A milestone meeting in the journey of the Food Partnership

After two online meetings the Food Partnership met in person for the first time in Brussels on 7 March. The meeting marked a significant milestone in the journey of the Food Partnership toward the definition of a common vision and shared goals.

Morning session

The meeting was held in parallel session to the “FOOD 2030 Networks Conference”, that provided partners with inspiration, ideas and key insights on transformative food system innovation.

In the opening session partners were warmly welcomed by Thomas De Béthune from the European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policies (DG REGIO) and by the two coordinators of the partnership, the City of Milan and the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon. Participants were then engaged in an icebreaker game, setting a positive tone for a productive cooperation and exchange of ideas.

Afternoon session

Participants were divided into three different working groups and, as a first step, they explored the intersections and connections between different topics, recognising common themes, areas of overlaps, and trying to merge similar ideas into broader themes. The activity helped to narrow down over 100 topics to around 30.

Partners were then invited to prioritize the selected topics for each pillar of the Urban Agenda for the EU, using the Eisenhower matrix, according to their degree of importance and urgency. They were encouraged to voice their preferences and engage in constructive dialogue to reach consensus on the most important areas to focus on.

Main results
Among the most important and urgent topics related to the three pillars of the Urban Agenda for the EU were identified:

Building a match-making system between best practices and cities
Facilitating public procurement of local food
Identifying multi-level policy incoherence in each area of the food system
Mapping the existing funding ecosystem and proposing new funding schemes
EU advocacy for more funding on food innovation
Comparison of national/regional regulations assessing the impact of public policies at different scales
Defining national food strategies including obligations for cities
Setting minimum mandatory standards and criteria

Next steps

Partners will continue to better define the most relevant topics, ensuring that they accurately reflect the collective vision and goals of the partnership, to guide further discussion in preparation for the Orientation Paper.