CONNECTING ADVISORS, GROWING IMPACT: THE CORENET CHARTER EXPLAINED
The CORENET Charter was adopted in Leuven, Belgium on 26th October 2023. It is more than a document—it’s a statement of values and a shared commitment to building better short food supply chains (SFSCs) across Europe through networking SFSC advisors.
Developed by the 14 CORENET project partners from 11 EU member states and adopted by Key National Contact Points (KNCPs) covering the remaining 16 EU member states, the Charter sets out a common understanding of what Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) are and how advising can help them thrive. It’s a framework revisited annually: a guide for SFSC advisors, practitioners, and stakeholders for framing, shaping, sharing, and strengthening advisory practices that improve SFSC performance and impact.
Why the Charter matters
SFSCs vary widely across Europe. From farmer-led initiatives in Poland to business undertakings in Belgium and the Netherlands to community-rooted markets in France, the diversity is rich—but also challenging. Comparing and contrasting SFSC advisory practices across EU members states too often feels like comparing apples and oranges. This is where the Charter provides a benchmark for consistency, helping CORENET partners and KNCPs identify and support SFSCs that meet EU definitions while also demonstrating real-world impact.
But the Charter goes further. It defines what makes an SFSC a Golden Case—an operating initiative that uses advisory services to improve outcomes—and how these cases can inspire Lighthouse Projects in every EU member state as beacons or touchpoints for enabling SFSC advisors to learn from the experience of peers across Europe.
As Rafał Serafin from ISO-TECH Poland puts it:
“The Charter helps us as advisors navigate the diversity of local food systems across Europe and focus on what works—especially the variety of ways in which advisory services can improve SFSC performance and impact.”
Golden Cases & Lighthouse Projects: learning in action
Golden Cases are the backbone of CORENET’s learning approach that underpins the development of an EU-wide network of SFSC advisors that is a joint undertaking with the EU4Advice project.
CORENET Golden cases show how advisory models and practices – both formal and informal—can translate into success. These cases are used to:
- Illuminate the link between advising and SFSC performance
- Provide peer-to-peer learning opportunities
- Serve as models for enabling adaption, replication and scaling
CORENET Lighthouse Projects build on insights gained from Golden Cases and identify also gaps and challenges not covered by the CORENET portfolio. They are country-specific initiatives that pilot new in-country advisory approaches, connect local advisors, and so contribute to growing the EU-wide SFSC advisory network. Each Lighthouse Project is led by an SFSC advisor and supported by CORENET partners and KNCPs to extract maximum value from the CORENET Golden Case portfolio, enabling connections with advisors across the EU-27.
A Charter that evolves with advisors
The Charter is not static and once-and-for-all document. It was conceived as a document that would be reviewed and updated by SFSC advisors themselves reflecting the realities, innovations, and challenges that they and the SFSC they support must contend with.
As CORENET and EU4Advice grow the pan-European network of SFSC advisors, so too will the Charter. The hope is that it will be increasingly shaped by the voices and experiences of advisors working on the ground as a means for accommodating and making usable the diversity of advising practice that is evident across Europe.
Make it yours
Whether you’re an advisor, farmer, food activist, or policymaker, the CORENET Charter is your charter. It’s a tool for calibrating and understanding your advisory models and practices in the context of your own country, but also a means for aligning your advisory expertise, models and practices with experience from across the EU-27.
Visit the CORENET Knowledge Hub to learn more and get inspired!
Explore the Charter, discover Golden Cases, and learn how to propose a Lighthouse Project:
- Read the Charter
- Propose a Golden Case or Lighthouse Project
- Register in the CORENET/EU4Advice SFSC Advisor network
Photo credits: Leonardo Improta
