagues recently returned to REECAP 2024. This year’s meeting, held at the Universidad de Córdoba from the 24th-26th September, set out to strengthen and enlarge the REECAP community and disseminate research and policy advice in the field of agricultural policy. Members enjoyed presentations from the fields of behavioural and experimental agricultural economics focused on CAP or related food systems policies, and FRAMEwork researchers Moritz Fritschle and Thomas Rellensmann from University of Osnabrück (UO)   were on hand to make an important contribution to these conversations.   The Research Network on Economic Experiments for the Common Agricultural Policy (REECAP) i s an EU-wide network founded in 2017 to contribute to the improvement of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Their annual meeting brings together researchers, evaluators and policy makers interested in the use of economic experimental approaches for more evidence-based policy design and evaluation.  Having presented their work at LANDSCAPE 24   earlier in the month to a broader audience that included ecologists, geographers and political scientists, Moritz and Thomas now had the opportunity to speak to a specialist group of experimental economists focusing on agricultural issues. Sharing research with a diverse range of audiences in this way is a hallmark of FRAMEwork’s approach, expanding the real-world impact our insights can have.  Speaking to us fresh from the conference, Moritz said:  “The presentation of our FRAMEwork research work to other agricultural and experimental economists who also deal with the European Union and the CAP was a great opportunity to once again exchange ideas with experts in the research field. In particular, discussions on methodological issues were once again at the centre of attention at the REECAP Conference.” .  Moritz’s presentation was titled:"Farmer Identity influence on Farmers' Choices Between Public and Private Agri-Environmental Contracts".  Thomas’s presentation was titled "Do result-based payments work better for groups? An experiment with German farmers". Next year’s REECAP has already been announced  for 2nd-5th June 2025 in Leipzig, Germany.

A team from Osnabrück and the Czech University of Life Sciences represent the project at the LANDSCAPE Conference. The 17th-19th September saw the third LANDSCAPE Conference  take place in Berlin, for “anyone interested in the future of agriculture and the role of technological innovations and actors in driving sustainable change”.  This year’s conference looked to the future of agriculture, and the role of technology and actors in bringing about that future, with its theme: “Agroecosystems in Transformation: Visions, Technologies and Actors”​​​​​. Discussions were focussed on the synergies and trade-offs between different environmental goals such as preserving biodiversity, adapting to climate change, conserving soils and their functions, and reducing chemical inputs. FRAMEwork Insights Shared   Happily, representatives of FRAMEwork from our partner organisations Czech University of Life Sciences (CZU) and University of Osnabrück (UO)  were able to attend and share their FRAMEwork research.   As part of a session on “coordination and collaboration in AES at landscape level”, Iris Bohnet (CZU) shared the research she is working on alongside a team of FRAMEwork project participants. Her presentation was titled: “Farmer Clusters for transitioning to biodiversity sensitive farming across Europe – Insights from the FRAMEwork project”.  Thomas Rellensmann (UO) presented his work on "Combined result-based and collective agri-environmental schemes for landscape-scale benefits" in a session about collective payments. Moritz Fritschle (UO) organised a session called "Farmers’ decisions towards biodiversity friendly landscapes” alongside Kati Häfner from conference organiser ZALF .  For this, he was joined by members of our sister project SHOWCASE   to introduce SHOWCASE and FRAMEwork. Moritz also gave a presentation about the “Influence of behavioural economic factors on farmers' preferences for attributes of agri-environment programs: Evidence from Discrete Choice Experiments". We caught up with Moritz, who said:  "Presenting our joint research results to an interdisciplinary audience together with colleagues from our sister project SHOWCASE is a great pleasure for me, as we were able to get to know the connections between our research and present results to an interdisciplinary audience together.” Iris agreed, saying: “Landscape 2024 provided a great forum to present FRAMEwork results to an international audience, network with colleagues, and learn about the concerted research efforts conducted to achieve landscape scale improvements in agro-biodiversity.” LANDSCAPE is organised by Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) , an NGO delivering solutions for an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable agriculture – together with society. ZALF conduct integrated systems research and develop sustainable crop systems; you can read more about their work in FELD  magazine.