The Horizon Europe project B-Trust, coordinated by Flanders’ FOOD, strengthens consumer trust in biotechnology through structured co-creation supported by systems thinking. Transparent, shared insights on risks and benefits feed dialogue and design choices. The result: a replicable co-creation model and governance framework for responsible application in the agri-food sector.
The food chain is evolving rapidly, driven by climate challenges, resource pressures, and the need for more circular value chains. Biotechnology offers solutions—from precision fermentation and cell-based production to bio-based materials—but faces questions about safety, desirability, and added value in daily life. B-Trust (see box) was set up not to bypass these questions but to address them together with citizens, companies, researchers, and governments, so that the benefits of biotechnology become clearer and the conditions for application are socially defined. The project explicitly creates space for consumer perspectives and those of other actors such as farmers, and ensures these perspectives influence design choices, communication, and decision-making, rather than merely informing after the fact.
B-Trust is a Horizon Europe project (2023–2026), coordinated by Flanders’ FOOD, aiming to strengthen public acceptance and responsible application of biotechnology in agri-food and other bio-based sectors. The consortium brings together Flanders’ FOOD, FOOD+i (Spain), Food & Bio Cluster Denmark, VIB, Biovia, Alice down the rabbit hole, and LAMA Società Cooperativa (Italy). Through this collaboration, B-Trust builds a transparent, inclusive governance model, driven by stakeholder co-creation and informed by evidence and learning processes documented publicly during the project.
Definition of Co-Creation and Co-Design in This Project
In B-Trust, co-creation is not a one-off survey or workshop but a structured, iterative process where participants act as equal partners in defining problems, exploring solutions, setting conditions, and evaluating outcomes. A practical guide will detail how to bring stakeholders together, prepare sessions, use clear language, and systematically translate input into measures and principles that support acceptance. This approach aligns with definitions in public health and innovation literature, where co-creation is seen as an overarching process, co-design as the phase of designing solutions with stakeholders, and co-production as jointly implementing and evaluating what has been designed.
Based on Design Thinking principles, this approach strengthens user focus and interdisciplinary collaboration while bridging scientific insights and practical experience. Success depends on good facilitation and creating an open, learning environment where all participants can actively contribute and feel heard. This mirrors B-Trust’s method, where co-creation and co-design are supported by practical tools and continuous reflection. The distinction between co-creation, co-design, and co-production matters because it explains why acceptance grows: those who help define, design, and evaluate recognise their values in the outcome and develop trust in the process.
A recurring element in B-Trust is attention to language and framing. Words matter—consider the difference in connotation between “precision fermentation” and “GMO (Genetically Modified Organism)”—and how explanations are structured. By jointly exploring and rephrasing language in clear, non-technical terms, discussions about benefits, risks, and conditions become more constructive, and willingness to assess applications on their merits increases. This principle—clear, shared problem framing and language—runs through all co-creation sessions, ensuring insights remain traceable to participants’ contributions.
Within B-Trust’s co-creation process, risk-benefit assessments serve as a supporting tool: they map potential benefits and risks of biotech applications in an accessible way, giving participants shared, transparent information for weighing options and defining conditions. These insights feed dialogue and co-design without making the method dominant; for more detail, see the Radar article “Risk-Benefit Assessments: The Key to Responsible Biotechnology.”
The System Perspective: Why Systems Thinking Is Needed Alongside Design Thinking
Design Thinking is valuable for human-centred exploration, idea generation, and prototyping; it helps create tangible solutions and communication tools that meet user needs and experiences. At the same time, acceptance of biotechnology unfolds within a complex system of interdependent influences—media, policy, retail, advisory practices, pricing mechanisms, societal norms—with feedback loops, delays, and unintended effects. Systems Thinking offers tools to make these interconnections visible and to position interventions where they make systemic sense. This perspective is not only analytical but also legitimising: it makes assumptions and interests explicit and shows where changes are needed for sustainable impact. Thus, Design Thinking and Systems Thinking are complementary: the former makes solutions tangible and testable with people; the latter ensures they are resilient within the bigger picture.
How B-Trust Operationalises and Safeguards Co-Creation
Operationally, the B-Trust model works in three phases, tested across multiple countries on six selected cases, including cultivated meat, new genomic techniques (NGTs), and precision fermentation.
Exploration Phase: Co-creation sessions gather insights on what people want, fear, and expect, how they understand information, and which conditions they deem important for trust and adoption.
Assessment Phase: These insights are consolidated and used as the basis for the final phase.
Co-Design Phase: Insights are fed back and translated into guidelines and measures that stakeholders can test and potentially scale up.
This replicable co-creation model will be publicly available to all stakeholders by the end of the project. Interim results—such as insights from co-creation sessions for different cases and guiding measures to boost general acceptance—will be shared during the project through blogs, masterclasses, infographics, and more.
