Bridging the implementation gap;

• Effective dissemination of (research) information
• Enabling access to best available knowledge/best practice
• Regional adaptation of general information
• Creating arenas for joint learning
• Developing new products, business models and markets
• Gaining access to and linking beekeepers needs
• Reaching societal goals through public funding

…but large differences among the “knowledge systems” across Europe (actors, networks, funding, etc) (B-KIS)

Specific challenges in beekeeping

• Diversified target group (large- to small-scale)
• Mainly micro-businesses and self-subsistence
• Rural entrepreneurs, geographically scattered
• Gender and age structure
• The will or ability to pay for professional services?
• Lack of tradition in formalised competence development
• Trainers and educators are self-trained as pedagogs (autodidacts)

… but also a situation where beekeepers are used to take responsibility for their own learning

Smartbees develops a webbased extension tool-box – as a resource for trainers and educators in beekeeping

Introduction to bee-extension

SmartBees is funded by the European Commission under its FP7 KBBE program (2013.1.3-02, Grant Agreement number 613960).