Il modulo di EStà
Hybrid Master in Local Food Policy
Participate to Bring About Change
Over the course of an intense week of work, discussion, and experimentation, the Master’s Program in Local Food Policies—sponsored by CIHEAM Bari and the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo—became an international workshop dedicated to one of the most pressing questions for the future of food systems: How can we develop food policies that truly engage local communities and their stakeholders?
In this edition, EStà – Economia e sostenibilità contributed to the program through joint teaching by Andrea Calori, PhD, Bianca Minotti, PhD, and Francesca La Rocca, bringing to the classroom years of experience gained in designing and facilitating participatory processes, urban food policies, Living Labs, and local governance initiatives in Italy and abroad.
Learning by Doing
The module organized by EStà was built around a simple principle: participatory processes cannot be learned solely through study. For this reason, the morning lectures were consistently complemented by afternoon workshop activities in which participants directly experimented with the tools and methodologies used in real-world projects. The class worked on:
- stakeholder mapping and analysis;
- identification of interests, conflicts, and power relations;
- designing participatory workshops;
- developing multi-stakeholder engagement strategies;
- using visual and collaborative techniques;
- developing Theory of Change frameworks;
- simulating co-creation processes typical of Living Labs.
The goal was not merely to understand the tools, but to critically reflect on the conditions that make authentic and transformative participation possible.
Through these activities, the students designed and facilitated actual simulated workshops, putting themselves in the shoes of public officials, farmers, associations, citizens, and other stakeholders in local food systems.
The Added Value of an International Class
The experience was enriched by the presence of an entirely international class.
The participants came from Palestine, Tunisia, Lebanon, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Australia, the United States, and Italy. This diversity transformed each exercise into a comparison of very different contexts: urban and rural food systems, conflict situations, emerging economies, rapidly growing cities, and regions characterized by high climate vulnerability or long-standing agricultural traditions.
Each discussion thus took on a global dimension while remaining grounded in the concrete problems faced daily by the participants in their respective professional contexts.
The Value of Relationships
Based on EStà’s experience gained over many years of work on food policies, participatory processes, and territorial governance, one often underestimated element clearly emerges: food policies are, first and foremost, relational processes.
As important as technical tools, strategic documents, and action plans may be, their effectiveness depends largely on the ability to build trust, dialogue, and collaboration among stakeholders who often represent very different interests, perspectives, and priorities. Farmers, public administrations, businesses, associations, universities, and citizens rarely share a common vision from the outset; this must be built over time through opportunities for discussion, mutual listening, and collaborative work.
For this reason, in the participatory processes that EStà designs and facilitates, great importance is placed not only on formal working sessions but also on all opportunities that foster mutual understanding, the building of trust, and the development of lasting relationships. Experience in the field shows, in fact, that the quality of relationships among stakeholders is often one of the decisive factors for the long-term success and sustainability of food policies.
Imparare dai fallimenti
Among the topics that generated the most interest was the discussion on “bad practices.” In the literature and in policy-making, there is often a tendency to focus on success stories. Much more rarely are mistakes, unresolved conflicts, or processes that failed to produce the expected results analyzed.
During the module, however, we devoted considerable time to the lessons learned from problematic cases, the difficulties encountered in food governance processes, and the strategies developed to address them.
“Often times, the bigger the mistake, the bigger the lesson.”
This reflection aptly summarizes an approach that EStà considers fundamental: tackling complex systems with a critical mindset, adaptability, and a willingness to continually question one’s own practices.
Beyond the Classroom
The messages received from the students at the end of the module perhaps reflect the most important outcome of the week: the building of an international community of professionals, researchers, and practitioners who will continue to engage with issues of food policy even beyond the course.
For EStà, participating in the Master’s program means exactly this: helping to train a new generation of Local Food Policy professionals capable of combining analytical rigor, an understanding of local contexts, facilitation skills, and continuous learning from real-world practices..
One of the distinctive features of the Master’s program is the collaboration between two institutions that approach the topic of food from complementary perspectives.
On the one hand, the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, with its focus on food systems, supply chains, local territories, and the relationships between production and consumption. On the other is CIHEAM Bari, which for decades has been engaged in issues of rural development, international cooperation, and the transformation of agri-food systems in the Mediterranean and Africa.
The convergence of these two perspectives allows for a comprehensive examination of Local Food Policies, moving beyond sector-specific views and fostering an integrated understanding of the environmental, social, economic, and institutional dimensions that characterize contemporary food systems.
