Evaluating Sustainable Food System Innovations: A Global Toolkit for Cities (Routledge Studies in Food, Society and the Environment)

This book presents Urbal, an approach that applies impact pathway mapping to understand how food system innovations in cities, and their territories, change and impact food system sustainability. Around the world, people are finding innovative ways to make their food systems more sustainable. However, documenting and understanding how these innovations impact the sustainability of food system can be a challenge. The Urban Driven Innovations for Sustainable Food Systems (Urbal) methodology responds to these constraints by providing innovations with a simple, open-source, resource-efficient tool that is easily appropriated and adaptable to different contexts. Urbal is designed to respond to the demands of field stakeholders, whether public or private, to accompany and guide them in their actions and decision-making with regard to sustainability objectives. This book presents this qualitative and participatory impact assessment method of food innovations and applies it to several cases of food innovation around the world, including the impact of agricultural districts in Milan, chefs and gastronomy in Brasilia, e-commerce in Vietnam, eco-friendly farm systems in Berlin and the Nourish to Flourish governance process in Cape Town. The book demonstrates how food innovations can impact different dimensions of sustainability, positively and negatively, and identify the elements that facilitate or hinder these impacts. The volume reflects on how to strengthen the capacity of these stakeholders to disseminate their innovations on other scales to contribute to the transition towards more sustainable food systems. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars working on sustainable food systems, urban food, food innovation and impact assessment, as well as policymakers, practitioners and funders interested in these areas. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of contributors Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Mapping change: The Urbal approach 1.1 Introduction 1.2 The possibilities in applying Urbal 1.3 The Urbal process: A participatory impact pathway analysis 1.4 A 3+1-step approach 1.4.1 Step 1: The context 1.4.2 Step 2: The workshop 1.4.3 Step 3: Sharing results 1.4.4 Step 4: Indicators 1.5 Considerations when using Urbal 1.5.1 Urbal as a flexible, adaptable approach 1.5.2 Taking power asymmetries into account 1.5.3 The value and role of experts and facilitators to the Urbal process 1.6 Conclusions: The benefits of using Urbal Note References Chapter 2: Urbal: A research project 2.1 The evolution of the Urbal approach and related tools: The unfolding research process 2.1.1 Evolving terms of reference and lessons learned from the Urbal research process 2.1.1.1 Place-based insights 2.1.1.2 Sustainability dimensions and food systems 2.1.1.3 Innovation 2.1.1.4 Social innovation 2.2 Lessons and insights from UFIL research 2.2.1 Sustainable food system dimensions 2.2.2 Social inclusion 2.3 Challenges, opportunities, and future research 2.4 Concluding thoughts References Chapter 3: The role of chefs and gastronomy in transforming the Brasília food system 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Conceptual framework: Strengthening the relationship between food sustainability and gastronomy 3.3 Tailoring the Urbal approach to the analysis of the pathways of food system transformation induced by Brasília chefs 3.4 Sustainability and gastronomy practices, innovations and challenges in Brasília 3.4.1 Characterization of sustainable gastronomy practices 3.4.2 Food activism to make food systems more sustainable 3.4.3 Challenges to and limitations of sustainable gastronomy 3.5 Conclusion Notes References Chapter 4: Traditional tortillas in Mexico: Opportunities and challenges for producers and consumers 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Investigating the link with production: An innovation based on maize, the symbol of Mexican gastronomy 4.3 The methodology used to implement the Urbal approach: Focusing on the role of the stakeholders 4.3.1 Phase 1: The diagnosis 4.3.2 Phase 2: A workshop co-constructed building on the diagnosis 4.4 The results of the diagnosis: The ambivalent relationship between Maizajo and its producers 4.4.1 Profile of the producers 4.4.2 Storage: Who should be in charge? 4.5 Results from the impact pathways: Shedding light on the core of the initiative 4.5.1 An innovation that addresses food security... for whom? 4.5.2 Results derived from the perspectives shared by stakeholders 4.5.3 The effects of the COVID-19 health crisis on the company’s market orientation 4.6 Conclusion: Upstream and downstream challenges Notes References Chapter 5: The role of school canteens in building more sustainable food systems: The impact pathways of the “Ma Cantine Autrement” programme in Montpellier 5.1 Introduction 5.1.1 The multiple roles of school canteens 5.1.2 The French context 5.1.3 The “Ma Cantine Autrement” programme in Montpellier 5.2 Methodology 5.2.1 Characterization of the programme (activities and stakeholders) 5.2.2 Identification of impact pathways by the stakeholders 5.2.2.1 Participatory workshop 5.2.2.2 Interviews with children and observational work 5.2.3 Synthesis/mapping of the impact pathways and identification of barriers and levers by the research team 5.2.4 Identification of strategies to support the programme’s effectiveness, and conditions for its scaling out 5.3 Results and discussion 5.3.1 What are the impacts of MCA? Who do they affect and how/where do they materialize? 5.3.2 What are the factors hindering or enabling the achievement of sustainability goals? 