An overview of 4H innovation and insights on best practices for innovation cooperation in the healthy food sector. Looking at current trends and existing collaborative experiences implemented by AHFES partners to support SMEs to innovate.

Providing an insight and inspiration for policy makers, SMEs, academics, and citizen stakeholders working to further enhance healthy food innovation projects.

Using the quadruple helix (4H) approach to create shared value that benefits all participants in the innovation ecosystem. EU, National, and Regional policies, technologies supporting connectivity, innovation methods and strategies all play a key role in supporting productive network activity, experimentation, and innovation ecosystem development.

This action provides a context for understanding Healthy Food Innovation challenges in Europe, the importance of cooperation and innovation in this context, and the significance of developing learning systems and establishing and maintaining innovation ecosystems.

Each partner provides a broad overview of key types of cooperation used in their region, including specific trends, methods, policies that inform types of cooperation, under the following headings:

• Regional trends in cooperation and innovation
• Policies that inform the types of cooperation used
• Technologies, tools and methods supporting cooperation and innovation.

Each partner also reports on a specific case where actors cooperated successfully to innovate.

A consolidated overview of the cases, including the nature of the problem addressed, methods and strategies of cooperation, key successes, challenges, and learning experiences is provided.

Finally, key ideas in relation to cooperation and innovation are presented in a summary conclusion.