[1] Flanders’ FOOD. B-Trust: Bruggen bouwen voor bioinnovatie (11 juni 2024). [2] Flanders’ FOOD – Projectpagina. B-Trust. [3] B-Trust Projectpagina [4] Flanders’ FOOD. RiskBenefit Assessments: de sleutel voor verantwoorde biotechnologie (28 juli 2025). Risk-Benefit Assessments: de sleutel voor verantwoorde biotechnologie – Flanders’ FOOD [5] Vargas C. et al. Cocreation, codesign and coproduction for public health: a perspective on definitions and distinctions. Public Health Res Pract. 2022;32(2):e3222211. https://doi.org/10.17061/phrp3222211 [6] Silburn A. Systems thinking in public health policy development. Frontiers in Health Services 5, 2025. [7] Gadsby E.W. & Wilding H. Systems thinking in, and for, public health: a call for a broader path. Health Promotion International 39(4), 2024. [8] Deloitte Insights. Cocreation for impact: design thinking for wicked multistakeholder problems (2019). Cocreation and design thinking for impact | Deloitte Insights [9] IDEO U. Systems Thinking vs Design Thinking—What’s the Difference? Systems Thinking vs Design Thinking: What’s The Difference? – IDEO U [10] EFSA Scientific Committee. Guidance on risk–benefit assessment of foods. Guidance on risk–benefit assessment of foods | EFSA [11] Gonera, A., & Pabst, R. The Use of Design Thinking in Transdisciplinary Research and Innovation Consortia: Challenges, Enablers and Benefits. Journal of Innovation Management, 7(3), 96–122 (2019).
The System Perspective: Why Systems Thinking Is Needed Alongside Design Thinking
The Horizon Europe project B-Trust, coordinated by Flanders’ FOOD, strengthens consumer trust in biotechnology through structured co-creation supported by systems thinking. Transparent, shared insights on risks and benefits feed dialogue and design choices. The result: a replicable co-creation model and governance framework for responsible application in the agri-food sector.
The food chain is evolving rapidly, driven by climate challenges, resource pressures, and the need for more circular value chains. Biotechnology offers solutions—from precision fermentation and cell-based production to bio-based materials—but faces questions about safety, desirability, and added value in daily life. B-Trust (see box) was set up not to bypass these questions but to address them together with citizens, companies, researchers, and governments, so that the benefits of biotechnology become clearer and the conditions for application are socially defined. The project explicitly creates space for consumer perspectives and those of other actors such as farmers, and ensures these perspectives influence design choices, communication, and decision-making, rather than merely informing after the fact.
B-Trust is a Horizon Europe project (2023–2026), coordinated by Flanders’ FOOD, aiming to strengthen public acceptance and responsible application of biotechnology in agri-food and other bio-based sectors. The consortium brings together Flanders’ FOOD, FOOD+i (Spain), Food & Bio Cluster Denmark, VIB, Biovia, Alice down the rabbit hole, and LAMA Società Cooperativa (Italy). Through this collaboration, B-Trust builds a transparent, inclusive governance model, driven by stakeholder co-creation and informed by evidence and learning processes documented publicly during the project.
Definition of Co-Creation and Co-Design in This Project
In B-Trust, co-creation is not a one-off survey or workshop but a structured, iterative process where participants act as equal partners in defining problems, exploring solutions, setting conditions, and evaluating outcomes. A practical guide will detail how to bring stakeholders together, prepare sessions, use clear language, and systematically translate input into measures and principles that support acceptance. This approach aligns with definitions in public health and innovation literature, where co-creation is seen as an overarching process, co-design as the phase of designing solutions with stakeholders, and co-production as jointly implementing and evaluating what has been designed.
Based on Design Thinking principles, this approach strengthens user focus and interdisciplinary collaboration while bridging scientific insights and practical experience. Success depends on good facilitation and creating an open, learning environment where all participants can actively contribute and feel heard. This mirrors B-Trust’s method, where co-creation and co-design are supported by practical tools and continuous reflection. The distinction between co-creation, co-design, and co-production matters because it explains why acceptance grows: those who help define, design, and evaluate recognise their values in the outcome and develop trust in the process.
This replicable co-creation model will be publicly available to all stakeholders by the end of the project. Interim results—such as insights from co-creation sessions for different cases and guiding measures to boost general acceptance—will be shared during the project through blogs, masterclasses, infographics, and more.
Author: Heleen Imschoot, Innovation Manager, Flanders’ FOOD
References
[1] Flanders’ FOOD. B-Trust: Bruggen bouwen voor bioinnovatie (11 juni 2024).
[2] Flanders’ FOOD – Projectpagina. B-Trust.
[3] B-Trust Projectpagina
[4] Flanders’ FOOD. RiskBenefit Assessments: de sleutel voor verantwoorde biotechnologie (28 juli 2025). Risk-Benefit Assessments: de sleutel voor verantwoorde biotechnologie – Flanders’ FOOD
[5] Vargas C. et al. Cocreation, codesign and coproduction for public health: a perspective on definitions and distinctions. Public Health Res Pract. 2022;32(2):e3222211. https://doi.org/10.17061/phrp3222211
[6] Silburn A. Systems thinking in public health policy development. Frontiers in Health Services 5, 2025.
[7] Gadsby E.W. & Wilding H. Systems thinking in, and for, public health: a call for a broader path. Health Promotion International 39(4), 2024.
[8] Deloitte Insights. Cocreation for impact: design thinking for wicked multistakeholder problems (2019). Cocreation and design thinking for impact | Deloitte Insights
[9] IDEO U. Systems Thinking vs Design Thinking—What’s the Difference? Systems Thinking vs Design Thinking: What’s The Difference? – IDEO U
[10] EFSA Scientific Committee. Guidance on risk–benefit assessment of foods. Guidance on risk–benefit assessment of foods | EFSA
[11] Gonera, A., & Pabst, R. The Use of Design Thinking in Transdisciplinary Research and Innovation Consortia: Challenges, Enablers and Benefits. Journal of Innovation Management, 7(3), 96–122 (2019).
B-Trust
Th B-Trust project aims to develop a transparent governance model that promotes the application of biotechnology in the agri-food and bio-based sectors. This model works towards improving industrial competitiveness and contribute to environmental, economic, and social sustainability, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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