GRASSROOTS

Sustainability challenges such as soil depletion, biodiversity loss and climate change are putting pressure on the Dutch food system. Technological innovation alone is not enough to address these issues. GRASSROOTS explores how design can contribute to structural change — not by optimising existing processes, but by redesigning values, relationships, institutions and infrastructures.

A key barrier to circular innovation is that many initiatives fail to move beyond the experimental phase. Scaling is often hindered by the lack of a supportive context. This project develops Minimum Viable Ecosystems (MVEs): purpose-driven, temporary ecosystems of collaborating actors that shape new forms of value and interaction. Rather than building on existing markets, these MVEs are intentionally designed configurations where new practices can be tested and strengthened.

In GRASSROOTS, designers work alongside entrepreneurs, researchers and societal actors in iterative processes. These ecosystems are not only conceptualised, but also tested, adapted and validated in practice. Design plays a central role in shaping collaboration, shared values, decision-making and narrative.

While the MVE concept is grounded in ecosystem theory and innovation studies, there is limited knowledge about how it functions in practice as a design-driven intervention. This project explores that application through concrete food-related challenges, while generating transferable knowledge for designing systemic change.

GRASSROOTS positions design as a core instrument for transition. The project demonstrates how design can contribute to new forms of collaboration, governance and value creation in the food system. It opens up new applications, roles, business models and partnerships for design practices within the creative industries.