Co-Producing Sustainability: Involving Parents and Civil Society in the Governance of School Meal Services. A Case Study from Pisa, Italy

Abstract

There is a rising awareness of the power of the public sector in enhancing sustainable consumption and production practices, in particular related to food procurement and its social, ethical, economical and environmental implications. School meal services have a high resonance in the debate on collective catering services because of the implications on the education to sustainable dietary habits and the orientation of the production system. This contribution focuses on the reciprocal relationship between professionals and users of school meal services as a driver to mobilize new resources-according to the theory of co-production-that steer service innovation and a shift towards more sustainable practices. We illustrate this through a case study on the school meal system in Pisa (Italy), where the Canteen Committee represents an institutional arena for participation and empowerment of actors that has gradually gained a central role in shaping this school meal service. Despite the challenges and obstacles, the institutionalized co-production of services allows consolidation of trust among key players and the introduction of innovations in the service, in the form of several projects oriented to sustainability which would not take place without the joint effort of actors involved, parents in the first place.

Civil society organizations and social innovation. How and to what extent are they influencing social and political change?

“…As Soule and Olzak (2004) conclude, although many researchers make assumptions about the causes of political change, few studies have examined these processes empirically. If we look at the recent studies about CSOs and social innovation (Jing and Gong, 2012; Galli et al, 2014;Gonzales et al, 2014;Franz, Tausz and Thiel, 2015;Seyfang and Longhurst, 2016), the conclusions are in the same sense. These studies, as shown by Andion et al, 2017, emphasize the functional and economic dimensions of social innovation, which is described as a way for CSOs to contribute to government and public policy.…”

“…The purpose of this study is to understand the social innovation processes promoted by civil society organizations (CSOs) in public arenas, a theme that is not widely explored in the literature as discussed by Rana et al (2014). This paper concentrates on the political dimension of social innovation driven by CSOs and not just on their functional, economic and/or technical dimensions, which have been increasingly considered in recent scholarly works (Galli et al, 2014;Gonzales et al, 2014;Franz, Tausz and Thiel, 2015;Seyfang and Longhurst, 2016)…”

“…As discussed by Meyer, Buber and Aghamanoukjan (2013: 191), "innovation has evolved into the key account for legitimation in a new stage of managerialism" in CSOs. Social innovation is generally described as a way for civil society to contribute to government and coproduce or co-create public policies, making improvements and reducing costs in public services (Galli et al, 2014;Gonzales et al, 2014;Merickova, Nemec and Svidronova, 2015;Seyfang and Longhurst, 2016). In this sense, this literature underestimates the political aspect of social innovation and the weight of civil society actors in social change, aspects that this study seeks to emphasize.…”

Experimental and Analytical Studies on the Utilization of Biowastes Available in an Educational Institution in India

“…Since conventional thermal treatments such as combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis may not be used for energy generation from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Rice Waste (RW), Cow Dung (CD), etc., anaerobic digestion can be considered as the best option for energy generation from the above wastes, which are normally available in an educational institution. It is also reported that the food waste generated in schools can be effectively used for biogas generation, and it can be recycled through composting in order to produce useful end products [16][17][18]. Most of the previous studies focused on the constant loading rate of biowaste to predict biogas generation.…”

The G1000 Firework Dialogue as a Social Learning System: A Community of Practice Approach

“…This turn was marked by a notion that individuals may be regarded as competent and rational actors/agents, and should more closely be involved in day-to-day politics, as they can reflect on their preferences during these open dialogues (Chambers 2003;Ganuza and Francés 2012). More recently, new public governance studies increasingly began highlighting the importance of citizen involvement in local decision-making processes to generate through social interactions suitable approaches to matters of public concern (Galli et al 2014;Head and Alford 2015;Lovan et al 2017). Previous studies indicated that citizen participation processes designed using deliberation-centric approaches could lead to more informed, involved, and educated citizens (Luskin et al 2002;Gutmann and Thompson 2009;Arendt 2010;Grönlund et al 2010).…”