Food security systems change: a case study from rural, regional, and remote Australia

Food security(FS) refers to having sufficient physical, social, and economic food access at all times. People living in rural, regional, and remote (RRR) locations often face distinctive challenges to FS. Existing solutions, that aim to enhance FS, themselves face challenges when addressing these issues. This paper outlines the application of an adapted Systemic Innovation Lab (SIL) approach to enhance the function of existing community and government-led, -run or -operated initiatives (programs, interventions) in RRR Western Australia. It examines which systems change characteristics participating initiatives possess, to identify opportunities to support their transition to newer and more effective ways of addressing FS in their region. A six-stage SIL process was enacted, with four of the stages focused on identifying which systems change characteristics, across nine Focus Areas (FAs), the participating initiatives possessed. Data representing 148 initiatives were analysed to map the initiatives’ support of FS systems change in their region and identify the FAs systems change characteristics least possessed by initiatives. This delivered insights necessary to strengthen these characteristics and enhance participating initiatives’ capacity to better support RRR FS. Initiatives were least likely to possess systems change characteristics relating to two-way communication between government and community, which, if adopted, would support the achievement of holistic, effective, and sustainable outcomes for FS in RRR locations.