SUSTAINABILITY SPOTLIGHT | 33 Adding a layer of sophistication and understanding As a result of the workshops, EIT Food now have a set of reports and recommendations that are shaping the strategy for the EU’s food system, not least when it comes to setting priorities for the allocation of funding. “We have a new funding framework published in September 2023, which takes a needs-based approach for the 昀椀rst time and is fundamentally di昀昀erent from how we’ve done it before.” Andrew refers to this as being “technology agnostic”. “It centres on the change and the societal impact we need to see and works backwards from there instead of the classic research funder model, which starts from pushing the technology forward. “Once you perceive yourself as an impact funder rather than an R&D funder, you open di昀昀erent possibilities for The case of regenerative agriculture answers being found in di昀昀erent places. For example, Andrew points to regenerative agriculture as an you might look towards funding the development of example of how the workshops created the right existing technologies from other sectors into the food environment for discussions on how EIT Food can sector, cutting 4 or 5 years of development time so operate most e昀昀ectively for its stakeholders. “For years that people experience the bene昀椀t much quicker,” says farmers have been seen as being the central 昀椀gures in Andrew. driving change. The assumption has been that if the right training or technology was o昀昀ered, everything Con昀椀dence and collaboration would change for the better. The project has also allowed EIT Food to “make a much more con昀椀dent kind of statement about our role,” says “The workshops gave farmers the opportunity to outline Andrew. the reality on the ground and some of the barriers they are facing. If supermarkets are tying them into 5-year EIT Food is now “an organisation that believes in the production contracts, they simply don’t have the space power of open innovation and collaboration as the key to alter crops for regenerative agriculture. However to success, and we are willing to say we’re comfortable much they may want to make changes, circumstances enough in our skin not to insist on exclusivity. We’ve prevent them. got an amazing community, an amazing network, and actually we can bring the power of that to help other “It made us realise that our job is to build an ecosystem organisations. That’s been really important for us, and around farmers that makes the change as supported it’s allowed us to present a much more open face to the and as incentivised as possible. Supermarkets need to world,” says Andrew. buy di昀昀erently, banks have to fund di昀昀erently, insurance companies have to change their policies. EIT Food are now working more closely with organisations that are explicitly engaged in the issues “Having farmers sitting in the room with somebody they are trying to solve. “The process has meant we are from a bank or a venture fund means that nobody can now closer to the needs rather than to the technology, ignore what’s being talked about. You get into the working with more NGOs and social enterprises. We’ve dialogue very, very quickly, and we all learned a huge been able to stretch the boundaries of our own network amount from having those voices in the room,” says to bring di昀昀erent perspectives in. That diversity is Andrew. hugely important in innovation,” says Andrew.