Facilitating processes in the Food Innovation Network

How to overcome challenges and support activities at the start of an innovation network?

More Info
expand_more

Abstract

The world will become more and more pressed to deliver healthy and sustainable food to the population. However, to achieve the next step in innovation more holistic solutions need to be designed to have an impact on the whole food chain. These observations resulted in the first steps to build a Food Innovation Network in 2018. This thesis explored the challenges and opportunities at the beginning of organising networked innovation. The research activities were conducted in The New Farm, a new initiative of the municipality of The Hague to support innovation in the food industry, and a new research group of The Hague University. The conducted research identified three main findings. Firstly, the importance to foster a sense of community in the network. Secondly, the need to overcome the initial barrier to take action. Lastly, the call for additional support in setting up collaborative projects between partners. Three concepts were designed based on these findings to support the first changes in the Food Innovation Network and aid them to unlock their potential.