Planning and Deploying effective Social Farming Initiatives Section 1.1 Activities Planning Provided by PARS

Objectives In this unit are presented some suggestions for planning effective social farming initiatives. The aim is to describe the main aspects of planning and operational activities, focusing on the subjects of social agriculture and the working group. Then we propose some indications about the choice of objectives, training activities, safety and the involvement of the disadvantaged people.

Learning outcomes At the end of this module you will be able to: Identify the network of subjects involved in social farming initiatives. Understand the composition of the working group and the professional skills involved. Effectively plan social farming initiatives by defining objectives and activities.

1.1.2 Steps in planning process What I whant to do? What can I do? Who is is for? How can I do it? Idea definition Whom do I need? With whom I can work? Who has the appropriate skills and competences? Who has the appropriate resources? Partner research Partnership definition Partnership agreement

Partners Research Anyone wishing to promote a social farming project must be able to create and manage a network of relationships between several partners with whom to collaborate for the realization of the activities.

The network of relationship Source: Ricciardi G., Dara Guccione G. (2018) “I beneficiari degli interventi di AS”, Roma 23 Aprile CREA-PB

Partnership agreement The relations between the different participants in the social farming project must be formalized through a specific written agreement.

Partnership agreement The partnership agreement is the document that: defines the tasks of all the partners involved clearly lists the objectives of the agreement and the activities to be carried out defines the responsibilities of the partners defines methods for coordinating actions

1.1.3 The working group The agricultural entrepreneur Social and health professionals The role of the tutor Characteristics of the tutor Agricultural professionalism Social professionalism

The agricultural entrepreneur: 1.1.3 The working group The agricultural entrepreneur: knows the needs of the company, organizes and coordinates the work trying to involve everyone in the different activities.

1.1.3 The working group Heath-care professionals: allied professionals, physical, occupational, activity or recreational therapists; nurses, medical doctors, teachers; vocational rehabilitation specialists; prison guards and many other professionals in the health-care and special-services Each figure is characterized by specific professionalism.

1.1.3 The working group The tutor: plays the role of mediator between the farmer, the subjects to whom the social farming initiatives are addressed and the various health and social services professionals.

Characteristics of the tutor 1.1.3 The working group Characteristics of the tutor The tutor is usually the figure that accompanies the subject at all stages of the social farming project. The tutor participates to the activities together with the person assigned to him. The tutor must also have some agricultural skills to know how to carry out effectively the activities and manage the unexpected.

Agricultural professionalism 1.1.3 The working group Agricultural professionalism The motivations: It is also important to understand the reasons that lead the farmer to start up social farming: religious ethical-moral strategic-economic: willingness to diversify business activities to overcome market difficulties and find new income outlets.

Social professionalism 1.1.3 The working group Social professionalism Professionals in the socio-therapeutic sectors play a decisive role in accompanying people in a new project of social farming. In addition to the medical/rehabilitative skills and relational skills, the following skills are important and complement the figure of the "tutor":

Social professionalism 1.1.3 The working group Social professionalism Acceptance of limits: ability to accept limits and difficulties of the assigned person, considering them as peculiar characteristics of his own personality; Motivation: Motivate, encourage collaboration and the understanding of the meaning of commitment, working alongside the person assigned ("scaffolding"); Peer approach: Stimulate the ability to replicate the illustrated actions through a "peer-to-peer" approach Common goal: focus on the common goal and not on the individual performance; Unforeseen events: knowing how to manage unexpected events;

Social professionalism 1.1.3 The working group Social professionalism Tolerance to error: Accept a certain degree of freedom of action and tolerance of error; Decision: Know how to make decisions but also be ready to review your positions if conditions change; Observation: Be careful in the observation to get new ideas for intervention in the evaluation and planning of activities. Encouragement: To encourage, without exaggerating, the positive results of a given action;

Reference link www.farmingforhealth.org

Bibliography Inea (2012) La valuzione delle azioni innovative di agricoltura sociale http://dspace.crea.gov.it/handle/inea/513 Di Iacovo F. (2010) “L’agricoltura sociale: pratiche e paradigmi nello scenario comunitario”, L’agricoltura oltre le crisi”, Atti XLVII Convegno di Studi SIDEA Campobasso, 22-25 settembre 2010 Ricciardi G., Dara Guccione G. (2018) “I beneficiari degli interventi di AS”, Roma 23 Aprile CREA-PB

Glossary Objective: The objectives of a project establish the results to be achieved at the end of the project. The goal must be: clearly defined and simple to understand; measurable in order to assess its reachability; accessible (not too high but accessible by the people involved), relevant (important for the realization of the project). Competence: It is synonymous of know-how; competence represents the ability to transform knowledge in actions to achieve the desired result. Evaluation: Evaluation is a judgment based on the collection and interpretation of information and aims to improve the achievement of objectives. The evaluation is carried out in defined moments of the project life (initial, ongoing, final). Scaffolding: the set of support strategies that a more experienced individual provides to the apprentice to accompany him in the processes of learning new skills and to take on new tasks. Monitoring: Monitoring is a systematic examination of the progress of activities according to a pre-established timetable and based on significant and representative indicators.

Thank you for the attention!