Path to 2050: Transformative Workshop Organization and Facilitation

Client: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Our team worked with Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s Science and Technology Branch and Transformative Workshop Secretariat to support a virtual Transformative Workshop on the topic of Net Zero Agriculture.

Expertise Applied:

  • Research and insights

  • Plain language writing

  • Facilitating with virtual tools

  • Network and relationship management

  • Strategic thinking and planning

We brought together experts from within the government and across the Canadian agri-food system and engaged in innovation-oriented breakout room activities. The goal was to identify the science and innovation opportunities for Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector to pursue Canada’s net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050.

Providing Agriculture and Agri-Food Sector Expertise to Facilitate a Forward-Thinking Discussion

Our team worked with AAFC's Science and Technology Branch by:

  • Designing the workshop including facilitating regular meetings with the Transformative Workshop team, developing an agenda and facilitation plan, and finding keynote speakers and external participants.

  • Managing invitations, registration, and communication with invitees and participants.

  • Developing a background note to inform the Transformative Workshop and prepare the participants, summarizing the structure of the workshop, recent research, and global initiatives on agriculture in a net-zero economy.

  • Facilitating a technical run-through, hosting and moderating the workshop, and facilitating its interactive components (e.g., whiteboards and anonymous polling).

  • Preparing summary notes for the organizing committee, highlighting opportunities to enhance agriculture’s competitiveness and resilience in a net-zero future.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Science and Technology Branch will take the summary notes from the workshop and develop a report on the findings and recommendations to inform AAFC’s science, research and policy priorities by exploring what technologies, tools, practices, or transformational changes will be required to achieve emissions reduction targets.

 

Together, participants brainstormed creative solutions that incorporated systems thinking, climate science, food and climate justice, technological innovation, and decolonization to ensure the agri-food sector provides a secure, quality food system for all Canadians and can thrive in a net-zero economy.

Participants were from a variety of backgrounds including academia, federal government policy makers and researchers, and industry organizations. Attendance on the first day of the conference was 83, followed by 80 and 77 attendees on the second and third days respectively.

 

Is your organization interested in facilitating workshops with diverse groups of agri-food sector stakeholders? Our team of professionals can help!