Participatory and collaborative approaches in sustainability transitions : niche innovations in agri-food systems

Abstract

Agri-food systems contribute to and face sustainability challenges across the entire value chain, from production, distribution, processing to retailing, consumption, and wastage. Organic farming, localized food systems, increased shares of plant-based food, and less wastage are measures that represent sustainable production and consumption directions. However, the transition toward sustainability is complicated by the background, beliefs, and values of the actors, as these lead to different goals and worldviews regarding what sustainable development entails. Conflicts of interests and fragmentation, and specialization of knowledge and decision-making all contribute to the messiness of the situation. The close interconnection of elements, such as actors, activities, institutions, and outcomes, in agri-food systems and beyond, suggests a need to consider systemic, multi-sectorial, multi-actor, and participatory and collaborative approaches to enhance sustainability transitions.

The objective of this thesis is to explore how participatory and collaborative niche approaches can be motivated and organized, and how they can contribute to sustainability transitions in the current agri-food system in different contexts. I explored two types of initiatives with participation and collaboration toward increased sustainability. The first is the local and alternative food networks of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), which mainly involve individual consumers. I wanted to study the values, motivations, and proximity dimensions associated with engaging in CSA. In the second type of initiative, action research is applied in the facilitation and analysis of an innovation process framed as an “agri-food living lab,” which included piloting of a co-created alternative food network named Green Parallel.

Green Parallel consisted of professional buyers (contrasting the individual consumers in CSA). I wanted to contribute to improving the specific situation regarding organic agri-food systems by mobilizing participants to the initiative. Furthermore, I wanted to contribute knowledge about establishing a cross-sectorial change initiative and about tensions that may occur when niche innovations, which are entangled with existing purchasing structures of professional buyers, are piloted.

The thesis consists of four papers, where paper 1 and 2 concern CSA, and paper 3 and 4 concern the action research initiative and piloting of Green Parallel.

The research questions of the papers are:

Paper 1: Why do people engage in CSA? How can CSA be a transformational act for producers and consumers toward food system changes?

Paper 2: How are spatial and relational proximity within and outside CSAs related to the attractiveness of CSAs in (peri-) urban contexts?

Paper 3: How do we discover and select sectors and actors to be involved in developing innovations in organic vegetable agri-food systems to overcome obstacles and discover overlooked opportunities?

What characterizes the perceived understanding of the current situation regarding organic vegetables and the shared vision for the future in this cross-sectorial and multi-actor process?

Paper 4: Which forces and tensions hinder or support the viability of a co-created alternative food network of organic vegetable producers and professional buyers?

Theoretical perspectives in systems thinking, multi-level perspectives, and participation and collaboration in niche innovations, action research, and living labs contributed to the design of the research and discussion of findings. Collection of data to answer the research questions were done using both quantitative and qualitative research designs, including action research.

Paper 1 is an exploration of the values, attitudes, and motivations of participants in CSA, conducted through interviews of producers and core group members during farm visits at five case farms, a survey of all consumers who were members of the (at that time) seven Norwegian CSAs, and a focus group interview at a national CSA network meeting. Producers and consumers in CSA were found to have distinct values and multiple motivations for participation. The CSA farms were small-scale organic farms, and the involved farmers, growers, and core group members were opposed to the industrialized and globalized food system. The most important motivation among consumers was access to local and organic food. For producers and many of the consumers involved, the farms were an arena for converting societal values into practical actions. Farmers, growers, and members gathered around social and educational events, while participating in joint decision-making—activities that were organized by the farmers and members themselves.

