Action Area 6.1 Governance and planning

CROSSCUTTING

Action Area 6.1 Governance

Governance, across local and national levels has been identified as a cross-cutting action area—one that relates to many of the cluster solutions put forward by the Action Tracks. The Governance Action Area includes two main areas of focus: 1) Food System Summit (FSS) governance and 2) food systems governance more broadly. The first focus area will aim to address questions and concerns around FSS participation, processes, transparency, and accountability, with an emphasis on areas for continuous improvement as the Summit process unfolds. Looking across the cluster solutions, the second focus area will explore questions and opportunities related to food systems governance (from local to national levels and beyond). Recognizing existing discussions on governance among the Action Tracks’ efforts to date, the food systems governance group will serve as a centralized space to continue those discussions in a targeted and holistic manner.

Focal Points: Kristy Buckley, Florence Egal, David Nabarro, Sara Scherr, Jian Yi, Helen Harwatt, Cristina Tirado and Youssef Nassef.

Game Changing Propositions

1.20 Foster shared learning on Food System Transformation Pathways through a country-owned process that brings a food system perspective to agri-food policy planning and implementation, leading to stronger food system planning and supporting food systems transformations.

2.1 Integrated Cross Sector Assessments and National Action Plans up to 2030
The proposition includes the development of a science-based framework for country level assessment of food systems development; the establishment of multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral National Action Plans to meet the SDGs; and the establishment of a Food Systems Fund to support Low- and Middle-Income Countries in this work.

2.5 National Food System Action Hubs
Connecting all stakeholders of the food system, facilitating innovation and collaboration and providing a platform for monitoring progress. The proposition is about the development of national platforms (Hubs) where food systems stakeholders meet and drive positive change together.

2.7 Strengthening Accountability through mechanisms that empower governments and civil society to drive change and reward good corporate behaviour
Creating accountability mechanisms that empower governments and civil society to drive change and reward good corporate behaviour. Proposed mechanisms include developing a set of targets with associated metrics to evaluate performance, mandating public reporting by companies, engaging with investors, limiting industry’s involvement in policy areas which have a conflict of interest, engaging and empowering civil society, and celebrating positive leadership and progress.

3.12 Aligning policies with nature-positive production
Mainstream nature-positive production calls to align agricultural and other relevant policies to reflect the true cost of food and set incentives for nature-positive production practices, constraints and disincentives for nature-negative production practices at the regional, national and sub-national levels.

3.20 Shifting the way stakeholders engage with evidence to enhance food system decision making 
Develop a structured stakeholder engagement process that fosters interaction between people and multi-thematic evidence to cultivate an understanding of systems, greater inter-sectoral and multi-stakeholder collaboration and decisions and direct actions that overcome siloed and ad hoc approaches and integrate economic, social and ecological dimensions.

3.21 Strengthening Landscape Partnerships
Launch a global collaborative initiative to strengthen, and help form, new Landscape Partnerships (LPs) that are enabled and empowered to lead coordinated transformation of their local food systems.