This is the “Let’s discover the Project’s Consortium” blog series: a space dedicated to introducing the experts and researchers working on the ToBe project.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is the protagonist of today’s blog, a new partner that has joined the ToBe family in recent weeks. CSIR is a world-class African research and development organisation established in 1945. It undertakes targeted, multidisciplinary research and technological innovations that contribute to improving the quality of life of South Africans.

CSIR facilitates national economic and social development through human capital development and needs-based research and innovation, producing products and services based on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). It leverages international collaboration in science and technology and establishes global links with international programmes, thus joining international efforts in the fight against the Digital Divide.

Marlien Herselman, CSIR representative in ToBe, stated that “We will mainly contribute to Work Package 3, which will perform case studies in the Global South and the Global North. Valuable data will be collected from case studies in South Africa which will be compared with findings from other case studies in the global South and North. The findings will be used to inform policy and to develop the framework for this project”. Therefore, CSIR will work closely with VTT, as leader of the Work Package, and with the other representatives of Global South, such as EPN in Ecuador.

“Through the ToBe project, I expect to allow agri-food processing initiatives to be acknowledged in policy documents and to support these initiatives as they contribute to the quality of life of citizens in this country, especially in rural areas”, stated Marlien. The biggest challenge for these initiatives is to gain support and recognition at the governmental level, so as to not only ensure their sustainability but also that the voice expressing their needs is being heard.

We are eager to see the outcomes of the case studies of Work Package 3. Welcome on board Marlien and CSIR, best of luck for your work in ToBe!