Paper 2 concerns the significance of different proximity dimensions on the attractiveness of CSA farms. The study involved collecting data through a survey to farmers, managers, and consumers at two farms in each of three countries: Austria, Japan, and Norway. We analyzed our data using multiple regression and descriptive analysis. The perceived attractiveness was correlated with relational proximities of social, cognitive, institutional, and organizational dimensions. The CSA members were attracted to the CSA community, such as through direct contact with the farmer and participation in learning activities. They also supported the ideas of risk sharing and securing the farmers’ income. This included interactions for building trust and exchange of knowledge and for sharing values and identity opposite to those of the dominant agri-food structures. The expected correlation with spatial (i.e., geographical) proximity was not significant, presumably because it had already been a self-selection process based on the distance and accessibility of the farm. Focusing on trust building, collaboration, and sharing of values and knowledge within and across organizations in the food system could increase the attractiveness of CSA.

Paper 3 concerns the establishment of a cross-sectorial and multi-actor agri-food living lab for conducting action research with the purpose of strengthening organic agri-food systems. As part of the introductory work and involvement of actors, a procedure was developed and applied to discover change-oriented actors within and beyond the agri-food domain. This was part of gaining preliminary insight into the situation and potential participants, mainly done through interviews. This process identified a range of potential participants and showed that they were motivated to participate by the prospect of meeting future collaborative partners. In one workshop, I facilitated participatory processes and the participants co-created a common problem understanding, entailing a rich and holistic understanding of the current problematic situation for development. Furthermore, they co-created a manifold but coherent shared vision. These processes laid the groundwork for the identification of six emergent topics and gaps between the current and future situations and showed areas where we could make action plans.

Paper 4 concerns forces and tensions that influenced the viability of the alternative food network of Green Parallel as illuminated through reflections on observations in workshops, and between workshops by coordinator and researcher, as well as through interviews at the end of the piloting. Green Parallel was co-created in the agri-food living lab, motivated by a desire for collaboration for a logistical “solution” among producers, professional buyers, and a work inclusion and training entity. During the piloting, different tensions emerged, and the study identified five themes where tensions and contradictory forces occurred and affected the viability of Green Parallel. The forces work on several levels, ranging from within each individual and within the group to influences on the individuals by forces external to the niche innovation. Although the collective action of Green Parallel empowered the participants to act according to their desires, the occurring tensions made the collaboration and viability of Green Parallel challenging.

CSA entails self-mobilized participation and collaboration and represents a spearhead of agri-food systems transition. The agri-food living lab and Green Parallel entail interactive and supported participation, as the participation and collaboration were facilitated by the researcher. This research contributes to increased knowledge about how participatory and collaborative approaches that represent niche initiatives and innovations can be motivated and organized and how they could contribute to sustainability transitions by “unlocking” the currently entrenched agri-food situation. Both CSAs and Green Parallel create opportunities for new practices that can gradually enhance wider transition processes, and barriers and opportunities exist for niche innovations to develop and influence regime structures. This research contributes to theory regarding participatory and co-creative processes by 1) connecting action research and place-based living labs as approaches for facilitating change, 2) developing a methodology of establishment of cross-sectorial and multi-actor change initiatives, and 3) combining theories of multi-level perspective, field theory, and institutional economy to understand tensions at the individual level in change situations.

Matsystemene bidrar til, og er utsatt for, bærekraftsutfordringer i hele verdikjeden fra produksjon, distribusjon, prosessering, detaljhandel, forbruk og avfallhåndtering. Økologisk landbruk, mer lokale matsystemer, større andel plantebasert mat og mindre svinn er tiltak som representerer bærekraftige produksjons- og forbruksretninger. Omstilling for økt bærekraft er komplisert på grunn av ulikheter i mål og forståelse av hva bærekraftig utvikling innebærer og ulike «lock ins». Disse ulikhetene henger sammen med aktørenes bakgrunn, antakelser og verdier. Interessekonflikter, fragmentering og spesialisering av kunnskap og beslutningstaking bidrar til at situasjonen er uoversiktlig. Den tette sammenvevingen av ulike elementer i og ut over matsystemet, som aktører, aktiviteter, institusjoner og virkninger, impliserer at bærekraftig omstilling krever systemiske, tverrsektorielle, multi-aktør, deltakende og samarbeidende tilnærminger.