The World Food Summit — Better Food for More People aims to advance innovative solutions for sustainable food systems and healthy lives to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

EIT Climate-KIC, in collaboration with its community members Lund University and the University of Copenhagen, will organise an official side event at the World Food Summit, presenting speakers from the EU Mission Board, WHO, OECD OPSI, EAT Foundation, Vinnova and the MIT Innovation Initiative, as well as insights from Nordic case studies.

Mission-oriented innovation towards better health and diets – the role of public meals as a driver of change

A Nordic perspective on pathways toward sustainable food system transformation

Missions were highlighted in an EU publication by Mariana Mazzucato as a problem-solving approach to fuel innovation-led growth. Mazzucato emphasised how missions provide a great opportunity to increase the impact of European research and innovation, grasp the public imagination and make real progress on complex challenges.

The side event will provide inspiration on how public meals can be a deliberate transformation vehicle and describes pathways for the future work and desired development of a ’Mission towards better health and diets’. It will offer:

• Enhanced insights to selecting, funding and governing mission-oriented innovation towards food system transformation, highlighting how public meals in the Nordics can be used as a lever for systemic change.

• A workshop to co-create and catalyse actions into a catalogue of recommendations and actions for future ecosystem engagement regarding mission-oriented innovation within the food system.

It is expected that the findings will be published and made available after the session.

Agenda

The side event is designed around two sessions with a break for lunch (12:00-13:00):

10:00 – 12:00: Inputs and panel discussion to provide insights and understanding around the work with Missions within the food system. Initial inputs by panellists:

• EU Mission on Healthy Soil and Food, Bridget Emmett, Professor and member of the EU Mission Board
• Mission-oriented innovation – OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, Piret Tonurist, Lead on System Thinking and Innovation Governance.
• The UN Food Systems Summit: Can the Mission Approach Become the Way it Succeeds?, Olav Kjørven, Chief Strategy Officer, EAT Foundation
• A mission for improved nutrition and health – gains of making public food procurement and service healthier, Kaia Engesveen, Technical officer at the WHO, Multisectoral Action in Food Systems Unit, Department of Nutrition and Food Safety
• Priorities of Vinnova’s work on Missions, Dan Hill, Strategic Designer, Vinnova

13:00 – 16:00: Workshop on organising Missions and case studies on how public meals can be used as a driver for change in the food system.

Around the world, nations, regions and cities are urgently seeking to develop solutions towards a healthy, safe and sustainable foodsystem.

Key questions are: How do we achieve this important mission? Where to focus in the lifecycle of innovation to create mission impact most effectively? Who are the key stakeholders in the process and how to involve relevant parties and the unusual actors to secure funding and ownership of the change process?

This session will combine short presentations with interactive workshop sessions.

• A strategy of making heretics heroes: lessons from Jack the Dullard and DARPA, Lars Frølund, Research Director MIT Innovation Initiative
• Can One Million Sustainable Meals a day keep the climate crisis away? How Danish Parliament coalition partners see the public plate as a driver for green food systems transformation, Kathrine Olldag, Member of the Folketing, The Social Liberal Party

Feedback via Mentimeter from audience

• Public food systems innovation through the Swedish School Meal model, Elin Sandström, Livsmedelsverket, National food Agency Sweden.
• Public food procurement in Copenhagen as a game changer, Betina Bergmann Madsen, City of Copenhagen. Member of the EU Stakeholder Expert Group on Public Procurement.
• Capacity Building in public sector food as a driver for systems change, Bent Egberg Mikkelsen, Professor at University of Copenhagen.

Workshop Session one — reflections and insights

• Data as the fuel for food systems transformation, Sjaak Wolfert, Wageningen University.
• A mission approach to food systems change in the Nordics, Pernille Modvig, EIT Climate KIC and Afton Halloran.

Workshop Session two — input and recommendations for future work

Closure with reflections and feedback from workshops

Disclaimer: By registering for this event, you consent to audio recording, video recording and its/their release, publication or reproduction to be used for communication, inclusion on websites, social media, or any other purpose by the organizers.