Participants at the FRC workshop listen intently to the morning presentations.

Workshop participants listen to a presentation at the FRC workshop on Oct. 5, 2016 漏Food Research Collaboration

On Wednesday October 5th, the Food Research Collaboration (FRC), an initiative in the UK that brings together academics and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) around food issues, to discuss听the challenges and opportunities involved in working in community-campus partnerships (CCPs). The event was a success, with participants agreeing to work collaboratively for a better, more just food system.

The event opened with short presentations on CCP experiences – both those documented in the literature, and those experienced by some of the participants. The conversation then focused on three main areas, specifically, what adds value to CCPs, what CSOs and academics want from each other in these CCPs, and what challenges both parties face.

The delegates came up with many different points highlighting the opportunities and challenges when working in CCPs.听They also discussed听how the various challenges identified could be addressed or mitigated. The conversation resulted in a list of actions for the FRC to take forward in听the coming year.

The work of the FRC is particularly relevant to CFICE’s Community-Campus Engagement (CCE) Brokering (Food Sovereignty) Working Group. This working group has been studying听the work and structure of the FRC as a model for their own pilot brokerage initiatives. Notably, the FRC’s event in October provided the CCE Brokering (Food Sovereignty) working group with some useful findings on听community-campus partnerships in the UK that they are hoping to extrapolate and build upon in the Canadian context.

To read more about the event, . To access the presentations and reports prepared and delivered by the FRC, please use the links below.

Presentations:

Reports: