Purpose
The general purpose of the RUN business model is to improve the performance of the agricultural innovation system. It is an operational framework for intensified information exchange, interaction and collaboration between a large number of independent actors and organizations towards a common goal.
The central element of the model is the definition and delivery of services. The framework comprises a procedure for the definition of services, a system for seamless documentation of all processes and a work-flow management system that assures delivery and the timely payment of involved actors.
How it works
The RUN business model pursues a collaborative, result oriented and demand driven approach for the provision of services that aim at satisfying the particular needs of individual persons or organisations. The system takes advantage of young professionals and the Internet to pool and organise human resources and local initiatives for the provision of services. Services have a specific objective and are usually launched in the frame of a coordinated action towards a specific goal.
An example is the information exchange service (IES-service). It enables a systematic dialogue between farmers and experts. The graph below illustrates the different steps from the design to the delivery of the service, the role of the different actors and the costs involved.
The RUN business model can be used for all kind of services from vocational training to making radio programmes. Please, click here to view the list of complementary services that were successfully implemented during eRAILS2 project that was carried out by the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food of Germany (BLE) following the RUN business model in collaboration with FARA and with support of the Africa Development Bank.
Benefits
The involvement of different actors with complimentary skills and institutional background is aiming at building up collective know-how that is required for the delivery of complex services. The process stimulates learning at all levels of the innovation system. The graph below gives an overview of the multiple benefits of the IES service.
Core principles
1. Demand driven: All services are delivered following the demand that is expressed by an individual. They evaluate the services upon delivery.
2. Build on the local economy: The prices of services are determined on the basis of the prices of the local economy. Services are delivered in collaboration with existing initiatives, small businesses and young professionals.
3. Result oriented: A service is a set of clearly defined tasks involving several actors, so called task managers. Results of each task are defined in clear quantitative and qualitative terms. Each task has a defined price composed of the expenditures for goods and services that the task manager needs to buy and his honorarium for the time he needs to invest in order to complete his tasks. Rules, regulations and the price of the tasks and the modalities of the payment of task managers are negotiated at the start and remain unchanged throughout the defined period. Tasks mangers are paid for the delivery of the results. They may freely organise their work as long as they deliver the results in time.
4. Payment upon delivery: Involved task managers are paid upon delivery of the service.
5. Transparency: The supporting information system assures timely and complete documentation of all processes on the Internet, while ensuring the protection of individual rights. Hard-copies are made accessible to the communities in local archives.
The Film - A bridge between science and farmers
The documentary "A Bridge between Science and Farmers" about the Information Exchange Service permits a better understanding of the business model. The length of the documentary is 14 minutes.
