The document describes a design-oriented process and platform for inspiring and accelerating urban agriculture coalitions. It discusses the FoodPLUS Detroit Coalition, which facilitates a more sustainable food system through multi-stakeholder engagement and a new approach to participative knowledge development. It also describes Green Ideas events that use collaboration, ideation, and technology components like data harvesting, curation, and social storytelling to catalyze green innovation. The process will continue to be improved and tested with other metropolitan regions.

1. A Design-Oriented Process
and Platform for Inspiring and
Accelerating Urban Agriculture
Coalitions
Christine Geith, Ph.D.
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
Nikos Palavitsinis, and Nikos Manouselis
Agro-Know Technologies, Vrilissia, Athens, Greece
INTERACT 2013 - 14th IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
Cape Town, South Africa, 2-6 September 2013

2. FoodPLUS Detroit Coalition
• Local multi-stakeholder group
facilitating and accelerating a
more sustainable food system
• Michigan State University
(MSU) is a facilitating
member

3. • There are two distinct implementation strategies
that uniquely reinforce each other:
– a new approach to multi-stakeholder cooperation and
innovation and,
– a new approach to participative knowledge development.
• Multi‐stakeholder engagement is one of the primary
operating principles of FoodPLUS Detroit.

4. Green Ideas
• Interactive and engaging events
that explore ways in which
education and technology can
catalyze green innovation.
• Within a Green Ideas
event, collaboration and ideation
happen in stages:

5. Green Ideas Stages

6. Technology Components
• Informing ideation by harvesting data from
targeted sources
• Creating meaning through curation
• Creating social stories
• Sharing and publishing

7. Conclusions
• Identify where improvements to the process
are needed
• Explore its usefulness with other
metropolitan regions

8. Thank You!
Christine Geith, Ph.D.
Assistant Provost & Executive
Director, MSUglobal
Email: cgeith@msu.edu
MSUglobal.msu.edu
@christinegeith