VALOR holds its first Annual General Meeting in Reading, United Kingdom
The VALOR project brought its partners together for the first Annual General Meeting (AGM1) in Reading, United Kingdom, on 3-4 December 2025. Over two days, the consortium gathered to exchange ideas, plan the next steps of the project, and strengthen collaboration across disciplines.
VALOR is an interdisciplinary initiative, combining theoretical and applied ecology with social sciences, economics and business. Its systems-based approach connects these different strands of research to tell the complete story in each of the project’s seven focal regions. Moving into the second year, one of the main challenges will be securing all the different types of data needed without placing too much burden on any group. For this reason, the annual meeting was split into two halves: the first, in Reading, to plan data collection; and the second, scheduled for March 2026, to focus on the broader cross-cutting details once key deliverables are completed.
Throughout the meeting, partners shared their on-the-ground experiences to refine methodologies and coordinate efforts. Discussions covered everything from social science workshop design to the setup of ecological fieldwork. Adjustments were made to better tailor data collection to smallholder farms in the Canary Islands, while partners explored how cultural perceptions of invasive flowering plants differ in southern Sweden.
Over the two days, partners made significant progress on methodologies and data needs. They shared their experiences from the focal regions to help shape everything from the social science workshop strategy to the design of ecological fieldwork. Adjustments were made to ensure ecological data collection better fits the smallholder farms of the Canary Islands, and discussions explored the different cultural views of invasive flowering plants in southern Sweden.
The meeting wrapped up on a positive note, with participants leaving inspired and aligned on the next steps. As VALOR moves into its second year, the months ahead will be critical as the project begins to gather data and produce its first scientific deliverables.