Project Overview

We know people and organisations want to buy sustainable food. But things get in the way - crunchy things - nuts that are difficult to crack using traditional problem solving techniques.

Best Food Forward used innovation to crack these ‘crunchy nuts’.

Over the course of  a year (2010-2011) we took NWSSP - Procurement Services (formerly Welsh Health Supplies) and Swansea University through the ‘i-team’ innovation process, which uses cutting-edge techniques applied by global companies such as Apple, BASF and Johnson & Johnson.

We took the project teams through four stages:

• identifying their organisation's specific challenges;
• conducting customer insight research;
• analysing the workability of the solutions and ideas using advanced problem-solving techniques; and
• supporting them to implement and communicate their ideas.

The crunchy nuts

NWSSP - Procurement Services and Swansea University have explored the issues that hinder more sustainable food procurement and identified the following as priorities:

•  More effectively engaging SMEs in the NHS Wales supply chain:

"How might we work collaboratively with Welsh dairy companies to supply more sustainable products to the NHS?"

NWSSP - Procurement Services

• Engaging people at the University in the food supply chain:

"How might we enable staff and students to grow, prepare and eat healthier food, in ways that enrich our lives on campus?"

Swansea University

The Best Food Forward project tackled the above behaviour-related challenges. We also:

• enabled teams to apply and develop skills in a new, problem solving approach
• drew together experts in the field, building on existing networks;
• complemented and enhanced the work that is already being done in this field;
• produced low cost ideas that others can put into action;
• helped to replicate good practice case studies.

See the ideas

You can see the ideas that each team generated and their experience of going through an innovation process on the links to the left.

Who was involved?

The project was managed and facilitated by Forum for the Future, and involved small teams of people lead by Swansea University and NWSSP - Procurement Services. The project was supported in kind by sustainable food, innovation and procurement experts including the Eco Design Centre, Swansea City Council and Cardiff University. Funding for the project was provided by the Waterloo Foundation.

Further information

For further information please contact: Anna Warrington at a.warrington@forumforthefuture.org.