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A participatory process is a sequence of participatory activities (e.g. first filling out a survey, then making proposals, discussing them in face-to-face or virtual meetings, and finally prioritizing them) with the aim of defining and making a decision on a specific topic.
Examples of participatory processes are: a process of electing committee members (where candidatures are first presented, then debated and finally a candidacy is chosen), participatory budgets (where proposals are made, valued economically and voted on with the money available), a strategic planning process, the collaborative drafting of a regulation or norm, the design of an urban space or the production of a public policy plan.
Ideas for Building and Strengthening Local Food Systems
Neighborhood Level Strategies to Catalyze Action
About this process
Improving the food system is often discussed in terms of international hunger-reducing strategies, the US Farm Bill, or state-level policy changes. These discussions are typically led by NGOs, policymakers, or regional governmental agencies and nonprofits. There has been much less discussion of food system development at the neighborhood level, led directly by residents. This is a space to generate and explore new ideas for developing local food systems at the neighborhood and community levels.
In the process of developing ideas, we encourage starting with some basic questions:
Why is a strong local food system important to our community?
What would a strong local food system look like here?
What resources and assets already exist that we can build from?
How can residents implement changes and build continued momentum on their own?
What might we need outside help to accomplish?
Through shared learning, dialogue, and exchange of ideas, the goal of this process is to gather your collective knowledge into a collaborative report. The report will highlight innovative ideas and best practices informed by your experiences. We hope it will be used as a starting point for you and your neighbors and residents from other communities who aim to improve quality of life through their local food system.
Reference: cepa-PART-2026-07-2