The NIVA leadership undertook a self-evaluation framed as a SWOT analysis, to assess NIVA’s strengths and weaknesses and to set that off against the external opportunities and threats, as shown in a table below.

As is shown in the SWOT analysis, NIVA is gradually capturing the right developments, but needs to account for some of its weaknesses to achieve its full potential. In our perspective NIVA must focus on the following developments in the next months:

1. Continue the focus on cross Member State collaboration and co-design, while grasping the opportunity to involve outside-NIVA PAs and other partners.

2. Focus on active implementation of the NIVA innovations and components in PA systems. Within PA’s there are many different departments and those departments deciding on adoption of innovations might not be involved in NIVA. Hence an PA Adoption group was started over the past months of NIVA to facilitate uptake of innovations.

3. Continue to further engage a wide range of stakeholders through the Stakeholder Forums, building on a good virtual presence with webinars and whenever possible engaging ‘in-person’ for dedicated topics. A stakeholder analysis will be used to further broaden the involved stakeholder groups and achieve a better coverage.

4. Develop more accessible knowledge products (through policy and technical briefs), alongside a unique open source approach, providing the stakeholder network with the required insights and sense-making.

5. Solidify the network in a future oriented exploitation plan; NIVA is gradually demonstrating the added value of collaboration and co-design, and this has to be turned in a realistic and feasible exploitation plan for next phases.

SWOT overview of NIVA

Strengths

Weaknesses

  • Strong coalition of Europe`s leading PA`s

  • Additional strong involvement of technical partners, research institutions and farmer organisations

  • High commitment of partners and individuals due to operational daily business of partners

  • Active Stakeholder Forum

  • Dissemination channel through policy briefs and technical briefs

  • Strong approach for collaboration with Single MS to Multi-MS trial to Deployment

  • Good understanding of technical needs in future CAP

  • Multi-actor approach implemented at use case level

  • Outscaling approach for accelerated operationalisation of innovations

  • Leading Standard-setting coalition of PA`s

  • Community of committed experts in CAP monitoring systems is relatively small across EU

  • Reluctance of PA IT departments to quickly introduce innovations

  • Lack of reporting & documentation skills

  • Lack of familiarity across partners with open source approaches

  • Complex decision-making procedures within NIVA

  • Innovation ecosystem not yet formalised and acknowledged

  • Identified solution to sustain NIVA`s results not yet in place.

  • IPR complexities and attitude of partners towards open approaches

Opportunities

Threats

  • Increased MS`s interest in collaborative development, joint working on IACS (digital) innovations and collaborate on pilots.

  • Development of Digital Europe and European Data Spaces creates possibilities for long term exploitation

  • Encouraging implementation of pilots across MS

  • Develop knowledge products across integrative WPs 3, 4 & 5 for wide-spread distribution

  • Continue strong virtual presence and events

  • Need for "hub" to consolidate all developments on IACS systems across Europe (i.e. FaST, GSAA, EO monitoring etc.)

  • Carbon farming gains popularity, requiring digital tools as NIVA are currently piloting.

  • IACS systems are complex and individually implemented per MS. Also, their functionality is regulated by EC, hence heavily influenced by policy.

  • Policy discussions for new CAP and MS Strategic Plans are still ongoing

  • Ongoing COVID19 pandemic creates sub optimal knowledge exchange conditions and restricts physical collaboration.