A Discursive Institutionalist Analysis of Urban Food Policy Integration

To overcome pressing food-related challenges, scientists and policymakers have called for integrated food governance to replace current fragmented and exceptionalist food and agricultural policies. Such integrated arrangements typically transcend the boundaries of policy sectors, aiming to foster concerted efforts towards a shared set of goals. Although a rich body of literature on food policy has emerged, the processes through which food-related concerns are integrated across governments’ existing structures, departments and policies remain understudied. This study aims to address this gap by analysing the institutional processes through which food policy integration occurs within a frontrunner government. Using a discursive institutionalist approach, we study the change of discourse and ideas across sectors over time as well as the actor interactions through which these are generated and communicated. We conducted an exploratory case study at municipal level in Ede (NL), which has invested considerable resources in food policy development in recent years, covering the period 2012-2018. We applied a participatory research design, using municipal policy documents, key informant focus groups and field notes as data sources. Preliminary findings show that the food discourse changed from predominant economic and city-marketing ideas, to a more explicit and shared municipal food system discourse that was shared across the municipalities’ departments. The change in discourse was accompanied by the formation of a coordinating food governance team and simultaneously by the involvement of a much wider range of departments. These findings suggest that for successful policy integration to occur, the shift towards a widely supported discourse is crucial, which can be fostered through a boundary-spanning entity within the municipality. Moreover, we conclude that discursive institutionalism offers a valuable contribution to the study of policy integration processes. We end with a reflection on the implications for the post-exceptionalism debate, arguing that institutionalizing food and agriculture in local governments is an important addition for bringing these themes beyond an exceptionalist status, as their exceptionalism is currently also reflected in the addressing of food and agriculture on (supra)national level only.