FOSTER
FOSTER is an ambitious Horizon Europe-funded project that will build food system capabilities, knowledge and new governance mechanisms for scientists, citizens and policymakers. FOSTER will gain insight into how knowledge and innovation systems (K&I) can be adapted, made more inclusive, better governed, and equipped to transform Europe’s food system, capable to address the emerging challenges of nourishing Europe in a healthy and sustainable way.
FOSTER Summer School 2025!
The FOSTER Summer School was held in Sopron, Hungary on May 20th – 23rd, bringing together over 38 project members, including representatives from Change-Driven Initiatives (CDIs), academic partners, and external experts affiliated with CDIs. This event marked an important step in our ongoing transformation journey. This process anticipates the creation of a robust basis from which a new K&I (Knowledge & Innovation) governance structure for Europe’s food systems can evolve.
The FOSTER Summer Schools aim to establish mutual learning, shared language, and use of concepts. This year´s specific goals were:
- Reflect how CDI partners are approaching food system transformation;
- Identify points of alignment between FOSTER and CDIs;
- Explore how CDIs can enhance their processes of transformation with learnings from each other.
This year’s Summer School took us beyond the classroom and into the fields of local Hungarian producers. We visited three inspiring individuals who are reshaping the way food is made and shared. From a small-scale farmer focused on fresh, local production to an apple grower committed to his work, and a passionate artisan who bakes bread and produces wine—each of them is working toward the same goal: creating sustainable businesses grounded in healthy, local food.
Their stories gave us a powerful look at what transformative change looks like on the ground. They spoke of resilience, innovation, and the daily realities of pursuing change within a complex food system. And we didn’t just listen—we tasted, observed, and participated.
These conversations offered diverse perspectives on implementing transformative practices in food systems and illuminated key enablers and barriers to driving transformation.
Over the next few days of Summer School, participants took part in focused discussions guided by thoughtful questions. These sessions helped CDIs and academic partners explore their challenges more deeply and think of creative solutions. By sharing ideas, they identified key issues and moved toward the most practical and effective ways to support transitions.
| |||||
|
Discover how we’re driving transformation in FOSTER
As previously communicated, we have recently finalised our comprehensive work resulting in the deliverable titled “R&I Policy Support Options for Furthering Food Systems Science at National, Regional, and Local Level in the EU.”
This report offers valuable insights into how we are achieving our main goal—transitioning from Agricultural Knowledge & Innovation System (AKIS) to Food-Oriented Knowledge & Innovation System (FOKIS). It is intended to explore how inclusive governance, policy, and a multi-actor and systemic approaches to knowledge creation can contribute to a shift from AKIS to FOKIS, also empowering societal organisation seeking to change food systems.
To support your engagement with the deliverable, we are providing a brief summary of each chapter. We now move to Chapter 3, which focuses on the perspectives of marginalized groups in food systems and their potential to transformative change.
Read this article authored by a member of the FOSTER project and a Senior Scientific Researcher at Wageningen Social & Economic Research Thomas Mattijssen.
 |
Each week, a new chapter will be made available on the FOSTER website and on our social media channels. We encourage you to follow our channels and stay informed about the latest developments in our work.
Latest events
Green Minds Gather Annual START Conference
On 29 and 30 April 2025, FOSTER participated in the Green Minds Gather Annual START Conference organised by the START Centre for Sustainable Agri-Food Systems, to further the dialogue and start hacking the key challenges of the agrifood sector: https://start.uni.dk/start-conference-2025
The conference brought together 370 various key stakeholders, from Danish and international researchers, practitioners from the agrifood industry and policymakers from Denmark and the EU. All academic disciplines were invited to collaborate in addressing the current challenges, shaping key questions, and expanding our vision on agri-food for the future. Through high-level keynotes, panels, workshops, poster sessions, demonstrations and networking activities, the conference fostered active engagement and in-depth discussions on the challenges and potential solutions.
|
In a collaboration between FOSTER and its sister projects FoSSNet and CLEVERFOOD , project member and senior research project manager Floor Geerling-Eiff and colleagues at Wageningen Social & Economic Research presented findings and co-organised sessions on Learning and Knowledge Flows as well as Impact Investment.
More information about the event can be found here.
Green Agriculture Conference
FOSTER was present at the 1st International Green Agriculture Conference in Armenia, Yerevan on April 2nd – 3rd, 2025!
This conference was organised by the European Union, Austrian Development Agency and the Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU) and dedicated to advancing sustainable development and action-oriented research in the realm of green agriculture.
FOSTER was represented by project members Floor Geerling-Eiff and Lusine Aramyan, who outlined the project’s goals and vision.
By collaborating with existing food system initiatives, we aim to strengthen our efforts and ensure the project’s success.
 |
Upcoming Events
FOSTER Annual Meeting and Sci-Pol Expert Panel Meeting will take place in November!
We are pleased to announce that the upcoming FOSTER Annual Meeting and Sci-Pol Expert Panel Meeting will take place this November in Brussels. These gatherings mark a significant milestone in our ongoing collaboration with project partners and the expert panel of FOSTER. Together, we will reflect on our achievements, assess current challenges, and strategically plan the next phase of our transformation agenda.
We look forward to productive discussions that will shape the direction of FOSTER’s future impact.
In addition, FOSTER hosted an online workshop with the Sci-Pol Expert Panel members, CDIs and academic partners on June 16th! This meeting focused on aligning FOSTER´s results with policy needs, and an overview of key recent achievements in FOSTER.
More news will follow soon!
Publications
The paper, titled “Citizen Participation in Food Systems Transitions: How Inclusive Should It Be?”, was recently published in the journal Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions.
It was authored by the FOSTER project members Else Giesbers and Thomas Mattijssen in cooperation with Cees Leeuwis (Wageningen University & Research).
Project members – who are they?
Hugo Magalhães
(SPI – Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação)
I am a manager and senior consultant at SPI. With a background in applied mathematics, I have extensive experience in the development of studies in the areas of research, development and innovation at both national and international levels. Among these studies and specifically in the food sector, I contributed to the “Comparative Study Related to the Research and Innovation Investment Level in Food Systems” for the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. Prior joining SPI, I worked as a teaching assistant in several courses, including Statistics and Probability, Biostatistics, Linear Systems Control, and Estimation and Digital Control.
Aouefa Amoussouvi
(ECSA)
I am a research scientist and project officer with a PhD in molecular biophysics and a passion for citizen science. I am committed to make science and academia more inclusive and responsive to the environmental and societal needs. In FOSTER, I lead dissemination activities that transfer the solutions and knowledge of the project to other local audiences —especially underrepresented communities. The aim is to scale up the transdisciplinary approach of FOSTER and bring more diversity into the conversation on sustainable food system futures. At ECSA, I also work on the EU-funded SOILTRIBES project, which promotes soil literacy through participatory and creative methods.
Viktória Illés
(Pannon Local Product Nonprofit Ltd)
I am a Senior Project Manager at Pannon Local Product Nonprofit Ltd., with a degree in economics and cultural heritage management. I mainly work on regional development, local food systems and sustainable and inclusive initiatives.
My main projects include the development of a model for the market access of regional products and Inclusive Border Cycling, which promotes cross-border, barrier-free and inclusive cycling tourism. Empowering communities and building a sustainable future is important to me.
|
www.fosterfoodsystem.eu
contact@fosterfoodsystem.eu
| This project is funded by the European Union under the Grant Agreement n.º 101059954. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. |
|---|
