Italian local Food Atlases as basis to build a national observatory on local food policies: Watching, Organizing, Researching and sharing Knowledge through a digital participatory platform for citizens and policy-makers

The OnFoodAtlas project focused on strengthening local food policies through the enhancement of Local Food Atlases, recognized as key tools for the analysis, mapping, and communication of territorial food systems. Local Food Atlases function as participatory platforms supporting the design and evaluation of integrated, evidence-based food policies and the development of citizen science practices.

The project activities were structured around the following actions.

• Strengthening local food policies by promoting and enhancing Local Food Atlases as tools for territorial analysis, mapping, communication, and participatory policy design.
• Development of a digital platform aimed at connecting Local Food Atlases and supporting the Osservatorio nazionale Politiche Locali del Cibo.
• Co-design and validation of the platform with a group of stakeholders to ensure alignment with community needs.
• Consolidation of the Osservatorio nazionale Politiche Locali del Cibo as a system for collecting, organizing, and producing knowledge on local food policies in Italy.
• Collection of data and information to monitor and evaluate local food policies, support Atlas analyses, provide national reference parameters, and gather legislative acts.
• Strategic shift towards the development of an open-source, replicable, and customizable digital model for the foodatlas.it platform, accessible to territories both within and outside the project.
• Initial activation of four new Local Food Atlases in geographically significant contexts (follower areas), involving the testing of the Atlas Model and related methodological toolkits.

• Strengthening and consolidation of partnerships within the Osservatorio nazionale Politiche Locali del Cibo, established in 2023.
• Co-construction and deployment of a digital platform accessible through the websites osservatoriofoodpolicy.it and foodatlas.it.
• Systematic analysis of 124 local food policy initiatives, leading to the identification of 33 significant good practices, based on criteria such as contextual innovation and policy integration, made publicly available online.
• Creation of a scalable, inclusive, and sustainable open-source digital infrastructure that enables knowledge circulation and reuse among territories, institutions, and local communities.
• Successful activation of the four planned follower-area Local Food Atlases.
• Facilitation of at least five additional local Food Atlas experiences (Trieste, Trento, Po Delta, Catania, Novarese), expanding the network beyond initial objectives.
• Establishment of connections with further emerging or potential Food Atlas initiatives (including Florence, Perugia, and Campobasso).
• Development of a digital ecosystem, open-access toolkits, and guidelines supporting participatory processes in the definition of integrated local food policies.
• Positioning of the Osservatorio nazionale Politiche Locali del Cibo as a key support structure for the growing national network of Local Food Atlases.