EU4Advice Living Lab Central Europe
The EU4Advice Living Lab of Central Europe in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA) is managed by Amped, in partnership with AMS Institute, Province of Flevoland and Wageningen University.
For several years now, Amped has been involved in activating a broad range of partners from different sectors, with the common goal of creating a robust, regional and regenerative food system in the AMA. Through the EU4Advice framework and as Living Lab manager, Amped aims at further connecting these partners, and the knowledge and experience created, with the other living labs, to foster a multi-level learning approach.
This Living Lab also aims to facilitate collaborations between running EU projects and networks in the area, efficiently building a learning ecosystem for a just transition to a regional, regenerative food system. The AMA as a Living Lab will therefore align with other European, regional, and interregional projects and networks such as FoodCLIC, Pakhuis de Zwijger, the Horticulture Network, Data Value Center Agri Food, etc.
Specific challenges
- High logistical costs due to low production volumes
- High marketing costs
- High IT costs
- Limited proof of added value of locality
- Counteracting market mechanism and regulation
- Fair pricing for farmers
Vision
Changing the playing field towards regenerative, robust and resilient regions, by combining networks around a shared vision of SFSC into a transformative force.
Testing and setting up a replicable transformational governance model and learning network in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA, Dutch: MRA) based on the GAIN Transition Model.
Developing a reproducible learning ecosystem model from the rollout of a regional, regenerative food system in the AMA.
Scaling up short food supply chains in the AMA to a substantive market share of 25% by 2030 by bundling the SFSC, bringing networks together, combining logistics, developing and utilising a joint online platform and testing different market approaches.
Advisors
Are you helping farmers and producers to sell their things directly, to improve their bargaining power or position in the value chain, or to transition to more socially and environmentally production systems?
Now is your chance to join the first-ever European advisory network focused on short food supply chains (SFSCs), established through the Horizon Europe projects COREnet and EU4Advice, which ultimate aim is to enhance the sustainability, competitiveness and visibility of European short food supply chains. A key step to pursue this goal, is to enhance the connections between SFSC actors in Europe, the capacity building and the knowledge sharing between advisors, producers, researchers and policy-makers.
This platform will connect you to a wide community of experts and advisors related to SFSC and support effective exchange of knowledge and solutions among advisors and other food system stakeholders, through access to training materials, thematic workshops, collaborative knowledge-sharing sessions, and networking activities. Additionally, you will be listed in a public database of SFSC advisors, giving you visibility as a trusted resource in the SFSC field. Moreover, your participation will also play a role in shaping policy recommendations at the EU level that support the development of the SFSC sector.
Your involvement in the network and related activities is entirely voluntary, and you will at all times have flexibility in choosing how to participate. As a first step, we’ll ask you to complete a brief questionnaire to understand your expertise and role in SFSCs better.
