Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

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    • ACORNS - Accelerate the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-ups https://acorns.ie

      From the Pilot to ACORNS 9

      Background

      The report of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA) contained a recommendation that a Rural Innovation and Development Fund should be developed to support “innovative, small scale pilot initiatives that explore the diverse range of potential identified through the CEDRA process”. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine provided for the setting up of this Fund initially in his 2015, 2016 and 2018 budget allocations.

      In June 2015, a request for tenders was made, through a public procurement competition, for the provision of a service for the development and delivery of a tailored pilot programme to address the skills, enterprise and capability gaps of nascent female entrepreneurs living in rural areas. Rural areas are defined as those outside the administrative city boundaries of Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and Galway.  The pilot initiative was funded under the CEDRA 2015 Rural Innovation and Development Fund. 

      The ACORNS initiative designed to Accelerate the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-ups, developed by Fitzsimons Consulting, was selected as most suitable to achieve the stated objectives. It was designed to unleash the potential of female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland, who had recently started a business or who had taken concrete steps towards starting a business. The objective was to equip these early-stage entrepreneurs with the appropriate knowledge, confidence, and networks to successfully start and develop sustainable businesses. 

      Development of ACORNS across the cycles

      The fundamental belief, on which the ACORNS pilot was based, has remain constant throughout the cycles. It is a belief that entrepreneurs learn best from each other. Accordingly, the ACORNS initiative was designed to be centred on interactive round table sessions that were facilitated by female entrepreneurs, who had started and successfully grown businesses in rural Ireland. These are known as ACORNS Lead Entrepreneurs. All are volunteers. They are drawn from members of the Going for Growth Community and have experienced the benefits of peer support and facilitated round tables at first hand. All have started and successfully grown their businesses in rural Ireland, so understand the challenges specific to starting and growing a business in a rural location. 

      ACORNS has consistently been built on a culture of confidentiality, everything discussed around the table stays around the table; collegiality, all seek to support each other in a win:win mentality; and respect for the Lead Entrepreneur and the voluntary nature of her involvement, and for each other and their businesses.

      After the pilot, another request for tenders was issued in which, in addition to the provision of support to a new cycle of about 50 early-stage entrepreneurs, it was requested that further support be given to those who had successfully completed the pilot.  This was very welcome as there was a clear appetite for continuing engagement on the part of both the ACORNS pilot participants and the voluntary Lead Entrepreneurs. 

      A Further Development phase was introduced, which saw the original groups meet again with their Lead Entrepreneurs on two occasions over the following cycle. A series of topic-based workshops were introduced, and the Community members were offered the opportunity, if they were trading, to be interviewed, have their story written up and, when cleared by them, professionally formatted and uploaded on to the website. 

      These additional elements, which formed the basis of an ACORNS Community, have continued throughout the cycles since. 

      They were augmented in the third cycle, when ACORNS Plus was introduced. This opportunity was presented to Community members, who were serious about growing their businesses. Initially a Lead Entrepreneur from Going for Growth facilitated this round table and gave the participants on ACORNS Plus a Going for Growth experience. Given the demand for places, the following year a second Going for Growth Lead agreed to facilitate an ACORNS Plus round table, so that two of these round tables could be offered. When completed, those who had participated were offered an ACORNS Plus Review the following cycle.  This positioned those participants interested in driving forward their businesses, an opportunity to get support to do so. ACORNS Plus is now an integral part of the offering to community members and there continues to be competition for places. 

      An annual Community Forum was introduced with an associated showcase. The ACORNS Plus participants, who successfully completed the cycle, were celebrated at the Community Forum.

      In this way the Community has strengthened and grown. At the start of ACORNS 9, there were almost 250 active members of the ACORNS Community. 

      The past participants also centrally feature in the media drive, particularly in local print media and broadcast.  Specially tailored press releases, in which their testimonials are woven, are drafted with their permission. The community members featured are delighted and amplify this coverage on their social media.   

      Interestingly, 23% of the selected participants in ACORNS 2 heard about ACORNS from a previous participant. This high level of support, by which previous participants become ambassadors, continues. It may be noted in ACORNS 9 (22%), and in the selection of ACORNS 10 (30%), just completed. 

