Collaborative Business Models

In COMMECT, we co-design business models with rural stakeholders. The aim: make digital connectivity solutions viable, fair and “built-to-last” by sharing value, costs and risks across the local ecosystem.

Outcome: practical models that explain who benefits, who invests, and how Living Lab solutions can scale.

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Why collaborative?

Rural value chains are increasingly interconnected: no single actor can deliver impact alone. Collaborative models allow partners to bundle resources, share knowledge, make joint investments and overcome barriers together—so innovations reach end-users and remain sustainable.

How we apply it

1) Co-creation workshops

Living Lab stakeholders meet to surface needs, map actors and align objectives for collective impact.

2) Templates & tools

We use value-network maps, model canvases and business cases to design feasible collaboration setups.

3) Shared models

Clear agreements on value sharing, roles, governance and financing so solutions can scale and last.

Expected outcomes

Stakeholder-owned models that show how rural connectivity solutions create and share value.
Reduced adoption barriers via joint investments, shared infrastructure and trusted governance.
Business cases that support real implementation in Living Labs and beyond.

Resources

Webinar – Collaborative Business Models

Lessons from co-developing sustainable, trust-based models with Living Lab partners across rural sectors.

Webinar page · Watch on YouTube →

PDF

Deliverable – Dissemination & Business Models (D6.7)

Public report summarising dissemination actions and insights from collaborative business modelling.

Download the deliverable (PDF) →

Collaborative Business Models

Example: Living Lab Turkey – collaborative business model for prevention of diseases forolive cultivation

We can illustrate the application of collaborative business modelling by means of findings from LL Turkey. LL Turkey focuses on the development of connectivity solutions to support rural olive tree farmers. A major challenge for these farmers is the combatting of diseases and pests (such as the olive fly): poorly treated diseases and pests can severely affect the quality and yield of the olives produced, in turn negatively affecting the performance of farmers. Connectivity-enabled solutions such as weather stations and fly traps can help to address these challenges. However, it should be understood how these solutions can be offered to (often low-income) farmers and how investments should be made to ensure their long-term roll-out and adoption in practice.

The results illustrate that through collaboration between farmer’s cooperatives and the local government, the solutions can be financed. Cooperatives benefit from their farmers performing well, and therefore are incentivized to finance the solutions on behalf of their farmers. On the other hand, local governments are keen on stimulating (high-quality) olive production and as such are willing to co-invest. We also observe that insurance providers are willing to further finance these solutions: if diseases can be avoided, less insurance payouts are needed. Therefore, the prevention of diseases also has significant benefits for the insurance providers, incentivizing them to support their roll-out in practice.

Through this investment structure, the investment barrier for weather stations and olive fly traps can be significantly lowered. Both TurkCell (technology provider) and the agricultural olive institute (service provider) work together to ensure that the solutions are maintained and that advice on timely pesticide use can be given to rural olive tree farmers.