Behavioural and cognitive biases reduce the ability of decision makers to adopt the best solutions among the alternatives available. Borrowed from pre-existing knowledge in psychology on priming, “nudges” are defined as gentle interventions in a decision maker’s choice architecture (default choice, information, presentation, framing etc.), which enhance the likelihood of optimal choices. ForestAgriGreenNudge will first review initiatives and projects which explicitly or implicitly use Green Nudges to promote the use of sustainable practices in farming and forestry. It will then assess each type of nudge according to two types of criteria: 1) Criteria associated with efficacy in promoting the use of the desired practices over a sufficiently long period and 2) Criteria dictated by ethics and good practice principles (transparency, nudge awareness, participation/self-regulation, actor-specificity, etc.) that guarantee the quality of the implementation process. Nudges will then be tested in the field and assessed on a grid, reflecting the desiderata of efficacy and implementation quality. The set of successful nudges will be enriched by innovative nudges based on information regarding attitudes and strategies of actors along the entire value chain. The resulting set of nudges together with their corresponding implementation guidelines, and the business models and market conditions which favour their application in agroforestry will be collected on an online tool (iNUDGE Academy) whose target audience will include policy makers, wholesalers, retailers, farmers and foresters. The tool will associate each nudge with implementation rules, possible domains of application and possible risks in terms of efficacy/good practice trade-offs. Diffusion of the results among farming and forestry experts, policy makers, and actors along the value chain will maximise the impact of the project, enhancing the adoption of sustainable practices in the farm and in the forest.

ForestAgriGreenNudge will identify effective green nudges, and the key features that make them suitable to different stakeholders in different scenarios. Working with established EU initiatives, we will showcase examples of green nudges in action, and work across value chains to identify and implement new effective green nudges. We will engage with policy makers to ensure green nudges are effectively incorporated into policy and establish an “iNUDGE Academy” to support any stakeholder looking to select, apply and benefit from green nudges.

Specific objectives of the project are to:

1. Identify green nudges
2. Test innovative green nudges and improve practitioners' self-regulatory capacity
3. Scale up access to, and uptake of, green nudges

The following activities will be developed:

• Development of the Green nudge evaluation grid and resource library.
• Open access Green Nudge Conferences.
• Policy forums and national conferences.
• Nudge interventions tested across forestry and agriculture.
• Development of Best Practices.
• Open access publications.
• Green Nudge training delivered through the iNUDGE Academy.
• Establishment of the Nudge Library, and nudge evaluation grid, and best practice guidelines.
• Development of policy recommendations, based on policy forum workshops and national engagement with policy makers and AKIS actors leads to improve policies and decision making.
• Link with other EU projects, including EU-FarmBook, ModernAKIS, ATTRACTISS, WP2 collaborations and Project Group formations.

• Improved understanding of and selection of Green Nudges, accounting for behavioural biases.
• New diagnostic tools for behavioural biases, adapted to forestry and farming context.
• Proposal and effectiveness testing of new and existing nudges, with external validity checks in the field.
• Publications, reports and policy recommendations, enabling policy makers, solution developers, advisors and farmers to recognise biological, behavioural and socioeconomic limitations on transition towards sustainable practices and increased uptake of Green Nudges, and opportunities to overcome these limitations.
• Educational modules for the training of foresters, farmers and their respective advisors and value chain actors, including AKIS actors, concerning the effectiveness and implementation of nudges as a means of enhancing transition towards sustainable production.
• Multi-actor stakeholders are aware of Green Nudges and have access to information about Best Practice of their application.
• Nudgees are able to self-regulate their own behaviours in response to Green Nudges.
• Increased research into development of novel nudges and implementation, and integration into the evaluation grid.
• Green Nudges are selected and embedded into policy development and implementation at European and national scales.
• iNDUGE Acaedmy and associated resources.