ECI's Food Systems Transformation Group uses systems tools and participatory methods to understand the complexity of food systems and drive meaningful change.
In this article, Dr Monika Zurek, Group Lead, shares the key approaches that underpin the group’s research and how they engage with stakeholders to shape healthier, fairer, and more sustainable food systems.
In our research group, two words we often use (apart from food systems) are tools and transformation. As the lead for the Food Systems Transformation Group in Oxford, both are integral to every research project we work on.
Our group has been wrestling with the idea of a food system – that complex and interconnecting web encompassing every individual, organisation and process that it takes to get food on our plates – for two decades. These days, ‘food systems’ is often used in the mainstream – on the radio or the news, for example – even if the complexity of food systems is perhaps not so widely understood. Complexity is another word that we, as food systems researchers, often use and, more challengingly, address in our work.
Several years ago, we decided to add the word Transformation into our title to become the Food Systems Transformation Group. We felt this better reflected our aim of doing research with a purpose; research that will bring about fundamental shifts in what the food system delivers. It was clear to us that new approaches were needed to address the interconnected nature of the food system as well as he emerging challenges coming down the track – both anticipated and unforeseen.
The goal of our research is to transform the food system to improve its outcomes. For example, access to healthy, affordable food for all, fair livelihoods for everyone who produces, serves and dispose of our food, or the ethical treatment of animals and halting biodiversity loss. It’s in achieving these aims that working with tools comes into play.
Mapping the system
The system mapping tool is almost always the first one we pick from the toolbox when we begin a new research project. This helps us to envisage the kind of system we are trying to transform. Are we looking at the system from the bottom up or creating a conceptual map that shows who theoretically should be in the system. This map will influence which stakeholders we need to bring into subsequent conversations and collaborate with in our research. Many people focus on the production or consumption ends of food systems while the middle can be hard to identify. This ‘missing middle’ is as important and it’s essential to map it out so you can bring those actors to the table too. Overlook the missing middle and you have big gaps in your view of the system.
The need to identify gaps in your view of the system highlights the value of co-production with stakeholders. Taking time to understand the hopes, motivations and practices of those who play a role in your target food system can lead to your systems map growing and spreading as hidden parts of the food system are revealed. This was highlighted in the Beanmeals research project, in which we wanted to understand how ingredients ended up in school meals. Working with Leicester City and Leicestershire County Councils, we went into six primary schools and spoke with senior leaders and school cooks. This revealed intricate supply chains for school meal ingredients and enabled our initial theoretical framework to evolve into a complex and sprawling web of different steps connecting production and consumption.
Essential tools
Knowledge of tools such as systems mapping are essential for anyone who aims to enact change the food system. Understanding these tools is part of the curriculum in the IFSTAL (Interdisciplinary Food Systems Teaching and Learning) programme. The aim of IFSTAL is to create future food system changemakers and to date IFSTAL, as a consortium of seven higher education institutions, has taught vital skills for transforming the food system to more than 4000 people from countries around the world.
Another important tool is foresight, helping stakeholders to understand what the future might look like. When governments, businesses, and civil groups come together to use foresight planning, they have the means to better identify risks and opportunities for the future food system. Our Foresight4Food initiative brings together food futurists from around the world to discuss methods, experiences and projects.
By examining possible future scenarios and anticipating trends or changes, food system stakeholders can identify new levers for innovation and develop options. This helps them make more strategic decisions. Working with stakeholders who often have differing expectations of the food system can be challenging for research groups, but it’s essential for creating lasting and meaningful impact.