Evidence-to-Impact Pathways for Nutrition-Centred Food System Transformation (University of Cambridge, IFM, UK)

SMAR3TS project partner – University of Cambridge (IfM Engage, Institute for Manufacturing) is looking for innovative approaches to join up science across nutrition and food systems in order to deliver actionable solutions that improve young people’s mental wellbeing.

For more info, please see the details in the attachments.

Please note: the secondments are open only to SMAR3TS Consortium Partners.

Necessary skills and capabilities across disciplines

This I3X requires expertise in one or several areas in:

• Nutrition, food systems
• Innovation management and systems thinking
• Expertise and research in food systems
• Knowledge how to conduct socio-economic and environmental impact assessment for food systems' resilience, restoration, and regeneration
• Stakeholder engagement and ecosystem coordination
• Strategic foresight, roadmapping

Examples of challenges that need to be addressed

Transforming food systems through a nutrition-centred lens requires addressing a set of interconnected and systemic challenges that span science, policy, innovation and implementation. While evidence on nutrition, sustainable diets and food systems is rapidly expanding, the mechanisms for translating this knowledge into coherent action, policy design and scalable solutions remain underdeveloped. These challenges are compounded by fragmented governance, competing priorities, and the need to coordinate multiple stakeholders across sectors and levels. Addressing the following challenges is essential to enable effective evidence-to-impact pathways for resilient, restorative and regenerative food system transformation.

The secondments under this I3X could focus e.g. on one or several of the following areas:

1. Fragmented evidence across food systems
Nutrition and food system knowledge is dispersed across disciplines, limiting usability for decision-makers.

2. Weak translation from research to practice
Evidence needs to progress into scalable interventions embedded in real-world systems.

3. Research to food industry translation gaps
There is a need to address how scientific insights can be translated into practice and in particular understand what practices facilitate uptake of scientific results by food industry.

4. Complex multi-stakeholder environments
Nutrition-centred change requires coordination across sectors and governance levels. Development of effective sollutions must be driven by collaboration between researchers, food producers, regulators and innovators/entrepreneurs.

I3X at the University of Cambridge – About the initiator

1. Background info

IfM Engage is part of the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) at the University of Cambridge and specialises in translating research into practice through engagement with industry, government and society.

IfM Engage works at the intersection of innovation, sustainability and policy, supporting organisations to address complex systemic challenges through applied research, education, roadmapping and facilitation.

Website: https://engage.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk

2. Research Group/Company Department

The research and innovation team within academic division of Manufacturing and Management at IfM Engage facilitates the translation of scientific and technological knowledge into real-world impact through consulting, education, roadmapping and communication, supporting organisations to address sustainability and innovation challenges.

Link to the website:https://engage.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk

Contact info: Dr David Lott,Chief Executive Officer, Academic Division: Manufacturing and Management, Email: dl362@cam.ac.uk

See attachment for more info about the I3X initiator and I3X description.

Alignment to Work-Packages (Nutrition, Mobility, Energy, Housing)

SMAR3TS domains that are relevant to the work of the IFM Engage research and innovation team: nutrition.

This I3X is primarily aligned with the Nutrition domain of SMAR3TS, addressing food and diet, while also connecting to education and social systems.

Alignment to Resilience, Restoration, Regeneration (R3)

This I3X supports resilient, restorative, and regenerative food systems development,more specifically this I3X contributes to:

- Resilience by strengthening food and nutrition systems’ capacity to withstand shocks and crises.

- Restoration by addressing diet- and food-system-related drivers of environmental degradation.

- Regeneration by enabling food systems that actively support long-term human and planetary wellbeing; studying innovative industry practices in the food sector to enable regenerative food systems, behaviours, and knowledge ecosystems.

Note:

The expression of interest for the secondment at the University of Cambridge (IFM Engage) must be submitted via the platform. Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and you will be contacted as soon as possible. For any questions, please contact: info@smar3ts.eu