On 27 May 2026, VISION4FOOD held its second co-creation workshop at Lähteentien Pirtti in Rovaniemi, Finland, with participants from public authorities, industry and SMEs, academia and research, and civil society organisations. The session was organised by the Rural Women´s Advisory Centre (RWAC) and facilitated by Timo Järvensivu, an expert in network development.
The workshop opened with a session on networking strategy and practice, focusing on how a network can succeed together in the long term. Participants discussed how to develop their own network through dialogue and listening, efficient information flow, mutual trust, clear decision-making and a shared goal. They then revisited the three strategic priorities agreed in the first workshop: the profitability of primary production and further processing, the image of local food and local production, and regional food quality. Participants confirmed these priorities, while stressing the need to involve more entrepreneurs in future discussions.
From these discussions, three missions were developed. The first, on productisation, export and tourism, aims to improve company profitability and raise the level of regional processing. Proposed actions include joint service design, packaging design and storytelling, ready-made and portable local products, seasonal menus, closer cooperation with tourism and more products with protected origin. The second mission focuses on sales and distribution channels, with ideas such as buyer–producer meetings, regular fairs, joint sales resources, a shared data bank of operators, unmanned sales points and farm visits. The third mission aims to build a strong common local food brand, linked to existing regional and national brands, with shared criteria, pooled marketing resources and, potentially, a dedicated coordinator funded through a participation fee.
Continuity and financing were identified as the main implementation challenges, while food export was considered the most ambitious goal. Participants discussed how their organisations can secure the network’s future by communicating its value internally, measuring impact, committing management and forming a core group with clear tasks. The network will remain open to all, supported by a website, an online discussion platform and monthly open online coffee mornings.
Primary producers and municipalities were identified as groups to involve more closely in the next phase, when the network will work on its draft Acceleration Agenda and the division of responsibilities.
