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The “Concepts” team combines two scientific perspectives. A first perspective is based on contributions from agronomy, animal science and ecology to develop knowledge and a multi-criteria and multi-level vision of the conciliation between objectives of production and resource conservation. A second perspective is based on interdisciplinary approaches to design dynamics in the agricultural world. Specifically, it deals with the contributions of agronomy and management sciences to analyse the strategies of firms and of some socio-technical systems. We analyse how innovation processes and new organizational strategies allow to reach multiple objectives.

In recent years, our research has been characterized by an increase in work on biodiversity/ecosystem services, design and innovation processes to foster agroecological systems. We have also developed approaches mobilizing ecology and social ecology. Our work on management science is oriented toward the application of the concept of “common goods” to agricultural resources and interacts with agronomy around the concept of innovative design (i.e. CK theory).

 “Proximities” team’s contribution to the project is based on ergonomics and design sciences to study the socio-cognitive processes implemented in collective design processes, particularly with farmers in transition to agroecological systems and by involving designers and users (cross-learning, analysis of the appropriation processes of artefacts during design for example).

Those approaches are also worked on within the scientific network IDEAS (Initiative for Design in Agrifood Systems, https://www6.inra.fr/ideas-agrifood ).

The main participants are: Aude Barbottin, François Coléno, Mourad Hannachi, Philippe Lescoat, Jean-Marc Meynard, Philippe Martin, Solène Pissonnier & Lorène Prost (« Concepts » team). Catherine Pasquier, Marianne Cerf (« Proximities » team)

The total number of the staff is around 65, PhD and post-doc people included