Collaboration
Multi-agency collaborations, collective impact initiatives, and community engagement are our core areas of expertise. Whether you’re looking to launch a new initiative, or make an existing group more effective, our expert staff bring more than a decade of experience working with diverse groups to help them achieve impact. Here are some of our specific offerings in this category:
- Formation Strategy
- Stakeholder Mapping & Engagement
- Expert Facilitation
- Process Design
- Community Assessments
Related Projects
California Roundtable on Water and Food Supply
The California Roundtable on Water and Food Supply (CRWFS) is a multi-sector forum of experts and leaders convened by Ag Innovations since 2010 to identify obstacles, develop solutions, and take action to enhance water security for agriculture, the public, and the environment in California.
Maricopa County Food Policy Coalition
Maricopa County, the United State’s fourth largest metropolitan area, worked with Ag Innovations to create a Food System Coalition representing the vast diversity of Phoenix.
“It's not often that you find an organization with the capacity to move groups from discord to consensus: Ag Innovations helps diverse stakeholders do just that.”
Conference Planning & Meeting Facilitation
Are you planning a conference, meeting, or series of meetings that you want to have maximum impact? We can help make your convenings as effective as possible.
- Conference Design
- Keynote Speakers & Panel Selection
- Process Design & Facilitation
- Engagement & Outreach
- Outcomes & Reporting
Related Projects
James Beard Foundation Annual Food Conference
Since 2009 Ag Innovations has co-designed and facilitated the James Beard Foundation’s annual Food Conference in New York City, one of the country’s most important venues for the food movement that engages more than 200 attendees each year. This year's conference will be held on October 19th & 20th.
Organizational Development
Effective change begins with effective teams and organizations. We have extensive experience working with food system organizations to achieve their potential through:
- Strategic Visioning & Planning
- Training & Technical Assistance
- Nonprofit Governance & Management Consulting
Related Projects
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association, Strategic Planning
Ag Innovations worked with the Board of the California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association over the course of a few years to develop a series of strategic plans for the group to take their work to the next level, culminating in the hiring of CACASA's first executive staff in 2011.
Leadership Institute Strategic Planning
Ag Innovations worked with the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy’s board and staff to identify a strategic vision and develop their strategic plan.
Training & Capacity Building
We offer a range of training and capacity-building courses that can be customized to your specific needs. We are also available to develop curricula. We take a hands-on approach to learning and our training courses are all dynamic, full-participation experiences. These trainings and courses include:
- Principles & Practice of Collaboration
- Systems Thinking for Food Systems Professionals
- Collaborative Leadership
- How to Lead Effective Meetings
- Program Development for Food System Change
- Custom-Designed Trainings
Related Projects
Mendocino County Food Policy Council Assessment & Redesign
In Decemebr 2014, the Mendocino Food Policy Council (FPC) brought Ag Innovations on to help them rethink their internal structure, to help determine how to best incorporate priorities in the work they do, how to bolster their capacity and impact, and to reengineer how they work together to make change.
Joining Forces: The Collective Impact of Collaboration
To speak to the California Environmental Health Association’s (CEHA) 2015 theme, “Joining Forces,” Ag Innovations’ President, Joseph McIntyre, was invited to deliver a thought-provoking keynote highlighting the importance of fostering collaboration between agencies that are working towards a common goal.
“Ag Innovations' engagements are thoughtful, productive and effective, and allow for stakeholders to engage proactively, resulting in solution-based outcomes.”
Public Engagement & Action
One of the most exciting and important areas where we service is helping businesses and government effectively engage stakeholders and the public. Our services include helping to design public engagement strategies, identification of and targeted outreach to key stakeholders, and facilitating public engagement sessions. To help your project, we are often able to leverage our own extensive network of farmers and food system professionals, organizations, and leaders as resources.
Related Projects
California Agricultural Vision
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), in partnership with American Farmland Trust, hired Ag Innovations to facilitate California Agricultural Vision (Ag Vision), a year-long planning process held in 2010, that resulted in the design of a 20-year blueprint for sustaining California’s agricultural economy.
Marin Ag Housing Program
From 2010-2014, Ag Innovations worked with the Marin Community Foundation to facilitate a stakeholder participation process in the development of a program to finance the development and rehabilitation of agricultural worker housing on farms and ranches in Marin County, CA.
Research & Analysis
Our highly trained staff of researchers and assessment experts are available for natural resource, agricultural and food system research projects, feasibility studies, and assessments. We are also highly capable as partners on academic research projects and community or regional planning efforts requiring stakeholder involvement and/or social action research components.
Related Projects
American Canyon Farmers Market Feasibility Study
Ag Innovations worked with the City of American Canyon in 2015 to assess the feasibility of establishing a farmers’ market in the city’s downtown through independent research, surveys, interviews, and community meetings.
San Joaquin Valley Greenprint Project
The Environmental Science and Policy Department of UC Davis hired Ag Innovations Network in 2014 on behalf of the Fresno Council of Governments and the San Joaquin Valley Policy Council to design and implement a series of public input meetings to validate and prioritize the data sets that are included in the San Joaquin Valley Greenprint Project, a non-regulatory, stakeholder-driven initiative to develop a map library about regional resources, to provide agriculture, water, and environmental leaders and decision-makers with the data, and to foster discussion about how to preserve agriculture, water and natural resources in the Valley, while also accommodating new population and urban growth.
“In the world of food and farming systems, the problems are always complex and the players and interests are diverse. Making change in such an environment requires patience and skilled facilitation to bring groups together for collaborative action. Ag Innovations has been doing just that for many years and they do it very effectively.”