INPROFOOD - Recent Activities

At the WHO venue in Copenhagen the closing conference of INPROFOOD took place on 14 and 15 October 2014. Work package leaders and other partner of the INPROFOOD consortium presented the results obtained with this project.

The project aim was to involve all relevant stakeholders concerning research programming in the field of food and health in the involved European countries. Stakeholder involvement had been identified as one of the big topics, to tackle food related issues over the long term. Therefore, INPROFOOD did not only focus on bringing information on research programming to policy makers, but also produce advice concerning the methodology to involve stakeholders from the public, private and CSO sector.

Especially outcomes of Work package 1, 2, 3 and 4 were presented and gave a good overview of the goals that have been reached in the last three years.

WP 1 focused on mapping the current situation of research programming. Every project partner selected a specific research theme in its country that was related to food and health. Based on desk research and interviews, mapping of research programming occurred. Main result of this work package was the fact that many countries suffer from a problem of power asymmetry. This means that there is too much influence of one stakeholder in the process of responsible research and innovation.

In WP 2, the European Awareness Scenario Workshops have been organised. In these workshops, stakeholders from different categories (private, public and CSO’s) were brought together to open the dialogue on the worst and best case scenario with regard to research programming and research funding in the field of food and health. The outcomes of this work package in most countries were related to problems in the decision making process, such as problems with transparency and discordance between political issues and independent scientific research.

WP 3 entailed the Open Space Conference, which is a method to promote public engagement and discuss topics that are currently relevant in a specific field. During the Open Space Conference, participants are invited to come up with their own topic for a workshop. In that way, only relevant topics that have the attention of the participants are being discussed. Topics which attracted most attention were related to defining the concept of healthy food and a healthy lifestyle and communication and education to promote healthy eating behavior.

Finally, work package 4 results in an action plan, where the outcomes of the previous work packages are summarized. To develop the action plan, first a stakeholder analysis and social network policy analysis have been produced. In these reports, an overview can be found of the relevant stakeholders in each country and their role and interaction in the process of research programming and innovation. The action plan is currently still under construction and therefore no definitive results were presented.

In the following links, several of the presentations given at the closing ceremony can be found.
 
Closing Ceremony WP 1 – University of Surrey
Closing Ceremony WP 2 – Agropolis
Closing Ceremony WP 2 – Case of Italy
Closing Ceremony WP 2 – Case of France

On 8 October 2014, the INPROFOOD team of Maastricht University organised a workshop in the Limburgs museum in Venlo. INPROFOOD will end on 31 October 2014 and therefore this workshop aimed to present the final results of the project to the public. The aims and goals of INPROFOOD were presented, together with an evaluation of the methodology and the outcomes of the project. The main focus of the presentation was on the work packages in which Maastricht University has been actively involved. In the following link, you can find the INPROFOOD-presentation given at this workshop.

During the second half of the day, the topic of discussion was implementation and enforcement of the Nutrition and Health Claim Regulation. For the participants of the INPROFOOD project this is a very relevant topic, since food claims are suggested to be a medium to promote innovation in the field of food and health and promote a healthier lifestyle. From the discussion, it appeared that there are big differences in enforcement strategies between EU Member States and also the use of health claims on the internet can raise unjust use of claims and therefore lead to unfair competition. 

The public of this day consisted of 50 people, affiliated with several relevant stakeholders from the public and private sector and students from Maastricht University, related to the field of food and health.  

On 26 and 27 May 2014, the INPROFOOD team of Maastricht University visited a workshop organized by the WHO in Copenhagen. Our project partners of the WHO organized this workshop, as part of work package 4, to discuss the increase of public engagement in research. 

In the workshops, 70 participants from different countries and stakeholder categories were involved. Participants were affiliated with different ministries, patient organizations, universities, research institutions and branch organizations. In small groups challenges around stakeholder participation, public engagement and transparency in research programming in food, nutrition and health were discussed.  In addition, three keynote speakers were invited, who touched upon public engagement, stakeholder collaboration and the development of a common action plan. 

The information collected during this workshop will be used as a basis for the Mobilization and Mutual Learning Action Plan (MMLAP), which will be developed as one of the objectives of the INPROFOOD project.

On 28 March 2014 the INPROFOOD team of Maastricht University provided a presentation on the project at a book presentation in Brussels. Interested parties were invited to attend the presentation, which gave an overview of the background, aim and structure of the project. In addition, preliminary results have been presented. 
Aim of this presentation was to generate awareness for the INPROFOOD project and get new, relevant stakeholders involved in the project. The public of the presentation mainly consisted of lawyers and policy makers in the field of food, nutrition and trade.