This week, we distill insights around the Thought for Food Challenge - a global student innovation challenge, sponsored by Sygenta, to inspire a new generation of thinkers and innovators around food security 100+ thinkers and planners within MSLGROUP share and discuss inspiring projects on social data, crowdsourcing, storytelling and citizenship on the MSLGROUP Insights Network. Every week, we pick up one project and do a deep dive into conversations around it -- on the MSLGROUP Insights Network itself but also on the broader social web -- to distill insights and foresights. We share these insights and foresights with you on our People’s Insights blog and compile the best insights from the network and the blog in the iPad-friendly People’s Lab Quarterly Magazine, as a showcase of our capabilities. For more, see: http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com

1. crowdsourcing | storytelling | citizenship | social data
People’s Insights Volume 2, Issue 1
Thought for
Food Challenge

2. People’s Insights
100+ thinkers and planners within MSL- In 2013, we continue to track inspiring
GROUP share and discuss inspiring proj- projects at the intersection of social data,
ects on social data, crowdsourcing, story- crowdsourcing and storytelling, with a fo-
telling and citizenship on the MSLGROUP cus on projects that are shaping the Future
Insights Network. Every week, we pick up of Citizenship.
one project and curate the conversations
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around it — on the MSLGROUP Insights
reports, quarterly magazines, and annual
Network itself but also on the broader
reports, and do share your tips and com-
social web — into a weekly insights report.
ments with us at @PeoplesLab on Twitter.
Every quarter, we compile these insights,
along with original research and insights
from the MSLGROUP global network, into
the People’s Insights Quarterly Magazine.
We have synthesized the insights from our
year-long endeavor throughout 2012 to
provide foresights for business leaders and
changemakers — in the ten-part People’s
Insights Annual Report titled Now & Next:
Ten Frontiers for the Future of Engage-
ment.
People’s Insights People’s Insights People’s Insights
weekly report quarterly magazines Annual Report
Volume 2, Issue 1, Future of Thought For
January - March, 2013 Citizenship Food Challenge

3. What is the Thought for Food
Challenge?
The Thought for Food Challenge is a global stu-
dent innovation challenge, established in 2011, to
inspire a new generation of thinkers and innova-
tors around food security. The program challeng-
es students to answer the question – how will we
feed 9 billion people by 2050.
TFF is sponsored by global agri-business Sygen-
Source: Initiate. Energize. Solve. Thought for Food Challenge 2012
ta to engage global youth and build a community
of changemakers.
How does it work?
In its first year, TFF invited student teams from dents in these missions, in the form of education-
ten leading European universities to participate al reading material and tips and tricks on using
in the challenge. Now, in its third year, TFF invites social media.
university students from across the globe to
participate. After two months, and a round of public voting,
five finalist teams will be selected based on
In round 1, students are given four missions: the project’s potential to create awareness and
research and understand food issues, brainstorm incite social change, and the business plan must
solutions, create and publish a project proposal demonstrate a long term plan and out-of-the-box
and conquer social media. As in previous thinking.
seasons, TFF offers resources to support stu-
Source: http://www.tffchallenge.com/
The finalists will then enter round 2, a four month phase where they work with $1,000 seed money and
professional mentorship to refine their idea. The five teams are then invited to the TFF Global Summit
in Berlin to present their proposals and compete for $5,000 and $10,000 startup investments.
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4. Reaching out to colleges
Organizers contacted leading colleges with • A poster you can print and post around campus
invitations to participate in the challenge and
• An info doc introducing the Thought for Food
offered promotion support to help excite
challenge
students and professors:
• Testimonials from previous participants
“To get started, please click “Join the Challenge” for
more information. We’ll simply ask you to encour- Feel free to pass on to student groups or professors
age your students to form teams of five and sign that may be interested in helping pull together
up by April 9th at www.tffchallenge.com. We’ll teams.”
even provide you with everything you’ll need to get
started, including: Colleges participate to enhance their reputation
and offer unique learning opportunities to their
• A sample email you can send through your com- students.
munication networks
Source: borlaug.tamu.edu
In our Now & Next: Future of Engagement report on Collaborative Social Innovation, we highlight
participation of education institutions in collaborative social innovation initiatives as a growing trend in
2013-2015.
Volume 2, Issue 1, Future of Thought For
January - March, 2013 Citizenship Food Challenge

