Brokering Community–campus Partnerships: An Analytical Framework

Academic institutions and community-based organizations have increasingly recognized the value of working together to meet their different objectives and address common societal needs. In an effort to support the development and maintenance of these partnerships, a diversity of brokering initiatives has emerged. We describe these brokering initiatives broadly as coordinating mechanisms that act as an intermediary with an aim to develop collaborative and sustainable partnerships that provide mutual benefit. A broker can be an individual or an organization that helps connect and support relationships and share knowledge. To date, there has been little scholarly discussion or analysis of the various elements of these initiatives that contribute to successful community–campus partnerships. In an effort to better understand where these features may align and diverge, we reviewed a sample of community–campus brokering initiatives across North America and the United Kingdom to consider their different roles and activities. From this review, we developed a framework to delineate characteristics of different brokering initiatives to better understand their contributions to successful partnerships. The framework is divided into two parts. The first examines the different structural allegiances of the brokering initiatives by identifying their affiliation, principle purpose, and who received primary benefits. The second considers the dimensions of brokering activities in respect to their level of engagement, platforms used, scale of activity, and area of focus. The intention of the community campus engagement brokering framework is to provide an analytical tool for academics and community-based practitioners engaged in teaching and research partnerships. When developing a brokering initiative, these categories describing the different structures and dimensions encourage participants to think through the overall goals and objectives of the partnership and adapt the initiative accordingly

Envisioning New Horizons for the Political Economy of Sustainable Food Systems

This article considers how political economy can expand to contribute to the contemporary study of sustainable food systems, raising new questions for researchers, practitioners, and social movement actors engaged in collaborative efforts to transform dominant foodscapes. Our discussion and analysis draw on the outcomes of a workshop of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) on the political economies of sustainable food systems in June 2018. The workshop participants identified five cross-cutting research issues and related methods worthy of focus: multiple forms of knowledge, technology and innovation, expansion or scaling sustainable innovations, the role of the private sector, and democratic governance. We conclude by positing ways forward that contribute to the evolving political economy of sustainable food systems.International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (iPES Food

Strengthening Sustainable Northern Food Systems: Federal Policy Constraints and Potential Opportunities

This paper explores how Canadian federal policy and frameworks can better support community-based initiatives to reduce food insecurity and build sustainable food systems in the North. Through an examination of the current state of food systems infrastructure, transportation, harvest, and production in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik, and Nunatsiavut, we argue in favour of a multi-sector approach that supports diversified food systems, including traditional/country food production and distribution, in a way that values and prioritizes community-led initiatives and Indigenous peoples’ self-determination and self-governance. The challenge of developing sustainable, northern food systems requires made-in-the-North solutions that are attuned to cultural, geographic, environmental, and political contexts. Recent policy developments suggest some progress in this direction, however much more work is needed. Ultimately, sustainable northern food systems must be defined by and for Northerners at community, local, and regional levels, with particular attention paid to treaty rights and the right to self-determination of First Nations and other Indigenous communities.Cet article se penche sur la manière dont les politiques et les cadres de référence fédéraux du Canada peuvent mieux soutenir les initiatives communautaires afin d’atténuer l’insécurité alimentaire et d’édifier des systèmes alimentaires durables dans le Nord. En nous appuyant sur l’examen de l’état actuel de l’infrastructure des systèmes alimentaires, du transport, des récoltes et de la production du Yukon, des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, du Nunavut, du Nunavik et du Nunatsiavut, nous plaidons en faveur d’une approche multisectorielle favorisant des systèmes alimentaires diversifiés, y compris la production et la distribution d’aliments traditionnels ou du terroir, valorisant et priorisant les initiatives communautaires de même que l’autodétermination et l’autonomie gouvernementale des peuples autochtones. Le défi consistant à concevoir des systèmes alimentaires durables dans le Nord nécessite des solutions provenant du Nord, solutions qui tiennent compte des contextes culturel, géographique, environnemental et politique. De récents développements en matière de politiques suggèrent un certain progrès, mais il reste toutefois fort à faire dans ce sens. Au bout du compte, les systèmes alimentaires durables dans le Nord doivent être définis par et pour les gens du Nord à l’échelle communautaire, locale et régionale, en accordant une attention particulière aux droits issus des traités ainsi qu’au droit à l’autodétermination des Premières Nations et d’autres collectivités autochtones

