The development and implementation of an organic action plan re- quires the involvement of stakeholders from within and outside the organic sector. Thus, a clear communication strategy is essential. Communication is necessary at six stages:
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Box 6.3 Presenting the key elements of an organic action plan
With the launch of an organic action plan it is important that all stakeholders involved, including benefaries, are fully aware of the
final organic action plan concept. The presentation of the plan should
be fully accessible to all relevant stakeholders and must not be too long
or detailed, otherwise it will be difficult for all people to be able to en-
gage and understand it. While is no one way to develop the final organic
action plan document there are some common elements which can be presented. These include:
A foreword, which is usually written by a key person with significant
standing within the organic or the wider food and farming sector. The foreword could, for example, be written by an Agriculture Minister or a champion within the organic sector who can give some political weight or gravitas to the document.
An executive summary to present the key highlights and most important parts of the action plan. The summary should showcase the main themes of each section of the plan rather than detailing every single action point.
A description of the current situation or status quo of the organic sector in the country or region, to highlight the key issues facing organics in the context of wider agri-food industry in the area. In some cases, this description might be supplemented by the results of an evaluation of a previous action plan identifying what has been achieved and what is needed for future plans.
A Mission statement or Vision outlining what the action plan is trying to achieve overall in terms of its goals and overarching
themes and how they are reflected in the strategic objectives.
An overview of the aims, strategic objectives and action points of the plan organised across relevant themes, including the relevant policy instrument that will be used. The overview could be pre-
sented in tabular form to highlight the different parts in brief and
straightforward ways. It could also summarise the milestones to achieved, the group responsible for each action, the resources al- located, the monitoring and evaluation and the expected outcomes. An acknowledgement of the stakeholders involved in the deve- lopment and implementation of the action plan, to highlight the participatory nature of the plan
An overview of the plan’s follow-up and outlook in terms of how the people involved or with a stake in the plan’s implementation and development will be kept updated on the plan’s progress as well as the procedures for monitoring and evaluation.
In
volving stak
At the initiation phase of the organic action plan process to ensure that all stakeholders know about the organic action plan so that they can get involved if they wish, and to show some potential benefits for businesses, in particular SMEs
During the development to maximise participation, particularly to keep informed those stakeholders who are not actively involved in the development of the plan
At the launch when the concept of an organic action plan is final- ised, and the measures are launched, so that the beneficiaries can be made aware of the opportunities available through the policy measures included in the plan
During the implementation advisory boards or steering groups used to control the implementation of the organic action plan should also include representatives of relevant stakeholder groups; these may convey the information concerning the plan back to other stakeholders
During evaluation to enable feedback on the successes and failures of the policy measures from interested stakeholders and beneficiaries
After the evaluation to disseminate the findings of the evaluation to all stakeholders and the public in general
If there is little or no communication about the existence of an organic action plan, then there will be inadequate involvement and poor imple- mentation of the measures. As a consequence, it is not sufficient to merely announce the launch of an action plan: it is important to carry on with a clear communication strategy.
Sufficient resources for communication measures
Since communication is so essential for the acceptance and success of the organic action plan, sufficient resources should be allocated to communication throughout the policy design and formulation, deci- sion making, implementation and evaluation phases of the action plan policy cycle. Some of the measures will be more readily communicated (for example the availability of payments to encourage conversion, or the grants for research and development). Others may present
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more of a challenge, particularly where the organic action plan policy measure relates to a larger programme which is available as part of the national or EU agricultural policy. This could include for example the investment support for organic businesses under a national Rural Development Plan (see Box 6.4).
Box 6.4 Communicating the development and implementation of the German Organic Action Plan
The previous and latest German organic action plans (see Box 4.2) have demonstrated how good communication about different programmes can be achieved, particularly through online media, as well as using targeted workshops and communication events.
Ökolandbau.de is focused on the target audiences for the communications pro- gramme, including producers, processors, traders, caterers, consumers, children, and teachers. It contains comprehensive infor-
mation on actions, initiatives, the benefits of
organic farming and statistical data. BÖLN is focused on the research pro- gramme to support the development of organic and (more recently) other forms of sustainable agriculture. It contains full details of projects that have been under- taken, new calls for proposals and other initiatives. More information available at: www.bundesprogramm.de
For the development of the new organic action plan from 2017, about 140 experts and stakeholders were involved in confe- rences and workshops. A website was also set up by the Thünen Institut and is regu- larly updated with news from events and is used as the main vehicle for documenting the process. More information available at: www.thuenen.de