Sustainable Food Systems in Europe: Scoping Study - Wellcome Trust 

The Wellcome Trust has commissioned a coalition of partners to collaborate on the “Sustainable Food Systems in Europe Scoping Study,” bridging science and action towards evidence-informed research, action and investment agendas. This multi-country effort across Europe and the UK aims to understand how changemakers drive food system transformation, particularly in relation to dietary shifts and the food-climate-health nexus. This initiative aims to identify where the barriers to change lie, what evidence is needed, and where investment would have real-world impacts. Working closely with IDDRI, Convene is connecting across the three project work packages, ensuring effective sensemaking, stakeholder engagement, dialogue design and curation.

  • The Wellcome Trust commissioned this scoping study to explore how Europe can accelerate the transition toward healthy, sustainable, and just food systems.

    Across eight national political spaces (France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the UK and at the EU level), the project aims to:

    • Understand how changemakers work to shape dietary shifts and food system transformation, including NGOs, policymakers, businesses, funders, and researchers; 

    • Identify barriers and opportunities that shape their ability to act from systemic lock-ins to operational constraints;

    • Map evidence, knowledge, and research gaps, highlighting what forms of research are most useful, accessible, and actionable for practitioners;

    • Co-create research, action, and investment agendas that the Wellcome Trust can strategically support to generate meaningful, long-term impact across Europe.

  • The project is structured around three interconnected Work Packages (WPs), with Convene contributing primarily to WP3 and the cross-WP sensemaking:

    WP1: Listening to changemakers: over 80 interviews across seven countries and the EU, combined with national workshops and analysis that map perceived “routes to transformation” the barriers and  needs of the changemakers.

    WP2: Evidence landscape mapping: AI-supported literature review and researcher survey to understand where research aligns (or fails to align) with real-world needs.

    WP3: Science-Policy-Action strategy: foresight workshops and a two-day workshop with changemakers from across the different geographical spaces and actors groups to shape a common action agenda, research agenda and inform investment strategies.

  • Results will be shared upon completion of the scoping study (March 2026).