Integrated food systems governance: Scaling equitable and transformative food initiatives through scholaractivist engagement

Community-based efforts to transform food sys­tems involve a diverse range of actors and increas­ingly attempt to focus on public engagement in policymaking processes. These initiatives often emphasize opportunities for more participatory forms of engagement rooted in systems thinking, which recognizes the interconnections between environmental, social, and economic injustices. Similarly, food systems scholars are increasingly engaged in participatory action projects seeking to make productive linkages between academic research, policymakers, and community organiza­tions in search of tangible food systems change (...

Categorizing Practical Training Programs for New Farmers

Despite limited study, farmer training is an area of growing interest and concern among new and experienced farmers across North America. It is also an area with broad implications regarding the future of domestic food production. This paper presents findings from a community-campus partnership research study that aimed to explore, document, and categorize existing and emergent models of practical farmer training in North America. We begin by describing the context of practical farming and the need for training programs, followed by a discussion of our findings organized into five analytical categories along with discussion of their implications: (1) Informal farm internship associations; (2) centralized internship programs; (3) private or nonprofit course-based programs; (4) formal academic programs; and (5) independent and self-directed learning. We conclude with some implications from this study and suggest areas for future research. It is our hope that the categories presented here will provide a springboard to support the future research and development of new practical farmer training programs

Policy Analysis and Reflective Essay Cultivating equitable ground: Community-based participatory research to connect food movements with migrant farmworkers

Abstract Despite popular momentum behind North American civil society initiatives to advance social justice and ecological resilience in the food system, food movements have had limited engaging with migrant farmworkers. This policy analysis and reflective essay describes a partnership between university researchers and a non-profit food network organization in Ontario, Canada with a mandate to advance healthy food and farming across the region. The purpose of the community-based research was to gather a broad range of actionable ideas from key informants to advance health and equity with migrant farmworkers. The 'key solution ideas' were gathered primarily through eleven in-depth interviews and ongoing feedback from relevant actors. We reflect on the unique features of approaching this often-divisive area of inquiry through a university-community partnership. Reviewing the key solution ideas, we categorize the proposals for advancing farmworker health and equity under four broad themes: a) health and safety; b) farmworker recruitment and mobility; c) community-building and social integration; and d) immigration policy. We then critically evaluate the constraints and opportunities for addressing these areas through the auspices of a network-based food organization that takes a 'big tent' approach to collaborative action on polarizing issues. As food networks are seeking to build meaningful alliances with migrant justice and labour movements, this study provides a timely contribution to literature and practice at the intersection of community-based participatory research, sustainable food networks, labour and immigration

A political economy for regenerative food systems: towards an integrated agenda

This chapter considers how political economy might be expanded to raise new questions for researchers, practitioners and social movement actors engaged in collaborative efforts to transform foodscapes. We suggest that scholars must seriously consider the possibilities for a political economy of regenerative food systems – that is, food systems that feed people, work with nature and are controlled by those that grow, harvest and forage for food – in order to critically address flows of power. Building on a critical review of the literature and reflection on our own research, we propose potential hybridizations of the political economy of food with other conceptual developments in food systems research, including decolonizing approaches, feminist groundings, post-capitalist approaches, co-production of knowledge and nature, and engaged scholarship. When combined with a political economy framework, these approaches expand the potential to advance sustainable food systems, integrating innovative theoretical and practical perspectives along with related methodological tools. This approach offers new and exciting horizons for the political economy of regenerative food systems

Envisioning new horizons for the political economy of sustainable food systems

This article considers how political economy can expand to contribute to the contemporary study of sustainable food systems, raising new questions for researchers, practitioners, and social movement actors engaged in collaborative efforts to transform dominant foodscapes. Our discussion and analysis draw on the outcomes of a workshop of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) on the political economies of sustainable food systems in June 2018. The workshop participants identified five cross-cutting research issues and related methods worthy of focus: multiple forms of knowledge, technology and innovation, expansion or scaling sustainable innovations, the role of the private sector, and democratic governance. We conclude by positing ways forward that contribute to the evolving political economy of sustainable food systems.</p