Workshop International Food Marketing Research Symposium (IFMRS) Prague, Tuesday afternoon June 13, 2023

Enabling future-proof food consumer science: the role of BIG(ger)data from interlinking our efforts

Workshop International Food Marketing Research Symposium (IFMRS) Prague, Tuesday June 13, 2023: 14.30-16.30 hours at Hotel International Prague (suggested conference hotel at Koulova 15, 160 00 Prague).

Simply register by sending e-mail to Ellen.vanKleef@wur.nl or filling out this registration form https://forms.gle/ugiaBmgoPi14YVa46 before June 9.

Join us at our upcoming workshop to explore the latest developments in the field of food consumer science. Lots of efforts within these fields focus on understanding how individuals’ perceptions, beliefs and attitudes affect food choice decisions and purchase behaviours. These efforts are usually shared at the level of social infrastructures (conferences and meetings, student, and staff exchanges). However, at the level of institutes and data there is opportunity to enhance the current state of measures and validation methods, as well as to increase collaboration and accessibility within research infrastructures. With a focus on the importance of making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR), as well as the essential role of marketing, sensory and consumer science in health and sustainability transitions, we will delve into key opportunities and challenges in this area.

The aim of the workshop is to present and discuss state of the art in approaches to enhance data sharing in food consumer science. In addition, the aim is also to identify and discuss potential ways forward in further added value of joint efforts in this field on the basis of FAIR data and facilities.

After a brief introduction to the theme by Dr Ellen van Kleef, the workshop will continue with a series of short presentations on key topics. We will use interactive tools, such as Mentimeter, to engage the audience. These presentations will include:

  • harmonisation of measures by Prof. Dr Liisa Lähteenmäki; why to harmonise and does harmonising improve quality of research or kill creativity in food consumer science?
  • translations and scaling by Prof. Dr Hans van Trijp, with requirements for ensuring cross-culture comparability and inter-linkability of data as well as the extent of variance in constructs and measures.
  • cultural and other biases by Dr Lisa Mohebati, in relation to the use of harmonized protocols and measures that comply with principles for FAIR and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) practices.

To ensure that the workshop is informed by current perspectives of scientists in the marketing and food consumer science, a short pre-workshop survey will be conducted among colleagues in Spring 2023. The results of this survey will deliver input for the short presentations and provide a basis for possible solutions to be discussed during the workshop. Participants will be encouraged to actively engage in discussion and provide feedback on the topics presented.

By the end of the workshop, the attendees will have a deeper understanding of the state of the art in harmonization of measures and data sharing as well as strategies to address them. In addition, the workshop will provide the COMFOCUS project with the opportunity to learn from critical input and insights from experts and attendees in the field.

This workshop is initiated by COMFOCUS project members. Based on open science principles, the EU-funded COMFOCUS project (www.comfocus.eu) has been working on this topic of advancing the food consumer science discipline from data interlinking. One of the key objectives of the COMFOCUS project is to harmonize and advance the European food consumer science community by promoting a harmonized, data-rich approach to research. See also Science talk Hans van Trijp at https://www.sciencetalks-journal.com/article/S2772-5693(23)00031-2/fulltext