SOCIAL INNOVATION FOR FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION: LESSONS FROM THE TUKFS PROGRAMME
| Name: | Social Innovation for Food Systems Transformation: Lessons from the TUKFS programme |
| Overview: | This report shows how many of the projects funded under the TUKFS programme are applying the principles of social innovation: new strategies, organisational designs and collaborations for meeting urgent social and environmental challenges. Compared to top-down innovation that is driven by ‘Big Science’ and powerful corporate interests, social innovation as a collaborative process aims to be much more inclusive of neglected ‘bottom-up’ voices. This includes many smaller enterprises and organisations with a role in food and wellbeing issues as well as many people who would just like a greater say as concerned consumers and citizens. The projects that took part in this study have provided novel research and innovation spaces that creatively combine the knowledge of academics from different disciplines with the practice-based understanding of partners from the public, private and civil society sectors. Areas of social innovation practice and potential, which were often complementary to other more sci-tech based innovations, include social enterprise models, education and behaviour change initiatives, and collaborative supply chain and place-based approaches. The findings provide new insight and lessons for academic researchers from different disciplines as well as for policy makers, food enterprises and others who wish to see a more sustainable and resilient food system. |
| Publication Date: | September 2024 |
| Authors: | Ian Vickers, Fergus Lyon, Katerina Psarikidou and Alise Kirtley |
| Download Here: | Social Innovation for Food Systems Transformation: Lessons from the TUKFS Programme |
