Over the past decades, water quality models have become unique tools in the management of aquatic resources. A consequence of their widespread application is the significant number of models now available. Available methodologies to compare models provide limited support for their choice in the first place, especially to end-users or modelers with limited experience. Here we propose a method to assist in the selection of a particular model from a set of apparently similar models. The method is termed ScoRE, as it grades models according to three main aspects: Scope (aim, simulated processes, constituents, etc.), Record (reference to the model in publications, its range of applications, etc.), and the Experience of using the model from the user perspective (support material, graphical user interface, etc.). End-users define the criteria to be evaluated and their relative importance, as well as the conditions for model exclusion. The evaluation of models is still performed by the modelers, in open discussion with end-users. ScoRE is a complete approach, as it provides guidance not only to exclude models but also to select the most appropriate model for a particular situation. An application of this method is provided to illustrate its use in the choice of a model. The application resulted in the definition of 18 criteria, where 6 of these were defined exclusively by the end-users. Based on these and the relative importance of each criterion, ScoRE produced a ranking of models, facilitating model selection. The results illustrate how the contributions from modelers and end-users are integrated to select a model for a particular task.

European food systems are central drivers of environmental degradation and diet-related health issues, while remaining highly vulnerable to climate, geopolitical, and economic shocks. Against this backdrop of polycrisis and governance complexity, this article develops and tests a framework for designing coherent policy mixes for food system transformation in Europe. Building on four European Environment Agency imaginaries for a sustainable Europe in 2050, the framework integrates participatory foresight methods, the X‑curve transition model and morphological analysis with consistency assessment. It addresses three questions: (1) how participatory foresight tools and transition research frameworks can be combined into a replicable methodology for developing internally coherent policy‑mixes; (2) which configurations of food governance policies are internally consistent and how they differ in their underlying governance philosophies and transformative implications; and (3) how these configurations compare with the current European food policy framework and where critical governance gaps lie. Two expert workshops and subsequent desk research generated phase‑specific transition measures (pathways), which were clustered into ten governance dimensions and subjected to cross‑consistency assessment. This yielded four stylised policy‑mixes. The analysis shows that existing policies of the European Union (EU) are closest to a Mixed-Approaches logic but lack internal coherence, that incremental reform of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is insufficient for transformation, and that just‑transition governance remains underdeveloped. Methodologically, the study’s main innovation lies in combining temporal sequencing (X‑curve) with static cross‑consistency analysis, thereby operationalising both sequencing and structural coherence in policy‑mix design, leading to what we call policy-mix pathways. However, the creation of fully sequenced roadmaps would be part of subsequent research.