We perform co-design
Co-design is a collaborative process involving Knowledge institutes, Entrepreneurs, Government bodies, and Non-government organizations—collectively known as ‘KENGi’ partners. This approach views the project initiator not merely as a ‘consumer’ of the design results but as a ‘co-creator’. By engaging the initiator in this way, their implicit or ‘tacit’ knowledge is unlocked, leading to outcomes that are more closely aligned with their needs.
When designing Metropolitan Food Clusters, the focus extends beyond just creating physical infrastructure (‘hardware’). It also encompasses the organizational development required to support these systems to implement. This involves engaging a network of local stakeholders to address business development, cooperative structures, and legislation (‘orgware’), as well as ensuring that future staff are trained to continuously develop new knowledge and skills (‘software’).
Co-design aims to create inventions and interventions that ultimately lead to system innovation. Such innovation is essential not only for technological advancement, but also for transforming relationships among stakeholders. This transformation is crucial for agriculture to meet the challenges of globalization and the evolving network society. Throughout these design processes, new scientific knowledge is generated through ongoing collaboration between scientific insights and practical expertise from all participants.
We facilitate co-design processes
Organizing KENGi partners is essential to the co-design process. Collaboration models need to be explored, as they often have different objectives that need to be addressed synergistically rather than leading to conflicts. For instance, knowledge institutes focus on producing results that lead to peer-reviewed publications, while entrepreneurs prioritize profitability and business sustainability. Non-governmental organizations advocate for the ideals of specific interest groups, and governments aim to serve the common good.
Our approach to organizing the co-design process is centered on balancing these diverse interests, finding common ground, and—crucially—building trust among participants. Trust is vital for exploring new paths toward system innovation, avoiding the pitfalls of conflicting interests, entrenched positions, and attitudes like ‘not invented here’ or ‘not in my backyard’.