It is predicted that 5 million rural jobs will have disappeared before 2016. These changes do not
only concern farmers. In their decline all food chain related SMEs will be affected severely. New
business opportunities can be found in short food supply chains. However, they can only
succeed if handled professionally and on a proper scale. This presents opportunities on 4
interconnected strands:
Collect market relevant regional data
Develop innovative specialisation strategies for SMEs
Forge new forms of regional cooperation and partnership based on common benefits and
shared values.
Acquire specific skills
REFRAME takes up these challenges. In a living lab of 5 regional pilots, partners will
demonstrate the Regional Food Frame (RFF) as an effective set of measures to scale up and
accommodate urban food demands and regional supplies. New data will reveal the regions’ own
strengths and resources to match food demand and supply. REFRAME provides a support
infrastructure for food related SMEs to develop and implement their smart specialization
strategies in food chains on the urban-rural axis. On their way towards a RFF, all pilots will use a
5-step road map. A transnational learning lab will be set up in support of skill development and
training of all stakeholders. REFRAME pools the know-how needed to set up these Regional Food
Frames in a transnational network of experts, each closely linked and footed in its own pilot
region.
“Gedetineerden van de PI Norgerhaven hebben de eerste hop op het terrein achter de gevangenis geoogst. De hop wordt gebruikt voor een nieuw biertje van brouwerij Maallust uit Veenhuizen (Drenthe, 2018)”.De gevangenis-hop is een prachtig resultaat van een succesvolle samenwerking tussen het Lectoraat Duurzaam Coöperatief ondernemen (FEM), de Gebiedscoöperatie Westerkwartier, Brouwerij Maallust en de Penitentiaire Inrichting Veenhuizen (PI). In opdracht van de PI en Brouwerij Maallust heeft Hanzestudent bedrijfseconomie, Romar Salomons, voor zijn afstudeeronderzoek gewerkt aan een kostendekkend sociaal inclusief business model voor de productie van hop door de gedetineerden van de PI voor de naastgelegen Brouwerij Maallust.
Recent challenges such like climate, demographic, political, economy and market changes are the foundation for the establishment of the Regional Cooperative Westerkwartier (RCW) in the Northern Netherlands. This RCW is managing a vast range of regional programs and projects developed by multi-stakeholder groups within the region. These stakeholders are representatives of market, public administration, education, research and civil society. All the activities of the cooperative focus on strengthening the regional economy. One of the major programs is the development of a regional food chain (RFC) based on cooperation between small and medium sized enterprises and corporate purchasers. The cooperative is identifying its role within this RFC to develop this chain in an effective way. This article reflects the results of a literature study in the fields of green supply chain management and industrial symbiosis to understand the most important factors of chain development and enterprise symbiosis. Based on these results multiple in-depth interviews and a survey have been conducted. This results in a list of factors, ranked according to their importance for small and medium-sized enterprises. In the role of a RFC-agent the cooperative should focus on creating trust, achieving one overall goal and ensuring clear agreements within the RFC. Surprisingly, the factor “achieving a fair distribution of costs and benefits” throughout the chain is not as important as was expected to be. Based on these ranked factors the role of the RFC-agent has been clarified and an additional circular chain business model can be developed.
Finished
Not known
