First co-creation session ‘Utreg, wat maak je me nou!’ a success
After the two successful inspiration and activation meetings on April 4th and October 31st 2024 at Steck Utrecht, about 40 participating organisations and initiatives completed the survey to gather the required information on what they are doing (and why), what they’re good at, where they need help and what can be added.
On January 23rd, Amped hosted the first co-creation session at Fort bij ‘t Hemeltje in Houten for the participants who completed this survey. The survey results provided insights into the level of expertise and requests for help, as well as ongoing projects and aspirations.
Based on these results we identified four cross-project themes, which formed the co-creation session’s program, assisted by knowledgable experts from the EU4Advice Living Lab network.
Guided by Maarten Klop, the participants picked up where we had left off in Oct 2024 and further expanded on what they are doing, shared their insights and needs, so that we could directly explore project-oriented collaboration: how can we empower each other, and where do we have shared needs for help?
Zooming in on overarching needs
We zoomed in on the four cross-project themes with expert support and considered how they are relevant to participants’ projects:
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- Expanding networks: How do we strengthen and mobilise our ‘herd’? Expert: Mark Frederiks (Amped) on dynamic networks and interregional ecosystems.
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- Connecting with young talents: How can leaders be supported by the ‘swarm’ of young talents? Expert: Maarten Klop (Amped / Grounded Community / Young Future Food, Utrecht University).
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- Measuring impact and sharing knowledge: How do we measure and secure our impact and how do we use these insights to influence the system world? Expert: Dr. Brian Dermody (UU) in collaboration with AMS Institute, WUR and VU Amsterdam.
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- Area-based collaboration and financing: How do we create a shared ‘feeding site’? Blended Finance expert: Dennis Kerkhoven (Yes and More).
What did we learn and what’s next?
We learned that the co-creation between the participants has shown many powerful opportunities, short-term and long-term. The first practical matches between needs and what initiatives have to offer have been made, which provide meaningful starting points for cross-collaboration. For the long-term, the participants have been provided a range of perspectives to find inspiration from and common ground on.
On the 10th of April we are organizing a third inspiration session at Steck Utrecht, so more initiatives can join and we further enrich the soil of this powerful local food movement.
