Work Packages
Mapping the regional food system, using the organic vegetable sector as an example
The objective of the first project module is, on the one hand, to identify the necessary framework conditions for the greater use of regional organic vegetable products, to depict the current structure of production and sales channels for organically produced vegetables in the pilot regions. On the other hand, the first module aims to identify the potential demand in communal catering, differentiated by degree of preparation. Both organic and conventional businesses are included in order to determine the potential for expanding organic vegetable production. Work package 1 is divided into two steps: 1. literature analysis, 2. data collection. This will entail analysing the framework conditions for the value chain of vegetables in communal catering for the pilot regions, as well as using the results of existing local potential analyses. After we have gained a better idea of potentials in supply and demand, we will narrow the analysis down to especially promising and relevant vegetable value chains.
Communication along the value chain
Communication between the actors at the various stages of the value chain is constitutive for promoting regional organic products. In the second work package, we aim to optimise communication to promote regional organic value chains and interaction and cooperation between regional actors across stages of the value chain. To this end, we will examine framing and rhetoric in communication and identify information and networking needs.
Problem-solving approaches
The third work package consists of three parts. In the first step, we will carry out a literature review and evaluation of existing good practice examples among organic regional value chains for communal catering, along with a closer examination of the communication relevant to the use of regional produce. In the second step, the local cultivation, processing and logistics capacities identified in the first work package are evaluated in terms of their suitability for establishing a regional value chain down to the consumer in institutional catering. On the basis of the inventory and the analysed good practice examples, the third step is to identify tangible solutions for regional processing, procurement and supply relationships in the pilot regions.
Synthesis and discussion of applicability to other regions
In a national workshop co-organised by the Center for Sustainable Food Systems (Zentrum für Nachhaltige Ernährungssysteme, ZNE) at JLU, in which both professorships at JLU are members, regional actors from other regions, including good practice examples, will be invited to discuss the approaches in the pilot regions, including their applicability to other regions (e.g. regions with Regionalwert-AGs and other approaches to regional production networks and food systems). The event is planned in a hybrid format so that practitioners from distant locations can participate. The findings from this workshop will be taken into account in the discussion of the solutions. The results of the first four work packages will be summarised in a final report.
Dialogue with practitioners and knowledge transfer
The aim of this work package is to involve relevant practitioners, regional multipliers and experts in order to take stock of and refine the findings, to disseminate the project content to specific target groups. To disseminate the results within and outside the pilot regions, we will draw up practical information sheets and hold a national transfer workshop.