Innovative Governance
Issues of policy and governance are key to building more sustainable food systems at the municipal, regional, national and international scales. Governance brings together scale with questions of power, class, and social justice. The role of the state as enabler or barrier to community food initiatives needs to be examined in context. For example, research with historically marginalized communities is essential particularly in the context of access to nutritious food and livelihoods.
The FLEdGE Innovative Governance Working Group focused on examining food policy, examining:
- existing models and good practices in national food policy
- the UN-FAO Committee on World Food Security, particularly its Civil Society Mechanism
- the potential applicability of municipal-scale initiatives (e.g., Food Policy Councils) at larger scales (e.g., national policies)
FLEdGE also built on existing research to extend and deepen our knowledge about existing and emerging food system governance innovation. Through participatory governance in Mexico and results from the Northern Governance and Policy Research Conference offer alternative governance models that could enhance food system viability. Through collaborations with our partners (e.g., FAO and RUAF) researchers developed and disseminated insights between the Global South and North.
