The objective of the Food Log Proximity project was to identify and provide support to companies having digital solutions for short food supply chains in the Region Occitanie.

The model of the INSPIRE Hackathon is not a single event, it is a process that is designed to efficiently exploit the achieved results of previous hackathons on developing new innovations. The main goal of the COVID19 INSPIRE Hackathon was to support innovation in agriculture through information technology, help agriculture recover from the problems that were caused by the coronavirus crisis as well as search for new business models. 13 innovation experiments were and the COVID-19 INSPIRE Hackathon has gathered more than 130 registered participants from 32 different countries.

The primary objective of the RO Agri-Food Hacking - HAR 2020 was to generate immediate solutions that will RESPOND to the effects of the COVID-19 crisis and use potential opportunities to fight against the pandemic for the agri-food system. The second objective was to mobilize practical innovative digital solutions that tackle current deficient barriers of the Romanian agri-food environment using technology and software.

FARM2FORK Hack invited European solution providers, innovators and enthusiasts to propose their innovative and implementable products and services, which will minimize the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the agri-food sector or increase resilience of the food production and food supply systems.

The hackathon was intended by the partners as an activity to create tangible solutions on 3 challenges. The goal was to have 10 different teams (with 5 participants each) working on these topics and answering through their projects in order not just to have solutions ready to go to market, but also to create a bridge for these teams with the stakeholders that the project wants to involve since the beginning and accelerate their projects as tangible innovation experiments. The workflow that has been implemented and managed during the hackathon days was guided by the thread of Design Thinking, a methodology that allows participants to reflect on tangible human-centred solutions. This approach empowers a "solution-oriented mindset" from an early age, enables community engagement and boosts creativity using alternative ways of expression.  

The hackathon followed an integrated approach that will rethink and innovate the current supply chain relating to the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis and viewing it from three sides of the same coin. 

A 3 days-event has been organized (79 participants). Two challenges were submitted by companies and four challenges were defined by our partners, who accepted the problems addressed in the proposal. In addition, the participants were free to submit their own challenges, which were to be based on the specified ones. All teams have been supported by experienced mentors, have been provided with a communication platform and a platform for data exchange. In addition, further assistance was provided in the form of coaching on the design of the innovation process. After the end of the Hackathon, all teams were offered individual support and contacts for further development in personal meetings.