Primary Objective of the project is  to increase innovation, entrepreneurship, and resilience in the European farming sector by enabling new entrants to successfully establish sustainable farm businesses in Europe.

Specific Objectives:

• To collect, critically review and publicise existing and potential new farm business models and new entry models and associated communication channels across a broad range of international contexts.
• To increase the flow of practical, educational and scientific information on new business models and new entry models between and within the geographical areas in Europe by consolidating durable connections between practice, formal and informal education, advice and research at national and European levels, for supporting further development of strategic business planning methods in agricultural advisory services, training and education.
• To produce and disseminate practice-based, educational and scientific information on business models and entry models in an easily accessible form, for new entrants through traditional and non-traditional agricultural knowledge systems (including farming organisations; farm advisory services; agricultural colleges and universities; operational groups; LEADER; regional and national business development agencies; and social mediag. twitter, Facebook, websites, You-Tube), making this information available long-term.
• To increase awareness and user acceptance throughout the agri-food industry and in rural businesses of the available new business and entry models, through establishment of stakeholderled steering and discussion groups and development of practical ‘toolkits’ for new business model establishment.
• To foster creative experimentation within practice, education and research on new entrant business models, through training and/or study visits, and promotion of innovative business models, thus leading to increased economic, environmental and social gains from these enterprises.
• To provide support for the implementation of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP)
• 'Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability', through interaction with Operational Groups, and in particular through the delivery of a substantial number of “practice abstracts” in the common format of the EIP-AGRI, including a library of new entrant visual ‘stories’ illustrating successful new entrant business models.
• To provide input for research agendas and policy on new business models and new entry models for new entrants, including the identification of current barriers to the up-take of innovative new models (both within farming and associated support systems), helping to develop more resilient European agriculture and rural areas, as well as strong interactions between rural-(peri-) urban areas.

Work Packages

 WP1 Project management

 WP2 Stocktaking and inventory

 WP3 New entrant support network development

 WP4 Key factors, toolkits and guidelines for successful implementation

 WP5 Communication, dissemination and impact.

 Main Outputs

• Increased user acceptance of ‘new entry’ models (i.e. share farming, joint ventures and farming incubators) amongst new entrants, farming advisors and policy makers across Europe.
• An inventory of business models and entry models currently succeeding in enabling new entrants, achieved through transdisciplinary analysis of academic and grey literature and practical experience of business models for new entrants. This will include a review of the curricular material currently available through European agricultural colleges and universities on new entrant business models and rural development.
• Establishment of regional/national new entrant support networks (~50 members in each consortium member’s country), including new entrants, advisory organizations, policy makers, other agricultural industry members and stakeholders to identify, discuss and disseminate success promising approaches. This group will be led by a steering group which prioritizes topics for discussion and training.
• 20 bilateral exchange visits and two European conferences offering seminars, field visits and networking between advisors, new entrants, researchers and policy makers. The conferences will be jointly held with EUFRAS (European Forum for Agricultural and Rural Advisory Services) and the European Seminar on Extension and Education.
• Strong social media presence from the beginning of the project (Facebook, twitter, website) for discussion and dissemination of project materials.
• A set of new entrant ambassadors: an International Advisory Board, as well as regional advisory groups and ambassadors will contribute their expertise and act as advocates and information conduits for the network and its activities; connect to Rural Networks and Rural Parliaments.
• Publicized new entrant success: NEWBIE will promote new business models for new entrants at national level, and feature these on in press releases, web-site and videos. Such active promotion will foster innovation and it’s communication in new entrant businesses and will include training and/or study visits.
• A library of ‘visual storytelling’ videos of the successful innovative new entrant business models promotion of selected models (above), and identified by linked projects (e.g. RURAL/ITER, Mentoring Women for Entrepreneurship; MULTIFARM_EU6th and 7th Framework projects ESOF, FarmPath, PROAKIS, Solinsa, SUFISA; Erasmus project Urban Green Train, SIMPACT 11; EIP-Agri Focus Group on Short Food Supply Chains, EIP Agri Focus Group on New Entrants to Farming).
• A substantive set of pedagogical materials for educators and advisors relating to new entrant business models and entry models, including videos for classroom use.
• Targeted recommendations with associated toolkits: for new entrants and farming groups on how to initiate specific supports (e.g. share farming, incubators); options for engaging with local authorities; recommendations for policy (local, regional, national, European) on how to stimulate or facilitate new entrants on different levels (legislation, planning, advise etc.)

 Partners:

1. STICHTING WAGENINGEN RESEARCH (WR), WAGENINGEN Netherlands
2. JAMES HUTTON INSTITUTE (HUTTON), DUNDEE United Kingdom,
3. KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN (KU Leuven), LEUVEN , Belgium,
4. UNIVERSIDADE DE EVORA (UÉvora), EVORA, Portugal,
5. FACHHOCHSCHULE SUDWESTFALEN (FHS), ISERLOHN, Germany,
6. UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI (UL), LJUBLJANA, Slovenia,
7. RENETA (RESEAU NATIONAL DES ESPACES-TEST AGRICOLES), MONTPELLIER , France,
8. TEAGASC - AGRICULTURE AND FOOD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY , CARLOW, Ireland
9. BUSINESS INCUBATOR – GOTSE DELCHEV, Entrepreneurship Promotion Center
10. BUND DER DEUTSCHEN LANDJUGEND E.V. (BDL) Belin, Germany