5.3.3 Suggestions of actions to limit the barriers identified and/or to promote levers, and the conditions required or desirable for the deployment of the programme in other communities/territories (scaling out) 5.3.4 MCA’s social inclusion challenges highlighted by the Urbal approach 5.4 Conclusion and prospects 5.4.1 Learnings to improve the implementation of the Urbal approach 5.4.1.1 Learnings about the composition of the workshops 5.4.1.2 Learnings about the preparation of the workshops 5.4.1.3 Summary of the methodological and conceptual recommendations to facilitate the mapping of impact pathways 5.4.2 Learnings and prospects for the MCA stakeholders 5.4.2.1 Learnings on the impact pathways of the MCA programme 5.4.2.2 After the impact pathway mapping: Identifying indicators for a quantitative assessment of impact Acknowlegment Note References Chapter 6: The potential of Short Food Supply Chains for sustainable urban agri-food systems: The UFIL of Milano Ristorazione 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Short Food Supply Chains and sustainable development: Insights from the literature 6.3 The Milano Ristorazione UFIL: Introducing products from Short Food Supply Chains in school canteens in Milan 6.4 The Urbal approach and the methodology 6.5 Analysis of the results of the MiRi UFIL 6.5.1 The stakeholder analysis and the network map 6.5.2 The sustainability dimensions and the innovation impact pathway map 6.6 Discussion of the results 6.7 Conclusions References Chapter 7: Studying the impact of e-commerce on the sustainability of food systems in Vietnam 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Presentation of the two cases and the use of the Urbal approach 7.2.1 Urban food systems in Hanoi and the development of e-commerce 7.2.2 The methodology used to apply the Urbal approach 7.2.3 Case study 1: The use of social media to buy and sell quality food products 7.2.4 Case study 2: A municipality-driven e-commerce platform (Cho Nha Minh) 7.3 Results: Food e-commerce innovations may foster efficiency but raise concerns regarding trust 7.3.1 Defining and characterizing the activities 7.3.1.1 Use of social media 7.3.1.2 The municipality-driven platform “Cho Nha Minh” 7.3.2 Impacts on sustainability: E-commerce as a convenient way to purchase quality food 7.3.2.1 Economic impacts and convenience 7.3.2.2 Quality food and health 7.3.2.3 Environment and local development 7.3.2.4 Governance, trust, and accountability 7.3.2.5 Potential negative impacts 7.4 Discussion: The need to adapt to local contexts and understandings 7.4.1 Barriers and enablers 7.4.2 The question of trust and the participants’ instrumental understanding of sustainability 7.4.3 Difficulties encountered and adaptations to the local context 7.4.4 Benefits of the workshops 7.5 Conclusion: Strengths and weaknesses of striving for sustainable food systems through digital technology References Chapter 8: Ecofriendly farmsystems: Testing the Urbal approach in Berlin 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Context 8.2.1 Literature review: Multi-level perspectives and trans-scale considerations regarding regional food and distribution networks 8.2.2 The ECF Farm in the context of the Urbal approach 8.3 Understanding the innovation pathway: The ECF urban food innovation lab 8.3.1 ECF’s background, history, and actors: Inside–outside Berlin 8.3.2 Sustainability innovations and shifting scales: From inside to outside Berlin 8.3.2.1 Food chain innovation and sustainability 8.3.2.1.1 Production 8.3.2.1.2 Distribution 8.3.2.2 Economic structure and marketing strategies 8.3.3 Dimensions of sustainability and cross-scale innovation transfer 8.4 Applying the Urbal methodology—the ECF Farm workshop 8.4.1 Selection of the participants 8.4.2 Structure of the workshop 8.4.2.1 Preparation of the participants 8.4.2.2 Analysis and discussion of the innovations to date 8.4.2.3 Discussion of possible future innovations 8.4.3 Adaptation of the methodology – capabilities, challenges, and limits of the workshop 8.5 Discussion: practical insights to improve sustainable food system innovation theory 8.5.1 Place-based urban agriculture: The local scale 8.5.2 Scalability: ECF's inside–outside dynamic as a socio-technical innovation 8.6 Conclusion References Chapter 9: Agricultural districts as tools for sustainable urban food systems: The case of Milan 9.1 Introduction 9.2 The Urbal approach: Building an impact pathway map for agricultural districts 9.3 Institutional framework 9.4 The districts 9.4.1 Milan Agricultural District (DAM) 9.4.2 Adda Martesana Agricultural District (DAMA) 9.4.3 Olona Valley Agricultural District (DAVO) 9.4.4 Rice and frogs 9.4.5 Neo-rural district of the three waters of Milan (Dinamo) 9.5 The impact of the agricultural districts on the governance of the urban food system 9.5.1 Territorial planning 9.5.2 Economic activities 9.5.3 Socio-cultural dynamics 9.5.4 Project design 9.6 Conclusion Notes References Chapter 10: The Urbal approach and the after-life of a food systems innovation process: The Nourish to Flourish governance process in Cape Town, South Africa 10.1 Introduction 10.2 On what constitutes a sustainable food system 10.3 A description of the methodology 10.4 Conventional policy trajectories and processes 10.5 Description of the innovation 10.5.1 Origins of the innovation 10.5.2 Initiating the Western Cape food and nutrition security strategic framework 10.6 Aligned innovations and policy processes 10.7 The Urbal approach as a tool to support emergent processes 10.8 Conclusion Notes References Chapter 11: Using Urbal to develop metrics for evaluation 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Developing meaningful indicators to assess the impact of innovations on food system sustainability 11.2.1 On the use of indicators: How to evaluate the systemic complexity of sustainability with indicators 11.2.2 The challenges faced in the choice of indicators for food system sustainability assessments 11.3 A framework to support the design of assessment metrics and orient stakeholders in a multi-level regulatory framework using Urbal results 11.3.1 Co-creating the tool with stakeholders 11.3.2 A practical tool to support innovation assessment design 11.3.3 Application to the Ma Cantine Autrement programme 11.3.4 Variables to consider for an effective use of the framework 11.4 Discussion: What solutions do Urbal results offer to address issues surrounding the assessment of innovations’ FSS? 11.5 Conclusion Notes References Index