WP4 DIVERSITY IN FOOD POLICY AND POLITICS (LEAD ITALY)

General description:

Diverse food governance approaches necessitate a comprehensive assessment of potential synergies and gaps in food related policy instruments as well as a better understanding of their impact and implementation in diverse local foodscapes/systems. A diversified foodscape requires that the policy instruments and the forms of political engagement on territories are diverse. Against one-dimensional imaginaries of democratic processes and governance, it is crucial that innovative or alternative forms of participation are given space and voice

In this WP we comparatively analyse policy documents to better understand different policies that support sustainable and organic food systems. We will also examine stakeholders’ involvement in different local food systems to better understand barriers and drivers of change. Mapping actors by means of a network analysis unsheathes specific coalition dynamics (e.g. policy coalitions) and at the presence of ‘local innovation niches’ across all actors in the food chain. The results will assist in mapping the various actors and their activities for the living labs (WP5).

See the ppt presentation [HERE]

Task 4.1. Identify diversity of in policy interventions:

Explores the different governmental policy interventions and compares the diversity of policy interventions at different levels (national, regional and local) through document analysis and in-depth interviews with key informants.
This task aims to comparatively analyse the different policy interventions governments have taken to support sustainable and organic food systems over the most recent years at different levels (national, regional and local) in the participating countries. Alongside collecting information on major regulatory, fiscal, and policy frameworks, we will conduct 10-15 key-informant interviews per country with policy-makers and practitioners acting at different levels to collect their views on a number of aspects concerning crucial contextual and policy factors, such as their perceptions on how existing public policies work and how European, national and regional legislations and policies are being translated locally. The interviews will be conducted following a set of common guidelines for all participating countries.

Task 4.2. Mapping stakeholder involvement in local food systems:

Investigates the composition and relational structures of actors in different food systems by means of social network analysis to reveal differences in power and influence vis-à-vis resource exchange. We will further analyse the ties between organisations and political authorities at different territorial levels to establish the potential of the various food organisations as important players in the system of local food governance.
Moving from the idea that food systems are highly contested political spaces, which contain a complex mix of relationships, stakeholders, and feedback that operate across a diversity of goals, task 4.2, investigates the composition and relational structures of actors in different food systems in selected regions. At this purpose, by selecting one local context per participating country, we will use a mixed methods social network analysis to understand how the different types of actors deal with differences in power and influence vis-à-vis resource exchange.

Methods:

● Document analysis
● 15 in-depth interviews with key-informants (policy-makers and practitioners) acting at different levels to collect their views on a number of aspects concerning crucial contextual and policy factors, such as their perceptions on how existing public policies work and how European, national and regional legislations and policies are being translated locally. The interviews will be conducted following a set of common guidelines for all participating countries.at different level
● Structured questionnaire designed to study both the characteristics of organizations as well as the relationships among them. We will analyse the ties between food organizations and political authorities at different territorial levels to establish the potential of the various food organizations as important players in the system of local food governance. Focusing at the local scale, will allow us to observe how the structure of relationship is shaped by different contextual opportunities as well as actors’ capacity to construct diverse value chains based on alternative flows of knowledge, information, and finance, as in the case of Alternative Food Networks (AFNs).

Objectives:

● Identify diversity in policy interventions to favour sustainable resource efficient food production, distribution and consumption across the participating countries and at different levels (national, regional and local).
● Map food system actors and activities in selected regions/contexts to develop an in-depth understanding of how contextual factors and governance approaches contribute to shape food systems as well as actors’ capacity to collectively act to promote more sustainable and integrated forms of production, distribution, and consumption.

Outreach deliverable:

● Conceptual map on major governmental policy interventions at different levels (from the international to the local level).
● Report on the diversity of policy interventions at different levels (national, regional and local) in the five countries.
● Description and analysis of the composition and relational structures of actors involved in different food systems by means of social network analysis.

Read the milestone documentation [HERE]