Abstract

The transformation of food systems to achieve Sustainable Development Goals is an urgent priority on the global political agenda and is characterized as a highly complex ‘wicked problem’. This article draws upon literature that defines and analyses collaborative governance (CG) as a process of co-creating public value under conditions of complexity. It identifies the adoption of collaborative processes involving diverse university actors and beneficiaries (students) as a mechanism for generating public value for the entire community. The case study is provided by a participatory evaluation project of the canteen service at the University of Padua inspired by environmental, social, digital, and economic sustainability principles, which eventually allowed for the redesigning the customer survey and improving the service.