      When it was not possible to meet in person during the pandemic the round tables, topic -based workshops and Forum were all held online. While it allowed the initiative to support participants through challenging times, it reinforced that in-person meetings are preferable. 

      Outcomes

      Feedback and evaluation are built into the ACORNS model and is an integral part of the initiative throughout each cycle. 

      As part of this, at the end of each cycle, the participants are sent their original application forms and are asked to complete an online end of cycle survey, having reviewed their application. The outcomes are self-reported and capture both qualitative and tangible outcomes. These are reported to DAFM at the end of each cycle. They have been outstandingly positive across all cycles. 

      Similar questions are asked of previous participants at the conclusion of their cycle of ACORNS. So comparisons in terms of their experience and feedback across the nine cycles can be made.   

       The success of ACORNS has been recognised both in Ireland and across the European Union since it began in 2015. 

      There have been many opportunities over the course of the cycles to demonstrate thought leadership around the support that is offered in Ireland to early-stage female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland, with the support of the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine. 

      The following is just a sample of these: 

      • ACORNS was selected to represent Ireland in the European Enterprise Promotion Awards 2018, Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills and was awarded the runner up in this category. ACORNS also featured prominently in the Manifesto for an Innovative Europe, which was developed by the participants of the 2018 SME Assembly, 
      • In June 2019, ACORNS was cited as good practise by the Bavarian State Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry in its report “How Women Start Successful Businesses, female entrepreneurs in agriculture”, with a recommendation that a similar programme could be established in Bavaria. [4]
      • ACORNS has also been included in “A Better World” Ireland’s policy for International Development, as an exemplar of the approach that can be adopted in developing countries: “We will explore the potential to learn from and collaborate with Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine’s initiative for Accelerating the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-ups (ACORNS) to promote female entrepreneurship, and other initiatives through multilateral partners”.
      • ACORNS was also mentioned in detail in the OECD Report entitled “SME and Entrepreneurship Policy in Ireland”, which was commissioned by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and published in October 2019. 
      • ACORNS was represented in the Innovation Arena of Enterprise Ireland, as a guest of Enterprise Ireland, at the Ploughing in September for each of the cycles since ACORNS 2, except during the pandemic. This is ideal, as it coincides with the open call for applicants,  which is timed to close the day after the Ploughing concludes. 
      • ACORNS was selected by INTERREG, an EU body, and was showcased in May 2024, as a best-in-class example of effective support for female entrepreneurship in rural locations, at a European conference in Burgos, Spain, organised as part of a Policy and Learning Platform.  It was subsequently written up as a good case example and posted on the website, with a confirmatory comment from an associated professor. 

      From the outset the sponsorship of Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) and the relevant Minister has been acknowledged prominently on the website, the brochure and in all marketing material (backdrops, pull-ups, flyers etc). 

      It is also prominently included in the press releases that issue throughout the cycle, including at the opening of the call for applicants, when a quote from the relevant Minister is also included. A new photograph with the Minister of the day, a couple of participants and a Lead is taken each summer to accompany the press release for the forthcoming cycle.  

      The support is acknowledged in any captions that issue to accompany photos throughout the cycle. All the profiles of the past participants, which are professionally formatted, include the DAFM logo, when they are uploaded on the website. The Lead Entrepreneurs and participants in their interview briefing notes are requested to acknowledge the support of the Department, without whose support ACORNS simply would not happen.    This is reinforced frequently by the Director when she meets the current group of participants and on each occasion with Community members.  

      A representative of DAFM attends all the formal events - Launch Forum, Cycle Celebration and Community Forum and is photographed presenting the individual certificates. These photographs are used subsequently in regional press releases. 

      All of the above reinforces the positive association of the DAFM with ACORNS. The most tangible measure of this is that the Minister, members of the Government more generally or the Department were specifically mentioned in 72% of all media mentions over the ACORNS 9 cycle, which were considerable.  This level of positive association is demonstrated year after year.