Organiser's description (via Food Ethics Council):
Food Ethics Council is starting the process of developing the third Food Issues Census, building off the back of previous censuses that we coordinated in 2017 and 2011.
The census aims to illuminate the work that diverse civil society organisations are doing on food and farming – helping organisations to understand their roles within the wider ecosystem and identify opportunities for greater collective impact. Crucially, the census will provide a trusted reference point for funders and policymakers to understand gaps and niches in knowledge and capacity, and to target funding strategies and outreach accordingly.
Food Issues Census 3 will:
- re-map the landscape of civil society organisations working on food & farming
- illuminate who is working on what
- understand civil society needs and capacity to meet food system challenges
- ask what is needed from funders
- support a more dynamic, coherent and impactful sector
The process for carrying out this third census will be co-designed with civil society. We want to know from you: what questions should we be asking? What do you want to know about the ecosystem within which you work? What insights and data will help you to feel more connected, supported, understood and resourced?
This public workshop forms part of our Listening Phase. The insights shared during this session will help to shape the census, which will be rolled out in early 2025 for responses.
Who this workshop is for:
Anyone working on food and farming within the nonprofit/civil society ecosystem.
This includes everything from small-scale community projects focusing on local issues, to national organisations campaigning on global issues. Food does not have to be at the centre of your work for it to be relevant: for example, a social justice or youth inclusion project which includes food growing is relevant to the census.
We are committed to bringing in the experiences of a genuinely diverse range of organisations as part of this project. We know that diverse communities, from Black and People of Colour (BPOC) to working class communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, neurodivergent people and people with disabilities are vastly under-represented in the food, farming and environment sectors. Yet, we also know that there is incredible work being done by diverse groups on the ground, which is often overlooked and under-resourced within the sector. We particularly encourage participants from marginalised communities who can share knowledge and experiences of being involved in the nonprofit food and farming space.
