About the project
The transition towards more sustainable agrifood systems is becoming increasingly complex. As agrifood systems rapidly evolve through digital transformation and other game changers, policymakers need new ways of designing policies that better leverage evidence, data and analytical capabilities, are anticipatory rather than reactive, and take into account the behavioural factors that influence decision-making.
This is where FAO’s Innovation Policy Labs (IPLs) come in. They provide a new model of multi-stakeholder innovation governance by creating policy spaces that help address complexity and deal with novelty. Too many policies are designed far from the realities of farmers, communities and the institutions responsible for implementation. As a result, they often fail to address critical barriers such as unequal access to services, limited digital skills, gender gaps and structural power imbalances, reducing their legitimacy and inclusiveness. Consequently, many of these policies remain on paper and are never fully implemented.
To leverage its methodology with context-sensitive and human-centred approaches, FAO’s IPL team is partnering with UN Global Pulse. This collaboration focuses on three core objectives: refining the IPL methodology against scale-readiness criteria; supporting the development of guidelines for replication in new country contexts; and providing strategic recommendations to enhance IPL’s adoptability across diverse settings.
UN Global Pulse is contributing through its multidisciplinary expertise in Innovation Scaling, Social and Behavioural Sciences, and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL). By integrating our expertise into the IPL methodology and co-developing replication guidelines with the FAO team, the collaboration also lays the groundwork for expanding IPL beyond agrifood into other sectors aligned with broader Sustainable Development Goals..
Our impact
After successful implementation in Tunisia, Azerbaijan and Liberia, IPLs are now operating in Colombia, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Uzbekistan, while being rolled out in Senegal, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Junior IPLs have also been established to co-create solutions for sustainable agrifood systems with young people.
Across multiple countries, IPLs are delivering tangible results — from fostering engagement of marginalized communities in Colombia to co-create policies that protect their rights and agrobiodiversity, to digitally supporting rice policy implementation in Madagascar, generating new income opportunities for beekeepers in Uzbekistan, and strengthening the innovation ecosystem for start-ups in Ethiopia. Early results are already paving the way for scaling IPLs beyond their initial applications. In Colombia, the approach is being expanded to other areas beyond agrifood systems, while in Ethiopia the methodology is being institutionalized within the Ministry of Innovation for broader use in policymaking.
This collaboration is expected to position FAO’s Innovation Policy Labs as a scalable, evidence-based model for inclusive participatory policymaking. By refining the methodology and developing practical and meaningful replication guidelines, the project will make it easier for new countries and implementing partners to adopt the IPL approach with confidence and social accountability. Strengthened MEL systems will improve how IPL’s outcomes are tracked and communicated, building a more robust evidence base for its effectiveness. Integrating Social and Behavioural science insights will address barriers to policy adoption and increase inclusivity, thereby amplifying the impact of co-created solutions.
Over time, these efforts are expected to contribute to more democratic, responsive, and locally grounded agrifood policymaking, ultimately increasing participation from communities, including those that are often marginalised, including women, youth, and smallholders, and ensuring no one is left behind in the transformation of agrifood systems.
Resources
- About FAO’s Innovation Policy Labs: https://www.fao.org/innovation-policies-capacities/activities/policies/en