Facilitation
We cultivate spaces for dialogue to build shared solutions.
We help territories and organisations find their own path towards sustainable change, activating all available human resources.
Sustainability is built together.
Our facilitation brings out the collective potential to tackle complex challenges.
Living Lab
Multi-stakeholder participatory processes
EStà’s Living Labs stand out for their ability to connect different institutional levels, create alliances between public, private and community actors, and stimulate collective learning that translates local needs into concrete governance and policy tools. Their strength lies in being spaces for methodological experimentation that produce operational results (plans, desks, indicators, recommendations) while strengthening social capital and mutual trust among the actors involved.
Tailor-made processes
From design to delivery, each path is personalised and co-created.
Neutral and empathetic management
We facilitate dialogue without taking sides, valuing every voice.
Inclusion and collective intelligence
Active listening, conflict management, valuing diversity.
International standards
Our facilitators are CPF (Certified Professional Facilitator) accredited, with IAF certification.
For EStà, Living Labs are participatory and facilitated processes that focus on co-creation between different actors in urban food systems, with the aim of strengthening governance and producing systemic change. These are not just one-off events, but processes that promote dialogue, mutual learning and collective ownership, acting as catalysts for open innovation in public policy.
In line with the 2030 Agenda, EStà considers Living Labs as tools for: creating cohesion, encouraging direct participant involvement, legitimising decision-making processes and building shared languages and visions.
Principles and references
The approach is based on a number of key principles: urgency, dialogue, respect, complexity,
multi-stakeholder inclusion, continuity and trust. Added to these are criteria of linguistic and cultural inclusiveness, attention to gender equality and the centrality of the African perspective. EStà’s Living Labs are also inspired by the standards of the UN Food Systems Dialogues and the ENOLL reference framework.
The methodology adopted
The methodology defined by EStà is divided into five main phases:
- Explore – identification of a need or research question relevant to sustainability; formulation of a working hypothesis and mapping of stakeholders according to the quadruple helix model (government, civil society, academia, industry).
- Engage – context analysis and targeted interviews with actors to refine the hypothesis, stakeholder map and expected results.
- Design – co-designing the workshop: defining the theme, objectives, outcomes, validation with the promoter and taking care of logistical and linguistic aspects.
- Meet-up – running the workshop, which combines plenary sessions, inspirational moments, networking and group work (divergent, transformative and convergent phases), with final feedback and evaluation.
- Feedback & Follow-up – drafting of a concise and readable report, which provides feedback on the views and results that emerged, accompanied by recommendations for the next steps.
Concrete applications
This methodology has been applied in different contexts, always adapting it to local specificities:
- Lusaka (Zambia): to launch a Food Desk in the City Council and strengthen the Food Policy Council as a strategic space for dialogue.
- Palermo/Chefchaouen: workshop dedicated to Chefchaouen but hosted in Palermo, focusing on the food-climate nexus and the promotion of the Mediterranean Diet as a lever for sustainable tourism and agroecology.
- Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso): a process aimed at integrating the planning of the Ceinture Verte with the emerging Territorial Food Plan (PAT), including a round table with the main bailleurs to strengthen the financial sustainability of the actions.
Related articles
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PostOpen Innovation living lab, in Palermo
Earth Day MED AfriFOODlinks Living Lab Chefchaouen Living Lab report The context The report documents a Living Lab dedicated to the city of Chefchaouen (Morocco), created as part of the European AfriFOODlinks project. The event took place in Palermo, within the Earth Day Mediterranean Climate Festival, which provided the ideal setting for an international discussion … <a title="Open Innovation living lab, in Palermo" class="read-more" href="https://assesta.it/en/open-innovation-living-lab-in-palermo/" aria-label="Read more about Open Innovation living lab, in Palermo">Read more</a>
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Post
Lusaka Food Desk through capacity building activities
AfriFOODlinks Lusaka Living Lab report Context and objectives The report was produced as part of the European #AfriFOODlinks project, which aims to strengthen thegovernance of urban food systems in various African and European cities. Within thisframework, EStà has developed a Living Lab methodology to stimulate participatory processesand open innovation. The Lusaka experience focuses on the … <a title="Lusaka Food Desk through capacity building activities" class="read-more" href="https://assesta.it/en/lusaka-food-desk-through-capacity-building-activities/" aria-label="Read more about Lusaka Food Desk through capacity building activities">Read more</a>
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PostAfriFOODlinks’ Living Lab in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
AfriFOODlinks The goal: to outline a Territorial Food Plan. Ouagadougou Living Lab Report The context The Ouagadougou Living Lab is part of the European AfriFOODlinks project, for whichEStà is responsible for an activity on Open Innovation in local African food policies.The approach adopted emphasizes participation, equity, and cultural relevance,with the aim of building inclusive and … <a title="AfriFOODlinks’ Living Lab in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso" class="read-more" href="https://assesta.it/en/afrifoodlinks-living-lab-in-ouagadougou-burkina-faso-2/" aria-label="Read more about AfriFOODlinks’ Living Lab in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso">Read more</a>
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PostGARDEN event on food, climate and logistics in urban food systems
GARDEN: Transforming Food Logistics for a Greener Mediterranean On Friday 16 May, EStà hosted an event at Cascina Cuccagna in Milan organised by GARDEN, an Interreg Euro-MED project funded by the European Commission with the following objectives: Innovative green logistics GARDEN is implementing cutting-edge pilot projects in Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria to demonstrate … <a title="GARDEN event on food, climate and logistics in urban food systems" class="read-more" href="https://assesta.it/en/garden-event-on-food-climate-and-logistics-in-urban-food-systems/" aria-label="Read more about GARDEN event on food, climate and logistics in urban food systems">Read more</a>
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The tools
What we do in practice
We design
and lead participatory processes.
We moderate
multi-stakeholder events and workshops.
We help
build alliances and shared visions.
We facilitate
collective analysis and decision-making.
We accompany
transformation through dialogue.
Related publications
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PublicationThe role of cities in the transformation of food systems: sharing lessons from milan pact cities
In collaboration with the FAO and the Secretariat of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, ESTà has analysed 50 food-related practices and policies that were nominated for the Milan Pact Award between 2016 and 2018, with the aim of highlighting trends in the development of these initiatives and the obstacles to greater sustainability in urban food systems
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PublicationEmpowering urban youth for food and climate action
The analysis provides a snapshot of 18 different European contexts, offering a meaningful overview of how food and climate policies are developed and the ways in which young people are either the subject of or key players in these policies. It focuses on what is happening at local level with the aim of better understanding the impact that local actors and institutions have in shaping policies and initiatives that strengthen the food-climate nexus. (2022)
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Related projects
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ProjectNetZeroCities – The food system of the city of Padua
Urban food policy: a key component of the city of Padua’s strategy to reduce climate-changing emissions
Discover the project
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