co-creation

Food security, climate change and environmental degradation are global challenges that require joint action by multiple organizations. That is why several donors stimulate multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs). What is known about these platforms? Do they achieve what they aim for? Do agriculture- and food-related MSPs contribute to food security, sustainable development and the position of smallholders? Edith van Ewijk and Mirjam Ros-Tonen of the University of Amsterdam dived into the literature and found positive results but also important limitations. »

With the aim of reaching SDG2 (zero hunger and sustainable agriculture) development agencies have for a long time funded research for development. In the margins of the recent Wageningen SDG conference Melle Leenstra, policy officer food security at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was invited to give his take on the topic of the session entitled “Co-creation for impact: Donors and Knowledge institutions”. »

The Third International Workshop of the Applied Research Fund (ARF) took place from February 13 till 16, 2018 in Addis Ababa. The focus of this workshop was to enhance research impact for Food and Nutrition Security by strengthening the competence of ARF project consortium members in the areas of theory of change development, impact pathways, knowledge co-creation, and research uptake. »

This study examines the empowerment of low-power, vulnerable stakeholders of global, complex supply chains as one effective strategy to increase value co-creation and to moderate the vulnerabilities that threaten supply chain resilience. »

Africano Kangire (PhD) is principal investigator on the Applied Research Fund project IRESO in Uganda. In this blog he describes his reflections on the main concept of the international ARF workshop in February 2018, aiming at the improvement of research for business and food security development through co-creation and research uptake. »

Carrying out research through multi-stakeholder partnerships, such as in the Global Challenges Programme (GCP) and Applied Research Fund (ARF) research projects, is relatively new, both in the Netherlands and its partner countries in the Global South. Knowledge co-creation is defined as joint learning and knowledge exchange processes through which actors create and negotiate new knowledge. It corresponds with the idea that not only scientific knowledge is relevant to finding solutions to persistent and ‘wicked’ problems such as food security, but that knowledge from other actors, such as farmers, the private sector and policymakers, is also important. Furthermore, bringing together different perspectives allows for knowledge that is not only scientifically reliable, but is also accepted and applicable in different social contexts. »