Towards a Framework for Northern Food Systems Innovation

This project supported relationship development, consultation, and engagement actions to explore participatory food security research and food sector training opportunities with the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Creative Entrepreneurship program. It supported research design to attract research investment to Manitoba and was led by youth from the Winnipeg-based Art Borups Corners project.
This project supported relationship development, consultation, and engagement actions to explore participatory food security research and food sector training opportunities with the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Creative Entrepreneurship program. It supported research design to attract research investment to Manitoba and was led by youth from the Winnipeg-based Art Borups Corners project.

Funded By
Manitoba Agriculture and the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership

What We learned
Participatory arts and community-based research, and data-driven approaches to food security and creative leadership

Year
2023

This project was designed to address issues of food insecurity with northern Indigenous communities through a highly collaborative approach engaging a range of stakeholders such as farmers, food producers, and systems innovators. Consultations revealed a strong need to develop capacity for participatory, community-led, and data-driven approaches, with active involvement from primary stakeholders, Northern and Indigenous communities, youth, and Elders.

Project Partners:

  • University of Minnesota Duluth: Supply chain optimization and data analysis research support
  • Minneapolis College of Art and Design: Experiential and Biophilic Design training

This project supported developing a prototype marketplace for food sector cultural entrepreneurship and technology skills development. It was led by entrepreneurs, Indigenous youth, cultural connectors, and was supported by local and regional organizations.

Using participatory research, emergent design, and lean start-up methodologies similar to a ‘living lab’ concept, it studied northern and Manitoba supply chain optimization, pathways to cultural entrepreneurship for the food sector, and facilitated new, data-driven and evidence-based approaches to addressing northern food insecurity. It included learning about microeconomics and supply chains from the past, present, and future.

The “Past” delved into the cultural and trading history of northern Indigenous communities. In the “Present,” the project explored the increasingly inequitable realities of northern food supply chains and investigated the extent of purchase power parity. Finally, in the “Future” subproject, the project positioned to sustain a healthy business, community, and data-driven ecosystem for Indigenous agri-food-related cultural entrepreneurship through traditional trade and new technologies.

It also supported Indigenous early career exposure and cultural entrepreneurship capacity for the Manitoba agri-food and agriculture sectors. It explored traditional knowledge, technology development, and data-driven approaches to address northern food insecurity; capacity and skills needed to capture new, emerging market opportunities for Manitoba businesses; and encouraged evidence-based policy and process recommendations for more efficient and competitive northern supply chains.

Applied research training designed and delivered a pilot program for technology research and data analysis for evidence-based solutions. It increased Indigenous participation in Manitoba’s agri-food and agriculture sectors. It enhancedcollaboration across Nutrition North Canada communities in Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, and Nunavut using Winnipeg as a hub.

Research built on prior projects supported by the US National Science Foundation, University of Minnesota Duluth, Canada Council for the Arts, and Manitoba Arts Council. It leveraged and adapted Key Performance Indicators designed by the ArcticNet Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy in 2020-2021. Quantitative data analysis used descriptive statistics (i.e., means and standard deviations) to describe changes in access to fresh, healthy food, food security, and economic impacts. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis to identify themes related to reducing food insecurity.

Project Outcomes:

  • Improved capacity for Impact measurement and evaluation: Using qualitative and quantitative data, robust metrics and evaluation frameworks were designed to measure impacts on food insecurity, community health, and economic reconciliation. Increased capacity to sustain ongoing data collection, analysis, and reporting, and trained community members to solicit feedback and effectiveness.
  • Increased community and industry advocacy for policy change: The project drove more equitable and sustainable northern food supply chains and access to healthy foods. This outcome saw improved community capacity and collaboration for reliable, verifiable, and data-driven, evidence-based information to increase advocacy for policy changes at the local, regional, and national levels.
  • Improved community capacity and market expansion opportunities: The program built capacity to develop and sustain new partnerships for market expansion. Outcomes included increased relationship building and trust in government agencies and with NGOs, and deepened positive relationships with community and agri-food/food industry businesses. Outcomes included improved outreach and collaboration with community stakeholders across the North and South, and across the agri-food industry as a whole.

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