Scoping / framing

The objectives of this WP are:

1. To conduct a systematic analysis of how both ‘local and global food’ and the ‘performance of food chains’ are perceived, defined and communicated in the public, scientific, market and policy spheres across a range of dimensions (economic, social, environmental, health and ethical);

2. To assess how each of these dimensions is framed in different contexts, and to identify the dilemmas and contradictions within each, as well as the interaction between them, that potentially affects attitudes and behaviour in relation to food chain performance;

3. Following objectives 1 and 2 above, to develop a matrix that catalogues ‘local and global food’ performance across a range of criteria including real costs and benefits, as well as resilience and security;

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How do stakeholders in the agro-food sector perceive the local vs global dichotomy? How do key food chain players develop and forecast businesses and policies in the near future? What are the relevant strategies identified and adopted to increase competitiveness and mitigate impacts? What are the external pressures and demands the agro-food sector will have to deal with? Glamur is collecting opinions from key food chain players and observers through the Delphi method (for those interested in Delphi, see a recent special issue in Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2011, 78).

Close to 50 experts have been recruited by the Glamur partners for the Delphi panel in each of the countries involved in the project, crosscutting a broad coverage of expertise, field of activity, background and geographic areas. The gender balance is similarly pursued. Delphi experts have been identified in the light of their national-level perspective and their strategic view of food chain performance. Coherently with the Glamur overall approach, experts have been grouped accordingly across the four relevant spheres (public, market, scientific and policy).

The Delphi participants thus complement the views and considerations of those of the experts and actors interviewed to supplement the desk-based review. The Delphi exercise will allow Glamur to capture expert perceptions of food chain performance, in relation to global and local foods. Experts are thus asked to envisage change (in a qualitative sense), looking five and ten years ahead and predicting what they perceive will be the most important food chain performance attributes in the future.

An online questionnaire has been designed to collect their inputs. Once finalised the three rounds of the Delphi interviews of experts, the questionnaire will be made available on glamur.eu to anyone willing to contribute.

Poster session
WP2 findings were shared through a poster session during the Glamur event hosted in February 2014 by the FAO headquarter in Rome

Open/Download WP2 Serbian report BEL PDF (Opens in New Tab/Window)