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Open Food Network: the Role of ICT to Support Regional Food Supply Chains in Australia

Many organizations have introduced various ICT-enabled innovations to improve economic, environmental and social performance. The Open Food Network (OFN) is an example of ICT-enabled innovation that has the potential to enhance the sustainability of regional food supply chain by improving farmers access to local and regional markets and consumers access to fresh local produce, as well as optimizing the regional food distribution and improving local community welfare. OFN has just been recently launched in Australia and currently there is a limited understanding of the actual impacts and appropriate strategies to encourage wider adoption. This research in progress aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the OFN system in connecting and supporting the sustainability of regional food supply chain communities in Australia that will help devise strategies for expanding the use beyond Australia. Through a preliminary focus group with a number of early adopters of the OFN, this study identifies the actual use of OFN, benefits to main stakeholders and a number of challenges. The findings contribute to a longer term research program that investigates how ICT can support sustainability initiatives within organizations and supply chains.