FOOD NATION CIC

Their core work

Food Nation CIC is a UK community interest company based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne that works at the intersection of food systems, community welfare, and food policy. As a CIC (Community Interest Company), their mandate is to deliver tangible public benefit — meaning their work is oriented toward practical impact in food access, sustainability, and local food economies rather than pure research. Their H2020 participation places them in food chain sustainability and procurement policy (Strength2Food) and urban social issues affecting vulnerable populations (GRAGE), suggesting they function as a civil society voice that brings community-level perspectives into research consortia. They are not a research organisation per se, but a practitioner body that connects policy research to real communities.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Food Nation CIC's two H2020 projects run concurrently rather than sequentially (GRAGE 2014–2018, Strength2Food 2016–2021), so the evolution is one of expanding scope rather than a clear pivot. Their first project, GRAGE, sits outside core food territory — it addresses elderly urban living via a researcher mobility scheme — suggesting they entered H2020 through a social inclusion angle. Their second project, Strength2Food, returns to their organisational core: food chain sustainability and procurement policy. The direction of travel appears to be a narrowing back toward food systems, but with a policy and sustainability emphasis rather than purely community welfare.

They appear to be consolidating around food systems policy and sustainability, making them a relevant civil society partner for projects on public food procurement, local food economies, or community nutrition — but their track record is thin and their future H2020 trajectory cannot be reliably projected from two projects.

How they like to work

Food Nation CIC has participated exclusively as a consortium partner — never as a coordinator — across both of their H2020 projects. Their funding amounts are modest (EUR 27,000 and EUR 80,920), consistent with a practitioner or civil society role rather than a work-package-leading research partner. With 42 unique partners across 17 countries, they have been embedded in large, diverse consortia, which suggests they are comfortable operating as one voice among many rather than driving project direction.

Food Nation CIC has built connections with 42 consortium partners across 17 countries through just two projects, reflecting the large multi-partner structure of both GRAGE and Strength2Food. Their network is European in breadth but their actual collaborative depth with any individual partner is difficult to assess from this data alone.

What sets them apart

Food Nation CIC occupies a rare niche as a UK-based civil society and practitioner organisation with direct H2020 experience in food sustainability policy — a profile that is valuable to research consortia that need non-academic, community-grounded partners to satisfy impact and dissemination requirements. Their CIC legal structure signals a public-benefit mandate rather than profit motive, which can strengthen a consortium's case for societal relevance in EU project applications. However, with only two projects and no coordinator experience, they are best suited as a supporting partner rather than a project anchor.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Strength2Food
  Their largest H2020 project by funding (EUR 80,920), directly aligned with their organisational mission on food chain sustainability and EU procurement policy — the clearest evidence of their core domain expertise.
• GRAGE
  An MSCA-RISE researcher mobility project on elderly urban living, notable because it sits outside food systems entirely, revealing Food Nation CIC's broader social inclusion interests and their willingness to participate in cross-sector collaborations.