Dates: 2025 – 2029
Funding:
Contact person:
Partners:
The Institute of Retail Consumer Goods
Università degli studi di Verona
Associazione Difesa Consumatori APS
Gospodarska zbornica Slovenije
Countries: Norway, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia.
Funded by Horizon Europe, the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, the FOODMISSION project focuses on transforming food systems into more sustainable, inclusive, and healthy frameworks. The initiative takes a novel citizen science approach by directly involving citizens in the research process through participation in data collection and other activities. By engaging individuals and households, the project aims to better understand how citizens perceive sustainable food and what drives their food-related behavior. The collected citizen data will be used for informing effective policymaking and driving meaningful change.
To secure continuous citizen engagement, FOODMISSION uses gamification, which represents one of its key innovations. The project will develop a gamified educational virtual platform that combines educational content with interactive activities designed to maintain user interest, incentivize specific actions, and disseminate valuable information. The platform will also support the collection and sharing of data contributed by citizens, in full compliance with privacy regulations and ethical principles. Through data visualization and feedback mechanisms, individuals and communities will receive evidence of the impact of their decisions, which will promote social learning, collective responsibility, and system-level change.
To incorporate multiple perspectives, the FOODMISSION project will in addition involve various stakeholders through seven ‘Transformation Labs’ across Europe. These labs will serve as hubs where stakeholders, such as universities, SMEs, consumer associations, and NGOs, will collaborate to co-create the platform and other key project outputs. This approach ensures that the project adheres to Responsible Research and Innovation principles, involving stakeholders at every stage of project development.
Coordinated by the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, the project involves four universities, two SMEs, a national consumer association, a representative from the retail sector, a social learning and policy implementation NGO, and an interest group of agricultural and food companies. The partners cover 8 European countries and a whole range of expertise: sustainability transition, digital innovation, consumer behaviour, food systems, nutrition, gamification, citizen science, citizen engagement and motivation, policy advocacy, digital education and training. FOODMISSION was launched on the 1st of January 2025 and will run for 3 years and 6 months.
In the project, the Centre for Systems Solutions plays a leadership role in driving engagement, educational frameworks, and the co-creation of interactive content through T-Labs. Our role is to bridge theoretical findings and practical implementation, ensuring inclusive and participatory approaches are integrated into the food system transformation platform and activities.
For more information about the project, please contact FOODMISSION’s coordinator, Natalia Mæhle, at foodmission@hvl.no.
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