The present document, identified as Deliverable 4.1, represents the report on Theory of Change applied to each Food Trails city.

The implementation of pilot actions as part of the development of Urban Food Policies is at the core of the Food Trails project. Within the project, three tools have been employed to define pilot actions and monitor their progress: 1) the Food Policy Action Canvas; 2) Indicator frameworks to monitor the progress, outputs, and results of pilot actions; 3) Progress reports on the pilot actions. These three tools have been supplemented with a tool for developing expectations regarding the impact of the pilot actions: the theory of change.

The theory of change captures beliefs and assumptions how cities can obtain impact on the transformation of urban food systems through the practical implementation of pilot actions on food innovation and the tracking of their progress. Impact categories are related to four food systems co-benefits: nutrition and health; circularity in food; climate action and environmental protection; innovation and community empowerment.

This publication reports on the outcomes of this process and provides a summary of the theory of change for the 11 cities. The report builds upon the work carried out by the 11 cities in the Food Trails project and the status of implementation of each pilot action in relation to the city’s food policy development.