Increasing the Effectiveness of Rural, Regional and Remote Food Security Initiatives Through Place-Based Partnerships—A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Issue Addressed

This work aimed to understand the ways in which local organisations were working in partnership to support food security action in rural, regional, and remote areas.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 101 food security initiative leaders, representing 148 food initiatives within Australia's largest state, Western Australia (WA). A thematic analysis was undertaken using NVivo that indicated a total of 378 partnering organisations worked on the food security initiatives.

Results

Organisations partnered to address food security in their regions through coordinated action; community consultation; food/financial donations; funding and grants; on-ground programme and service delivery and physical and human resources. Initiatives need to be documented, where appropriate, in formal partnership agreements to increase the sustainability of initiatives yet allow for some adaptability to respond to the changing nature of wicked issues such as food security.

Conclusion

This study's findings increase understanding about how rural, regional, and remote Australian organisations are collaborating to drive food security action and identify areas where partnerships could be enhanced to maximise impact on food security. Although this study was undertaken in WA, the recommendations are relevant to all rural, regional, and remote food security initiatives and include helping organisations to identify clear partnership purposes, partner roles, and actions.

So What?

Providing a qualitative analysis of food security partnerships offers insight into the nature, purpose, and experiential phenomena of these partnerships, to determine what, how and why organisations work together.