The Living Good Food Nation Lab, particularly through its intensive partner and relationship work-stream, have been building, and maintaining:
- interest in, and momentum around, the Good Food Nation agenda;
- confidence and comfort in, and capacity for food systems change at local and national levels;
- networks and communities of practice to support Good Food Nation Planning and promote systemic change at multiple scales.
Alongside other partners, the Lab has been navigating the broader policy environment, adapting and responding to the dynamic legislative and implementation journey of the Good Food Nation Act. ‘Meeting relevant authorities where they are at’ has been, and remains, our motto throughout, ensuring the Living GFN Lab complements and builds on all the brilliant existing work happening across Scotland. As part of this, we have focused on ensuring that the Living GFN Lab resources and capacity benefit those tasked with the responsibility of developing GFN Plans and delivering the Good Food Nation vision.
Momentum around the Good Food Nation agenda
The lab's engagement and relationship building work sits across all activities and units of the Lab embodying the systems thinking and change approach we are trying to be a part of. The Lab’s playing a critical role in building momentum, capacity and networks, conducting research and engaging critically on, and writing about, the GFN journey to date, developing key resources to support GFN planning and supporting and facilitating strong partnership working within, and between, relevant authorities.
Relationship building has been central to the lab’s development and approach. Over the past 2 years, we have spent a significant time learning from, and working with relevant authorities. We are grateful to all the people and organisations who have generously given of their time to help us develop our knowledge of the systems and navigate how to operate within and forge strong connections. The Lab’s role is not to be the ‘expert’ in each of the key outcome areas, instead we are focused on creating spaces and resources and helping to facilitate people to feel comfortable to engage with others and ask questions about the Good Food Nation journey and their roles and contribution within their area of interest and/or responsibility. Thank you to all of the people we have met from many parts of the system and who have supported us with our work - ranging from a smallholding in rural Galloway to a Central Production Unit at a west coast Hospital. Having the time, space to build relationships and trust has helped, and continues to help us build knowledge, confidence, skills, networks and momentum.
Capacity around food systems change at local and national levels
A significant proportion of this work has focused on Relevant Authorities (RAs), one of the key groups the Lab aims to support and ‘serve’. At the time of writing, the Lab has engaged with all the Relevant Authorities across Scotland – all local authorities (32) and health boards (14) who are required to develop their 1st local Good Food Nation Plans. As part of this engagement, we have held many meetings with key RAs, and regional groups of RAs, provided expert contributions to Good Food Nation Steering Groups, organised bespoke workshop facilitation and are running a monthly drop-in meetings for our RA Good Food Nation peer network. Every interaction with every Relevant Authority aims to be place-based and bespoke, understanding local needs to support where they are at in their GFN planning and help them with the next stages of their GFN journey. Thanks to all relevant authorities’ colleagues for taking the time to be part of this process.
As well as working at a local and regional level, we are also working to support the GFN work nationally, including helping to deliver a session on Good Food Nation for the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Food and providing expert input at events organised by Public Health Scotland and COSLA, Food Standards Scotland, the Food and Drink Federation Scotland and the Scottish Parliament. We recognise the importance of national engagement, to raise awareness of and build momentum, capacity and understanding around the Good Food Nation across all parts of the food system.
Networks and communities of practice to promote change at multiple scales
All these interactions have shaped the Living GFN Lab’s approach and strategic thinking, both in terms of our research and how resources are being deployed to support the Good Food Nation journey. Some of the resulting outputs include:
- The recently launched Data Dashboard which is designed to support Relevant Authorities in baselining existing data.
- A peer network/community of practice for Relevant Authority Good Food Nation leads
- A peer network for grassroot partners on supporting Good Food Nation implementation.
- Developing a process-based toolkit supporting the process of local plan development
- Developing and facilitating place-based workshops and associated resources, supporting mapping, developing collective ways of cross-sector working.
Subject to the approval of the new Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for the GFN agenda (as of Thurs 18th June we are still awaiting confirmation of who this is), Section 10 of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act will be enacted on the 1st April 2027 marking the formal passing of the legislative duties from national to relevant authorities. As legislative duties fall to RAs, the Living GFN Lab will continue to respond to and collaborate with and support local implementation. The Lab is continuing, through research, engagement work and resource development, to respond to where people are at. This includes continuing to develop networks, capacity and understanding, and build momentum around the Good Food Nation vision at all scales in Scotland. Alongside critically thinking and challenging our own individual and organisational roles within this system, we are also working on the Living GFN Lab’s legacy so that the knowledge, connections and outputs live on beyond the end of this Wellcome funded project.
If you have any questions, comments or want to learn more about this work, please contact: livinggoodfoodnationlab@ed.ac.uk/tilly.robinson-miles@ed.ac.uk and we’d love to chat or connect you to someone with greater expertise.
This post was written by Tilly Robinson Miles, a member of the Living Good Food Nation team at the University of Edinburgh.