Output performance of a foodservice R&D project

Purpose - The aim of the paper is to describe the output performance of a foodservice R&D project conducted with hospitality management students. A school meal project is illustrated as a case. Design/methodology/approach - The theoretical basis refers to the discussions of R&D output performance. The output measures on three levels are illustrated. Findings - The empirical findings indicated that the output performance was achieved on three levels. On the scientific level, seven scientific articles were published. On the project level, one project report and five articles in Finnish professional journals were published. Finally, five Bachelor's theses were successfully completed, all of which contributes to the level of learning and teaching. Moreover, further procedures involved designing a questionnaire for the project, and utilizing collected empirical quantitative data in learning and teaching. Practical implications - The school meal project conducted with students offered various kinds of possibilities for learning, teaching, and publishing. The published scientific articles disseminated the empirical results to international foodservice and nutrition audience, and the project report served both the local foodservice experts as well as the project financiers. Originality/value - The value of the results is that a multilevel output performance for all actors was achieved by conducting a school meal project in cooperation with the students, the teachers, and the financiers.