The digital transformation of food systems has entered a twilight zone: data-driven innovations have proven to be promising, but it is still unclear how to upscale adoption and have broader acceptance. The Data4Food2030 project aims to improve the data economy for food systems (DE4FS) by expanding its definition, mapping its development, performance and impact to create new insights and opportunities. This contributes to a more competitive and sustainable food system in the EU and supports implementation and adaptation of relevant policies such as a Digital Single Market, Green Deal and the Common Agricultural Policy. Data4Food2030 is a 4-year project that aims to 1) enlarge the knowledge base and insight into the DE4FS, 2) develop a system that monitors and evaluates the development, performance and impact of the DE4FS on relevant EU policies 3) identify drivers and barriers and turn these into opportunities, recommendations and solutions, 4) test solutions and evaluate recommendations in case studies and through stakeholder dialogues and 5) provide future scenarios and a roadmap and sustain the monitoring system to support policy development and accelerate the desired future state of the DE4FS. Data4Food2030’s approach is targeted at an improved future state of the DE4FS from which clear design principles, recommendations and solutions are derived for improving and adapting policies and practices at public and private level. As an essential part of the project, stakeholders are deeply engaged to provide input to various DE4FS concepts and evaluate several project outcomes to increase the impact of the project. Nine case studies provide real-life examples of the DE4FS at micro- and meso-economic level, deploying data and technologies, which are used for mapping and improvement to promote data-enabled business models. In this way, Data4Food2030 creates credible pathways to navigate properly through the twilight zone towards a fair, inclusive and innovative DE4FS.

LIVERUR aims at expanding an extremely innovative business model called Living Labs among the rural regions. Living labs are user-centred, open-innovation ecosystems often operating in a territorial context, integrating concurrent research and innovation process within a public-private partnership. The basis for the strategic development of a rural Living Lab is in establishing a sustainable stakeholder partnership; users, policy-makers, companies, researchers enter into agreements on the basis of which they may engage in longer term collaboration. However, a successful Living lab business design can be expected to be highly affected by the specific context of the Living Lab rural environment and by its specific objectives and ambitions. LIVERUR project identifies Living Labs as innovative business models that are currently developing in rural areas, and it will undertake socio-economic analysis to identify, describe and benchmark differences between the new Living Lab approach and more entrepreneurial traditional approaches (mass production, development of prices, optimising the cost structures with the enterprises, rationalisation). LIVERUR project pays particular attention to Living Labs, since they foster a more sustainable mobilisation of resources, improved cooperation between operators along the value chain and lead to new services. Living Lab utilizes the open innovation concept in a wider sense, with success/failure rate determined by empirically based research key factors. Since there is still a lack of empirically grounded studies, the short term objective of LIVERUR is to improve knowledge of business models growing in rural areas, including a through understanding of their potential. In the long term the project will increase the potential for rural economic diversification.