Project
COMFOCUS: Communities on Food Consumer Science
COMFOCUS is a collaborative project across Europe aimed at integrating the field of food consumer science by linking researchers and their data. The project seeks to make food consumer science data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) through Open Science and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) principles.
To achieve this goal, COMFOCUS integrates nine key European research infrastructures to promote optimal use and joint development, making high-quality services and resources available to the academic and private research community.
Background
The project works from the vision that Open Science is the basis for food consumer science to become future proof. COMFOCUS aims to enable the food consumer science community to make the next steps to become the data-driven science that can support evidence-based public food policies and private strategies. This will be based on FAIR data principles and RRI-proof way of working.
Project description
The project aims to harmonize and professionalize the European food consumer science community, advancing it beyond its current level of fragmentation. Optimal use and development of the common research infrastructure will be realized in close interaction with users and stakeholders, and at the interface with data science, computer science, and advanced data analytics. This will facilitate the development of European healthy food choice public policies and private strategies, increasing the business and policy relevance of food consumer science insights. Ultimately, COMFOCUS will contribute to the end-consumers and citizens becoming co-creators of policies and strategies.