FutureFoodS Webinar Series:

“Principles and practices of research-based advice to policy for food systems transformation.” 

Towards agreement on conceptual guidelines for SPI across European countries

Three interactive webinars | Online | 10:00–12:00 CET

Participate in the development of best practices for Science–Policy Interfaces (SPI) and Science–Policy–Society Interfaces (SPSI) through a series of three highly interactive webinars. Together, these webinars form a coherent process leading to a joint outcome: shared conceptual guidelines, a practical typology, and the foundations for future SPI/SPSI training under FutureFoodS.

The webinars:

• Webinar 1, February 24:  Principles and practices of SPI in different contexts 

• Webinar 2, March 19:  Science–policy-society interface in food policy: Towards institutional and territorial coherence 

• Webinar 3, April 22:  Development of widely shared typology and practice-oriented guidelines for SPI in FutureFoodS 

Webinar 2, March 19 – Science–policy–society interface in food policy: Towards institutional and territorial coherence

Context

Food system transformation increasingly requires interaction beyond traditional science–policy interfaces. In many cases, broader science–policy–society interfaces (SPSI) emerge, involving stakeholders, networks and multi-actor governance.

This second webinar deepens the discussion by examining how SPI and SPSI function in practice across different institutional and territorial levels.

Objectives

• Understand the practical implications of SPSI in food policy

• Compare SPI and SPSI roles, boundaries and integrity principles

• Identify enabling and hindering factors for effective interaction

• Assess which practices are context-specific and which may be generalized

What to expect

• Three national case studies:

  • Italy: Transdisciplinary and multi-actor policy approaches

  • Denmark: Science advice supporting plant-based food transition

  • Flanders (Belgium): Networking for food system transition

• Guided breakout sessions addressing:

  • Dialogue between science and policy at different levels

  • Good practices for SPSI

  • Potential for shared or “universal” principles

Who should attend

• Participants of Webinar 1

• Policymakers and researchers engaged in multi-actor food policy processes

• Stakeholders involved in food system governance and networks

Position in the series

This webinar extends the SPI discussion towards SPSI and institutional coherence, directly shaping the content and scope of the final guidelines developed in Webinar 3 (22 April).

Why are we doing this?

Scientific advice plays a crucial role in food policy, yet clear procedures, shared principles and training for Science–Policy and Science–Policy–Society Interfaces (SPI/SPSI) remain limited across Europe. Practices often rely on informal arrangements, creating risks for transparency, consistency and scientific integrity.

FutureFoodS aims to address this gap by developing shared, practice-oriented guidelines and a typology for SPI/SPSI, forming the basis for a future web-based training programme. Through these webinars, policymakers and researchers exchange experiences to identify good practices and agree on principles that support high-quality, transparent and consistent research-based advice in a European context.