The WELL-E Initiative: Inclusive Innovation to deliver data-driven solutions with and for the Canadian Dairy Industry
Authors: Elsa Vasseur
Date: 2025-07-01
Status: Published
Purpose textbar Evolving theoretical frameworks of responsible and inclusive innovation argue systems change must properly address real-world stakeholder needs and create positive impacts for society and environment. These principles lie at the heart and mission of the Research and Innovation Chair in Animal Welfare and Artificial Intelligence (WELL-E). Our team works to integrate intentionally both stakeholder and domain expert knowledge with cutting-edge AI methods and tools for the improvement of animal (and human) welfare. WELL-E is a Digital Living Laboratory, focused on the needs of animals and end-users, and is currently running at two research facilities: a university training environment and a vocational training environment for incarcerated persons, creating a community of practice allowing co-creation of technology, knowledge, and information with farmers, educators, researchers, and extensionists.
Design/Methodology/Approach textbar Beginning with the university training environment, we have been working directly with farm staff and management to co-develop and pilot new practices for animal housing and management. Specifically through living lab experiments from 2019-2024, we aimed to understand how end users transition herds from a movement-restricted system to having regular outdoor access in a practical way while enhancing animal welfare and ethics. Our next major project focusses on working directly with the vocational training environment staff on the construction of a new dairy as a research location to test cutting-edge technologies and practices for the deployment of responsible AI tools on farms, embracing F.A.I.R. principles and empowering end users to be at the forefront of these innovations.
Findingstextbar While our team’s research on developing new knowledge has led to major changes in practice, we have since been working directly with farm staff and management at the research training farm on how best to introduce increased movement opportunities (group size on exits, handler methods, etc.), ensuring its swift adoption across Canada. Vocational farm staff have been working directly with WELL-E to build training curriculum on stockmanship and clerical work (data entry, use of sensors), as well as to pilot new tools and technologies.