Call for expression of interest to participate in EIT Food RIS Consumer Engagement Labs 2023

EIT Food RIS Consumer Engagement Labs is Europe's largest food co-creation initiative. It involves consumers and producers based on the innovative methodology developed by the University of Warsaw. Each Labs process engages a relatively coherent group of consumers, who jointly go through a multi-stage interactive ideation process to develop proposals for new products that better address their specific needs. In 2019-2022, the co-creation processes involved 82 consumer panels and 43 companies from 16 European countries, who worked together to design, develop, and introduce 22 innovative food products to the market. In 2023-2025, the methodology will be applied to societal challenges linked to targeted nutrition and protein diversification. Labs will be implemented by local partners (scientific organizations and companies), selected in a call for participants and supported by experts from the University of Warsaw.

In 2023-2025, the methodology will be applied to societal challenges linked to targeted nutrition and protein diversification. Labs will be implemented by local partners (scientific organizations and food companies), selected in a call for participants and supported by experts from the University of Warsaw.

Applications are invited from countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine.

Eligible organisations

Each consortium should consist of 2 organisations operating in the same country, including:

· Scientific organisation (university or research institute)

· Food producer (company manufacturing food; NACE code C10), focused on products for end consumers (not food ingredients or food-related services)

Only one consortium will be selected in each targeted country in 2023; consortia will be selected both from the central-eastern and southern European countries.

Eligible organisations need to meet the following criteria:

· Legal persons (informal organizations/unregistered startup teams are not eligible);

· Operating in a country targeted by the call (confirmed by office registered address);

· Able to sign a project agreement and act as a project participant (partner) in a project funded based on Horizon Europe/EIT modalities;

· Possessing knowledge, skills, and resources needed to carry out the tasks (for scientific organisation including previous experiences in delivering workshops with consumers, focus group interviews, participatory workshops or co-creation processes).

· Submitting an application jointly (scientific organisation + food producer).

Tasks of selected organizations:

Scientific organisation is responsible for:

• selection of consumers-participants for Consumer Engagement Labs sessions based on selection criteria shared by University of Warsaw;

• organisation and delivery of Labs sessions for 4 teams of around 5 consumers each, altogether 20 consumers, in the country of operation in 2023, using the methodology developed and shared by University of Warsaw and involving at least 2 expert facilitators;

• ensuring involvement of the other member of the consortium (food producer) in selected Labs sessions;

• ensuring the signatures of attendance lists and legal consent forms by consumers-participants of the Labs compliant with GDPR, organizational procedures for personal data protection and EIT reporting requirements;

• using video conferencing software, standard workshop scripts, facilitator guidelines, templates and materials provided by University of Warsaw in English, requiring translation into local language);

• preparation of the documentation of Labs sessions and results;

• involvement in the process of selecting the most technically viable and commercially feasible new product concept co-created by consumers;

• submitting the required inputs into Project deliverables (Project reporting). Detailed instructions and templates will be provided by University of Warsaw;

Food company is responsible for:

• participation in selected sessions of Consumer Engagement Labs to present the company and work alongside consumers on new product proposals;

• offering tokens of gratitude for ~20 consumers participating in the Labs session (e.g. shopping vouchers, sets of food products), with a view to incentivize the participation of consumers;

• planning for commercial exploitation of results of the Labs by screening for commercially feasible product concepts;

• selection of one new food product concept co-created by consumers participating in the Labs session that will be commercialized, with the commitment to introduce the product on the market;

• Submitting “Report on the new product concept selected for commercialization” in 2023 - detailed instructions and report templates are provided by the University of Warsaw;

• introducing to the market 1 new food product based on “Report on the new product concept selected for commercialization” in 2023-2024, with documented sales results of at least 10k€ by 2024;

Each consortia also expected to:

- communicate with local media to ensure at least 2 publications in the local language describing the Project, published in 2023.

- participate in the final debriefing session (online) with University of Warsaw to discuss the Project experiences and lessons learned.

Selection process

Interested and eligible organisations are invited to submit their applications by 14 March 2023, 11 am CET, using the attached “EIT Food RIS Consumer Engagement Labs Application Form”. Please send the electronic version of the application, based on the attached template, to: magdalena.zatorska@uw.edu.pl. Incomplete applications or applications submitted by ineligible organisations will be rejected.

Benefits for selected organisations:

The organisation selected as a project participant will be offered the following benefits in 2023:

· Ability to benefit from the association with EIT Food and the EIT community (as a project participant in EIT Food activities) and the brands of EIT Food and the EIT;

· Rights to participate in thematic project meetings organized by EIT Food and its partners (no membership fees will be required from project participants; EIT Food will not cover travel costs to attend internal meetings, but organisations designated as project participants can use their assigned budgets to cover these costs);

· Rights to promote the association with the EIT Food project, commercialise the product(s) developed as outcomes of the Labs process and introduce them to the market;

· Opportunities for networking with EIT Food partners, including opportunities for joint project ideation and involvement in other EIT Food projects;

· Opportunities to join a project funded by Horizon Europe framework programme and benefit from funding of 18,750€ for scientific organisation and 12,500€ for food company in 2023 as defined in this call document;

· Opportunity to leverage consumer insights for new product design and commercialisation;

· Opportunity to introduce to the market a product co-created by consumers-participants for targeted group of consumers;

· Knowledge and organisational support of EIT Food, its CLCs and partners in implementing the activities planned for each project consortium.

Deadline for applications: 14.03.2023, 11 am CET.

Below you can download the Call for EIT Food RIS Consumer Engagement Labs 2023.

More information about the Consumer Engagement Labs methodology developed by the University of Warsaw is available at https://www.eitfood.eu/projects/ris-consumer-engagement-labs.