Just before Synergy Days 2025, the Data4Food2030 consortium gathered in Rotterdam for its 4th General Assembly, marking a pivotal milestone as the project enters its final phase. This meeting served as a hub for strategic dialogue, collaborative planning, and forward-looking discussions, providing the team with the perfect opportunity to reflect on achievements and define the path for the project’s concluding year.
The General Assembly opened with a warm welcome from Data4Food2030 Coordinator Mireille van Hilten (Wageningen University & Research), setting an inspiring tone for the day while highlighting key milestones and framing the next steps. This was followed by a presentation from Chris Avdellas (reframe.food), who showcased the project’s significant achievements in communication, dissemination, and exploitation, with a particular emphasis on the final-year activities driving Data4Food2030 toward its ambitious goals.
Partners subsequently engaged in in-depth exchanges on the project’s overall progress, exploring how research findings, case studies and practical outputs can be better interlinked to enhance coherence and impact. Through constructive debate, the consortium defined strategic priorities for the final phase and agreed on concrete actions to ensure every strand of work contributes meaningfully to Data4Food2030’s overarching mission.
A central focus of the General Assembly was the Data4Food2030 Monitor, the project’s central platform for capturing insights, trends, and the impact of the emerging Data Economy in Food Systems. This session was facilitated by Eva Maes and Fien Minnens (EV ILVO), who invited partners to actively log into the Monitor, explore its structure and functionalities, and provide direct feedback on its Home and Insights sections. This hands-on exercise generated valuable input on user experience, data visualization, and content priorities. enusring it remains a robust and user-friendly tool.
The team then shifted attention to co-creating value through the Monitor, collaboratively reviewing project deliverables, extracting meaningful insights, and discussing how these could best feed into the platform to reflect the full scope of Data4Food2030’s work. These discussions highlighted the Monitor’s ongoing evolution, demonstrating how it has matured into a dynamic instrument that not only captures progress but also supports strategic planning, collaboration, and informed decision-making across the consortium.
In parallel, a series of live podcast recordings captured discussions and reflections from consortium members, providing an additional channel to share insights with stakeholders and the wider community.
In the afternoon, Fabio Casu, Cristina Moise and Riccardo Onori (The Lisbon Council) introduced the macro-economic model designed to assess the uptake and strategic impact of the Data Economy in Food Systems. Partners engaged in interactive discussions, examining how the model could support case-specific contexts and guide decision-making in practice.
Simultaneously, sessions for the Data4Food2030 Book, led by Roel Veraart (Wageningen University & Research) and Isabelle Piot-Lepetit (INRAE), allowed partners to document methodologies, results, and lessons learned, ensuring that the project’s insights are captured for dissemination and future reference.
Later, Case Study Working Groups reviewed upcoming deliverables and collaboration plans, engaging in a Roadmap Brainstorm to define actions aligned with three future uptake scenarios and geopolitical policy cycles. These exchanges were moderated by Harald Sundmaeker (ATB), strengthening the connection between research, case studies, and practical applications, ensuring a coherent plan for the project’s final phase.
The day concluded with a lively “popcorn-style check-out”, summarizing key takeaways and next steps while leaving partners energized and aligned. Through interactive workshops, collaborative discussions, and hands-on sessions, the 4th General Assembly reaffirmed the strong consortium spirit that drives Data4Food2030.
The meeting strengthened collaboration, provided clarity on the final year’s objectives, and set the stage for the project’s impactful conclusion.
A heartfelt thank you to all partners for your commitment, insight, and collaborative spirit, the driving forces behind Data4Food2030’s success. Together, the consortium continues to advance its mission: building a fair, trusted, and sustainable Data Economy for Europe’s Food Systems!
