  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.