5. Engaging the Next Gen
With TFF, Sygenta joins companies like Dell, HP, “I like it because it focuses its attention on the
Siemens and Samsung, in reaching out to school future generation (us) and because it demonstrates
and university students to energize them around how easy social media and the Internet allow for
real issues and subjects declining in popularity, easy get-together’s of like-minded people that can
like STEM education and agriculture. help share ideas.”
Christine Gould, Senior Manager of Global Public In the first two editions, TFF winners were flown
Policy and Head of Next Generation Engagement to the One Young World conference to pres-
at Sygenta noted: ent their ideas to other student changemakers.
Here’s a video of the TFF winners sharing their
“Young people are increasingly becoming discon-
learnings and ideas at the conference:
nected from agriculture and don’t understand the
complex challenges and opportunities facing us.
As we focus on the long-term vision to improve
agriculture, the environment and communities
around the world, we are taking this opportunity
to engage some of the brightest minds of the next
generation.”
Through design, structure and gratification, TFF
aspires to bring in a cool factor and create ex-
citement. The program is also designed to make
students talk about their project, publish their
Source: TFF Challenge winners take to the One Young World Stage
ideas on websites (like Team Demeter) and You-
Tube (like University of Reading’s Mission 3), and And here’s a video of how TFF engaged other
gather votes, thus spreading the cause to their young delegates at the One Young World confer-
networks as well. ence:
Source: Thought For Food 2012 @ One Young World
Source: twitter.com/AUTFFChallenge
Quality of Responses
Students participate for the forum to share their
Organizations usually opt for collaborative social
ideas and the opportunity to do meaningful work.
innovation challenges to reach out to new and
As Beau Barnette, member of one of 2012’s win-
numerous thinkers. Dwayne Spradlin, CEO of
ning teams, said:
open innovation platform Innocentive, highlights
“I love to seek real life solutions to supposedly out this point in his recent Tedx Talk:
of reach problems. Researching to develop ideas
“What we have created are systems where we
and confronting the individual aspects of the situa-
build large facilities and large buildings full of
tion is a thrill. As a landscape architecture student,
the researchers that we think can solve the most
it is of course exciting to pursue design problems
important problems. We hire the best in the world
and solutions outside of the classroom setting.”
to work on those problems, but we all know the
TFF also piqued the interest of other students fundamental limitation of that kind of system. We
like Pascal Muller, who commented: couldn’t hire all the smartest people in a given field
if we wanted to, we can’t.
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6. In addition, organizations are looking for fresh “The best sources for the great ideas we’ll need to
ways of looking at the same problems or, as TFF keep moving forward are the people we surround
puts it, ideas that “Disrupt the Status Quo.” ourselves with everyday… friends, children, parents,
and grandparents who motivate and inspire curi-
Students who participated in the challenge have
ous minds and creative spirits to achieve a greater
diverse educational backgrounds (in business,
good.”
psychology, architecture, technology and agricul-
ture) and also diverse personal experiences (like
teaching part time at a local school) and beliefs
(like freeganism). As a result, their responses
varied from slam poetry sessions, flash mobs
and research experiments to generate awareness
at the grassroots level; to plans that proposed
insects as alternative food choices, and eco parks
and behavior change games to educate people
about the food generation process.
Source: facebook.com/tffchallenge
Source: University of Reading: Food for Thought challenge
Source: facebook.com/tffchallenge
Evolution of the TFF challenge
model Changemaker platforms
In 2011, TFF was positioned as an idea generation While some brands use collaborative social inno-
and awareness platform. Recent changes to the vation initiatives as a way to give back to society
2013 program structure indicate a move towards (Samsung Solve for Tomorrow) and recruit talent
building a community and support platform for (Siemens Green Dream contest), we are seeing
youth changemakers. more brands, like Sygenta, create long lasting
platforms to connect and support changemakers
In year 3, TFF invites sustainable business pro- (Dell Social Innovation Challenge).
posals that last beyond the six months of the
challenge, and encourages students to create Branded changemaker platforms have had
their own start ups with investment grants rang- significant traction, with platforms like Dell Social
ing from $1,000 to $10,000. Also new in 2013 Innovation Challenge and Mahindra Spark the
is the introduction of a Thought for Food Global Rise crossing 250,000 members each.
Summit in Berlin to connect student innovators
with other changemakers around the world.
TFF’s community-model of inspiring innovation
is showing early signs of success, with former
participants sharing their current entrepreneurial
plans and commitment to their winning ideas on
the TFF Facebook page.
Indeed, as Jill Beraud, former CMO, PepsiCo
Americas Beverages once said:
Source: dellchallenge.com
Volume 2, Issue 1, Future of Thought For
January - March, 2013 Citizenship Food Challenge

7. Source: sparktherise.com
Michael Dell, CEO and Chairman of Dell, sums
up the opportunity this positive multi-stakeholder
approach opens up for all:
“The new engine of innovation driven by collabora-
tion, openness, stewardship and the power of the
social web gives all of us an opportunity to drive
even more rapid, meaningful change across global
institutions.”
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8. People’s Lab:
Crowdsourcing Innovation & Insights
People’s Lab is MSLGROUP’s proprietary comment on other people’s content and
crowdsourcing platform and approach that collaborate to find innovative solutions.
helps organizations tap into people’s insights for
innovation, storytelling and change. The People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform
and approach forms the core of our distinctive
The People’s Lab crowdsourcing platform insights and foresight approach, which consists
helps organizations build and nurture public of four elements: organic conversation analysis,
or private, web or mobile, hosted or white MSLGROUP’s own insight communities, client-
label communities around four pre-configured specific insights communities, and ethnographic
application areas: Expertise Request Network, deep dives into these communities. The People’s
Innovation Challenge Network, Research & Insights Quarterly Magazines showcase our
Insights Network and Contest & Activation capability in crowdsourcing and analyzing
Network. Our community and gaming features insights from conversations and communities.
encourage people to share rich content, vote/
Learn more about us at:
peopleslab.mslgroup.com | twitter.com/peopleslab
Volume 2, Issue 1, Future of Thought For
January - March, 2013 Citizenship Food Challenge

9. For People’s Lab solutions, contact
pascal.beucler@mslgroup.com