Express your interest in hosting the FOOD 2030 Interactive Exhibition as part of EU Presidencies (S2 2024 to S2 2026)

About the project:

Ecsite is involved in the Horizon Europe Project CLEVERFOOD (Grant Agreement no. 101086320) which aims to foster the transformation of European food systems towards more regenerative, resilient, and sustainable food systems through the mobilization of European citizens, including children and the youth but also stakeholders from the food sector (farmers, producers, investors & entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers, educators…)

Among the different activities of the project, an interactive exhibition will be designed with the objective to raise awareness of sustainable food system transformation among the general public. This FOOD 2030 Interactive Exhibition is currently being developed by our member, the Pavilion of Knowledge - Science Centre Ciência Viva (Lisbon, Portugal). The exhibition will travel to five countries hosting the Presidency of the Council of the European Union: Hungary, Poland, Denmark, Cyprus and Ireland.

As a result, Ecsite is looking for science centres and museums in these five countries who would be interested in hosting the exhibition, contributing to its development and complementing the exhibition with a locally relevant public engagement programme.

Role of the hosts:

The main tasks of the hosts will be to:

• Join the exhibition committee, with other subcontractors, Ciência Viva and Ecsite, and contribute by providing feedback during the building phase of the exhibition. This includes:
  • Attending an online presentation of the exhibition and participating in a feedback survey about your expectations concerning the exhibition and its adaptation to your local context.
  • Participation in an online meeting, to discuss the survey results, sharing ideas of activities for local engagement programmes, and defining data collection methods for impact measurement
  • Please note that taking part in this committee is not mandatory but strongly recommended to help with the host’s task.
• Host the exhibition at their premises for a duration of minimum 2 months and maximum 3 months during the semester of Presidency of the Council of the European Union of their country (see Requirements and Timeline below)
• Store the exhibition safely in between traveling and showing periods.
• Build a programme of engagement activities with locally relevant initiatives and citizen science projects, mobilizing the local science engagement ecosystem, media partners (including social media) and, if relevant, additional sponsors
• Incorporate the educational pack for the FOOD 2030 Interactive Exhibition (developed by the CLEVERFOOD project) in the programme of engagement activities
• Collect data for impact measurements (method to be discussed and agreed upon by the exhibition committee)

Budget:

36,800 EUR (excl. VAT) will be provided by Ecsite per host.

Ecsite will arrange transport and cover the travel costs (travel insurance included) additionally.

Timeline:

The hosting (including storage, display and maintenance) of the exhibition will take place during the relevant semester of Presidencies of the Council of the European Union and according to the following agenda:

• Hungary – second half of September to 31st December 2024
• Poland – 1st January to 1st June 2025
• Denmark – 1st July to 31st December 2025
• Cyprus – 1st January to 1st June 2026
• Ireland - 1st July to 30th November 2026

In line with the CLEVERFOOD project Grant Agreement, the exhibition will be delivered to the project consortium in September 2024 and will only start traveling then.

General requirements:

Premises located in Cyprus, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland or Poland.
The host must be active in public engagement in science, have an interest in areas related to food, and have links to their local food ecosystem.
The entity hosting the exhibition will be responsible for cleaning, maintenance and replacement costs of damaged equipment (see the point about insurance below)

Technical requirements:

• 150 m² area available to display the full exhibition (exhibits will be independent and expected to cater for modularity in case of smaller exhibition space available)
• Suitable storage room for the exhibition’s packing material (max. 30m2 expected).
• EU standard electric system. Routing and security of electricity to the exhibits according to the established exhibition layout.
• Loading, unloading and installation equipment available
• Truck accesses for pallet trucks.
• Access doors dimension: 1,40 m W /2,10 m H
• Provide remote access to the exhibits. This access should be through an external network, i.e. not through the local servers.
• The host needs to assure any necessary scenic illumination.
• The host is in charge of ensuring safety conditions as well as acclimatization and humidity control (in storage and display)
• Appropriate insurance covering protection of the exhibition material at assembly and disassembly, storage and display.

Note: traveling insurance, as well as exhibition transport costs is covered by Ecsite.
Note 2: a two-year warranty will be available. It is expected cover the exhibition in case of damage until September 2026, except for voluntary damage such as vandalism, etc...

About the staff:

Please note that one staff member can cover several requirements.

• A point of contact with good English skills to liaise with the team of the CLEVERFOOD project.
• 4-person team for the exhibition’s unpacking and installation, as well as for disassembling and packing for transportation (this is essential for the assembly, expected to take around 1-2 days).
• Team for the adaptation of the exhibition: multimedia adaptation, translation/adaptation of content to local context, graphic design panels & labels.
• Cleaning team and Maintenance team with skills to manage interactive exhibits, namely with basic skills in electricity, electronics, mechanics and an IT element.
• Mediator/Explainer/Attendance team to assure the correct follow-up and surveillance of the exhibition, including the preparation & implementation of a programme of engagement activities in local languages

Who can express interest?

Any science center or museum from Cyprus, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland and Poland. This call is not restricted to Ecsite members.

How to apply

This is a call for expression of interest. You can express interest even if you don’t currently fit all requirements.

To express interest, please fill in this form by 1st September 2023, 23.59 CEST. Upon analysis of your response and provided you are eligible, we will contact you for a teleconference call to better understand your interest in hosting the exhibition, and address potential questions and concerns.

Please note that expressing interest is NOT binding and does not guarantee you will be selected as host: calls for subcontractors will open later for each country, which will require submission of a financial and technical offer, and will be evaluated by the CLEVERFOOD consortium against pre-set criteria.

For any further questions, please contact Clara Boissenin (Ecsite) at cboissenin@ecsite.eu.

Interested in building the exhibition? A call for tender was published on 23th June 2023 by Ciência Viva - Agência Nacional para a Cultura Científica e Tecnológica here and will remain open until 30th July 2023. The documentation is available in English and Portuguese. Look for the procedure reference number (CPI_904/2023) described as (CONCURSO PÚBLICO PARA CONCEÇÃO DE IDENTIDADE VISUAL E CENOGRÁFICA, DESENVOLVIMENTO, PRODUÇÃO, FORNECIMENTO E INSTALAÇÃO DE EXPOSIÇÃO CIENTÍFICA ITINERANTE SUBORDINADA AO TEMA CLEVERFOOD).