NIFK18008U Foodscapes – Enterprises (Offered for the last time in the academic year 2019-20)

This course comprises a project that must be written within the theme foodscapes - enterprises focusing on the entrepreneurial and innovative aspects of the food networks. The theme is not meant to focus solely on private companies and mercantile/economic aspects of food but to look at the many different expressions and potentials of public, public-private or private initiatives that requires a transition or change oriented perspective towards food related challenges.

The term enterprise has different meanings such as entrepreneurship, initiative or innovative activities. Therefore, the theme addresses the Foodscapes challenges by identifying societal aspects of the relation between the structural frames and the room for maneuver in different arenas. The theme addresses the major challenges of the food systems such as political and societal expectations or requirements of for example healthy, quality, organic or cheaper production and consumption, and the institutional, legal, regulative and political structures. There seems to be an increasing pressure on the traditional thinking in sectors and ‘silos’ and a demand for different views on innovative solutions. This translates into the academic work through critical-constructive reflections on the findings from field studies; desk research and lab work.

The theoretical background and challenges of the structural frames, governance organization and potentials for change will primarily be addressed in the course in governance and change management. In the design course innovative design aspects will be conducted. And the structural aspects of using these in a private or public-private context will be addressed. In the public health nutrition course, the overall challenges of the nutrition aspects in public health and the need for strategic (e.g. political) solutions towards the grand challenges in health in modern society are addressed.

Projects may address different aspects of transition and change. In the public health area, the main focus is in change in dietary patterns and thus followed methodologically by intervention studies. In the food networks and policy area the focus is on transition processes as more organizational and governance oriented perspectives. Here the methodological foundation is more in mapping and reflecting the sociocultural and sociotechnical aspects of organizational identity, interest or action. In a design perspective the focus is more on the business model and strategic planning aspects of bringing product development and product design processes into a market context.