Cardiff School of City and Regional Planning

Knowledge Brokerage to Promote Sustainable Food Consumption and Production: Linking Scientists, Policymakers and Civil Society Organisations (FOODLINKS)

Introduction

The FOODLINKS project aims at developing and experimenting with new ways of linking research to policy-making in the field of sustainable food consumption and production. The goal of this project is to utilize the existing food research reservoir in innovative ways to strengthen cooperation between researchers, policy makers and civil society organisations. The core methodology involves collective learning among these groups around a shared learning agenda that will eventually reach out to an extended community.

The FOODLINKS consortium consists of 14 participants from 9 European countries.

• The policy partners include the Province of Limburg, The Netherlands; the City of Malmö, Sweden; Scottish Executive, Scotland; and the Municipality of Tukums, Latvia.
• The research partners include Wageningen University, The Netherlands; the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Switzerland; Cardiff University, UK; Pisa University, Italy; the Baltic Studies Centre, Latvia; City University of London, UK; the Inter-University Research Centre for Technology, Work and Culture, Austria; as well as the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development in Spain (Neiker).
• The Civil Society Organisations (CSO) involved include FRCIVAM Bretagne - a regional initiative promoting local sustainable development in rural areas in France and Via Campesina Austria, which serves as a grass roots representation for Austrian mountain farmers.