Partnership in Action: The Food and Farming Discovery Trust (FFDT) & Motivait

Creating a brighter future for all through food, farming and countryside education

About FFDT

The Food and Farming Discovery Trust (FFDT) is a charitable incorporated organisation that was formed in 2016 under the umbrella of Norfolk’s agricultural association; ‘The Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association’ (RNAA), it manages more than 22 regional and national partnerships.

It was initially formed to establish a network for partners to work together on projects that enhance learning opportunities for young people and future consumers about the importance of locally sourced food and farming products.

Shannon Woodhouse heads up FFDT as Trust Manager and is supported by colleagues and a range of experts and partners from across education, science, technology, agriculture and communication.

Together, they had a successful first three years developing several novel educational initiatives, a blend of in-person activities, and both online and printable resources. As part of defining their strategy across the years that followed, the need to go digital was emphasised, with the core of this digitisation being a new Digital Hub.

The Challenge

The initial vision for the FFDT’s digital transformation was the creation of an easy to use, informative and appealing website that could host digital resources, set within the context of a wider digital engagement experience that encompasses learning, gamification, social media and loyalty. The overarching goal was for the Digital Hub to take visitors on a journey towards increased awareness, understanding and appreciation of food, farming and the countryside by:

Presenting the FFDT as leading organisation in improving understanding and appreciation of farming, food production and land-based industries as a nationally vital sector
Promoting access to healthy, seasonal and locally produced food, and connect communities to the countryside
Educating young people, as well as the wider population, about the critical role agriculture plays in shaping the world we live in
Providing young people with exposure to the different stages of food production, including current STEM research and innovation
Informing young people about the opportunities that exist in Agri-Tech and land-based careers.

“Our new platform combines eye-catching graphics and detailed information, whilst interweaving gamification and social media, to create a Hub for food, farming and countryside education. Working with Motivait has been a brilliant experience, their enthusiasm, creativity and efficiency made the process both enjoyable and exciting.”

– Shannon Woodhouse, Trust Manager, FFDT

The Solution: The FFDT Digital Hub

Taking the initial requirements into account alongside the insights and conclusions that came from a key stakeholder research and information gathering stage, the original website has been completely transformed into an easy to use, interactive and visually engaging Digital Hub, home to the following features:

Intuitive, accessible, and responsive design – can be used across a range of devices without the user experience being impacted
Two iterations of an interactive map which encourages connection to the countryside by educating users on food, farming, and the countryside in an informative yet engaging way. Users can learn about what is going on around them in Norfolk by exploring the regional map, or how processes differ across seasons while exploring the seasonal map
A dedicated careers page to speak directly to older teenagers who may be considering their opportunities in agricultural careers
A learning page which hosts the FFDT’s learning materials – offering both an interactive page to explore where users can test their knowledge with minigames, and a downloadable resources pack so that resources can be explored independently offline or even printed and used at home or in the classroom
An associated social media and brand strategy that helps weave together all FFDT related activity whilst encouraging users onto the Hub. This has included a brand pack to ensure a consistent look and feel across all FFDT activities, both online and offline.

Feeling Inspired?

Development

From the offset, the development of the FFDT Digital Hub required high collaboration between Motivait and FFDT. We were committed to building something that could not only meet the complex needs of the client at the present time but crucially, it was built with future evolution in mind, ensuring the hub can grow with FFDT. FFDT and Motivait worked tirelessly together throughout the design and implementation process, to ensure the new Hub was an attractive, easy-to-use and engaging gateway to learning for users of all ages about food, farming and the countryside in Norfolk and beyond.

From project sign-off on all updated design elements, the Digital Hub was developed and deployed within five months (April – September).

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