GRASSROOTS

Grassroots is a research and innovation programme aimed at accelerating the transition towards a sustainable and circular food system. The project starts from the observation that many promising agrofood innovations fail to scale. This is not because the technology falls short, but because the right collaboration structures, market context and shared value propositions are often missing.

Grassroots therefore develops and tests a new approach: building Minimal Viable Ecosystems (MVEs). An MVE is the smallest functioning configuration of actors, activities and relationships that together create value around a shared mission. Rather than thinking in terms of isolated supply chains or individual organisations, the project adopts an ecosystem perspective: how can different actors strengthen each other so that sustainable innovation can truly take root and grow?

How does the project work?
Within Grassroots, three concrete MVEs are developed around current challenges in the agrofood transition:

• Revaluing food by-products and residual streams
• Developing healthy, regenerative food landscapes around urban areas
• Creating new markets for alternative ingredients such as grass

Each MVE starts with an innovative startup but grows into a broader collaboration between farmers, companies, researchers, societal partners and creative professionals. The focus is not only on product development, but especially on:

• Developing shared missions and value propositions
• Shaping new collaboration models
• Creating narratives that shift perception and behaviour
• Making system change visible and tangible

Design plays a central role in this process. Creative professionals act as system thinkers, connectors and storytellers who help make complex transition challenges tangible, engaging and actionable.

What does Grassroots aim to achieve?
The project has three interconnected objectives:

• Scientific
  Developing and validating a methodology for ecosystem innovation within circular transitions, including design-oriented toolkits that can be applied more broadly.
• Societal
  Growing functioning ecosystems that contribute to circular food production, biodiversity, soil health and an inclusive dialogue about the future of the food system.
• Economic
  Strengthening business models and scaling opportunities for sustainable agrofood innovations by positioning them within a supportive ecosystem.

Why is this relevant?
The food transition requires more than technological solutions. It calls for new forms of collaboration, new narratives about value, and new ways to connect economic, ecological and social interests. Grassroots explores how design can play a structural role in this process—not as an aesthetic addition, but as a strategic driver of systemic change.

Ontwerpkracht Crossovers

In the publication series Ontwerpkracht Crossovers, Grassroots enters into dialogue with the project Care & Repair. In a duo interview written by Twan Eikelenboom, both projects share experiences from the early phase of their research and reflect on the role of design and research in processes of system change.
Read the publication here Dutch