Grassroots social innovations and food localisation: An investigation of the Local Food programme in England

Kirwan, James; Ilbery, Brian; Maye, Damian; Carey, Joy

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.12.004

Cited by 180 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Researchers have begun to explore the nature of GIs and the conditions under which they emerge (see Verheul and Vergragt 1995;Georg 1999;Hess 2007;Smith 2007;Seyfang 2009;Witkamp, Raven, and Royakkers 2011;Kirwan et al 2013;Ornetzeder and Rohracher 2013;Smith and Seyfang 2013;White and Stirling 2013). Yet there has been little exploration of the processes of niche formation and growth in civil society contexts, nor of the ways GI niches seek to gain wider influence on regimes (Smith 2007;Longhurst 2012;Hargreaves et al 2013;Seyfang and Longhurst 2013b; forthcoming are rare exceptions).…”

Section: Grassroots Innovationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What influences the diffusion of grassroots innovations for sustainability? Investigating community currency niches

Seyfang

Longhurst

2015

Technology Analysis & Strategic Management

164

157

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Community action for sustainability is a promising site of sociotechnical innovation. Here we test the applicability of coevolutionary niche theories of innovation diffusion (strategic niche management, SNM) to the context of 'grassroots innovations' (GIs). We present new empirical findings from an international study of 12 community currency niches (such as Local Exchange Trading Schemes, time banks, and local currencies). These are parallel systems of exchange, designed to operate alongside mainstream money, meeting additional sustainability needs. Our findings confirm SNM predictions that niche-level activity correlates with diffusion success, but we highlight additional or confounding factors, and how niche theories might be adapted to better fit civil society innovations. In so doing, we develop a model of GI niche diffusion which extends existing work and tailors it to this specific context. The paper concludes with a series of theoretically informed recommendations for practitioners and policy-makers to support the development and potential of GIs. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Grassroots Innovationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What influences the diffusion of grassroots innovations for sustainability? Investigating community currency niches

Seyfang

Longhurst

2015

Technology Analysis & Strategic Management

164

157

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“…Scaling up and out can occur through policy innovations being shared and mimicked [26] as policy makers consider whether an innovation suits their needs, and whether to adopt it. Policy decisions are significant to transition because policy convergence might create pressure for regime change or facilitate strategic niche management.…”

Section: Conceptualising Scaling Up and Scaling Outmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Niche innovations include alternative food networks which bring producers and consumers closer together [2], organic food production [10], and civil society programmes supporting local food activity to shorten supply chains [26]. Strategic niche management can prompt policy change supportive of niche innovations as happened with the expansion of organic food production [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling up and out as a Pathway for Food System Transitions

Pitt

Jones

2016

Sustainability

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This paper contributes to the understanding of sustainability transitions by analysing processes of scaling up and out as change pathway. It defines scaling up and out as a distinct form of policy transfer focused on programme implementation, with continuity of actors across jurisdictions. We detail how scaling up and out occurs, introducing a new mechanism to policy transfer frameworks. This is explicated through the case study of Food for Life (FFL), a civil society innovation programme promoting sustainable healthy food in public settings. We highlight why FFL was scaled up and out, how this was achieved, by whom, and the results and success factors. The case study demonstrates the importance of interrogating motivations for transferring policies, and how these influence whether successful outcomes are achieved. This requires a revised framework for analysing policy transfer, with greater attention to the links between motives and outcomes, and a less binary understanding of agents' roles. Where scaling is the mode of policy transfer, we suggest that continuous involvement of at least one transfer agent across the process is significant to success. We conclude by highlighting implications for future research into policy transfer and food system transitions.

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“…Promotion of the logo to consumers has been limited and there have been efforts to reconnect farmers and consumers (Duffy et al 2003;Dowler et al, 2009;Kirwan et al, 2013;Morris and Kirwan, 2010). Table 2 shows the perceived importance of ethical and provenance food standards.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A greater share of the stomach?

Soon

Wallace

2018

NFS

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Purpose Provenance and ethical standards reflect foods that traceable and are supportive of the environment, sustainability and justice in the food supply chain. The purpose of this study is to understand higher education consumers’ food choices and to examine the predictors of purchasing intention of food with provenance and ethical standards. Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire was completed by 296 students and staff members of the University of Central Lancashire. The questionnaire collected information on socio-demographic profiles; food choices, provenance and ethical standards; ethical purchasing and sourcing requirements and purchasing intention of food products with provenance and ethical standards. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency of distribution of all socio-demographic characteristics. Multiple regression was used to examine if attitude, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) significantly predict the consumers’ purchasing intention (Step 1). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the behavioural items using principal components estimation and varimax rotation. Multiple regression on the expanded TPB (Step 2) using the obtained factor scores were conducted to determine if the factors were significant predictors of purchasing intention of food with provenance and ethical standards. Findings Multiple regression on the expanded TPB model revealed that only attitude and perceived behavioural control were significant predictors of purchasing intention of food with provenance and ethical standards. The regression model explained about 50 per cent of the variance of the intent to purchase food with provenance and ethical standards where R2 = 0.50 (Adjusted R2 = 0.47). This was significantly different from zero F (5, 89) = 17.77, p < 0.001. The incorporation of “Preference for ethically sourced food” and “Perceived knowledge and status of provenance standards” did not increase the prediction of purchasing behaviour. Originality/value Two broad themes were identified from the factor analysis where the first factor prioritises “Preference for ethically sourced food” and the second factor conceptualises “Perceived knowledge and status of provenance standards”. The TPB was expanded to incorporate both factors but did not increase the prediction of purchasing intention. The authors recommend that other potential predictors, for example, moral concerns or perceived value of food with provenance and/or ethical standards to be tested using an extended TPB framework. The study is of value to higher and further education catering services to encourage more sustainable and local food consumption.

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Grassroots social innovations and food localisation: An investigation of the Local Food programme in England

Cited by 180 publications

References 21 publications

What influences the diffusion of grassroots innovations for sustainability? Investigating community currency niches

What influences the diffusion of grassroots innovations for sustainability? Investigating community currency niches

Scaling up and out as a Pathway for Food System Transitions

A greater share of the stomach?

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