The consortium of partners has a track record in the management of research excellence, with a combined experience of over 35 years of leadership in centres of excellence, including a DAAD supported German African Centre. Together we can implement high quality interdisciplinary data-driven scientific approaches that relate to all aspects of the food system. We will use this experience to generate a wide range of outputs from data to applications to develop impact-focused solutions aimed at transforming food system outcomes. Sharing resources and infrastructure, we will link computing infrastructure, data science applications, and agri-food systems analysis. We will benefit from our long history of collaboration, which is complemented by the diverse set of international networks to which we belong. As partners in the Africa-Europe Cluster of Research Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems (CoRE-SFS) we share a commitment to integration and inclusivity, supporting diversity and gender with a focus on disadvantaged and emerging institutions. We bring in a large network of cooperation with relevant German, international and (pan-) African organisations that have already expressed their interest in research, capacity building and teaching collaboration to improve the data and knowledge landscape in Southern Africa.
