Our Focus

Strategic Objectives

Rebuilding food systems and developing rural areas requires ideas, actors and finance. The Platform brings together these necessary elements so that donors can develop and implement programmes that help rural people improve their lives and livelihoods.

Our Focus

Strategic Objectives

Rebuilding food systems and developing rural areas requires ideas, actors and finance. The Platform brings together these necessary elements so that donors can develop and implement programmes that help rural people improve their lives and livelihoods.

The platform strategy has three distinct yet complementary elements: strategic influencing, knowledge sharing and networking and convening.

Strategic Influencing

We help shape the thinking, policies and programming of the global donor community about food systems and rural development to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and longer-term prosperity and sustainability.

  • Keeping watch for emerging issues and alerting donors to emerging risks or opportunities (Horizon-scanning).
  • Convening task teams on issues that affect donors and partners to identify possible responses.
  • Convening high-level events and briefings to keep members up to date on the latest thinking and evidence.
  • Hosting an annual meeting of Members’ senior managers responsible for food systems/agriculture/rural development.
  • Mobilizing new joint efforts by donors to respond to emerging issues/funding gaps.
  • Helping donors reach a shared view in the run-up to global forums and processes.
  • Profiling and discussing key emerging issues with high-level representatives during its Annual General Assembly.

Knowledge Sharing

We broker the sharing of evidence, lessons, insights and technical expertise necessary for donors to align efforts, learn from each other and improve the impact of their food system and rural-development related policies and programmes.

  • Identifying policy and programming questions and issues that concern donors and drawing upon the experience of other donors or relevant expertise to help resolve them. Convening working groups and seminars on priority topics that enable donor staff to share experiences and lessons. with each other on priority topics.
  • Holding virtual briefing sessions on emerging issues, new research and new evaluations targeted to the specific needs of donors.
  • Providing a resource portal on its website so that members have easy access to each other’s key policies, reports and evaluations.
  • Providing blogs and a social media feed targeted to the interests of donors.

Networking and Convening

We strengthen networking, relationships and communication between donors and other actors as a foundation for collaboration and innovation.

  • Supporting a network of donor focal points, or contacts, among Platform members.
  • Bringing donor staff together in both face-to-face and virtual working groups, seminars and conferences and other exchanges.
  • Linking donors when they are looking for project partners.
  • Telling others about work being carried out by Platform members that could interest a wider audience – through blogs, social media, news updates and mailings.
  • Hosting the Annual General Assembly, which provides a forum for in-depth engagement between donors and other partners to share and debate knowledge and ideas.
  • Maintaining up-to-date contact lists for those with key food system and rural development responsibilities across donors.

Our Strategic Plan 2021-2025

In 2021, the Platform adopted a new vision that advocates a radical transformation of global food systems to achieve better access to safe and nutritious food, improved environmental sustainability and more prosperous rural communities.

The Strategic Plan 2021-2025 situates the work of the Platform across the domains of food systems, food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural livelihoods. It recognizes the Platform’s particular focus and orientation towards SDG 2 and the intersection with other SDGs.

While staying true to the original intent and purpose of the Platform, the Strategic Plan actions changes to the its vision, mission and objectives to better reflect the changing operating context and environment of the donor community to ensure its ongoing relevance.

The platform strategy has three distinct yet complementary elements: strategic influencing, knowledge sharing and networking and convening.

Strategic Influencing

We help shape the thinking, policies and programming of the global donor community about food systems and rural development to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and longer-term prosperity and sustainability.

  • Keeping watch for emerging issues and alerting donors to emerging risks or opportunities (Horizon-scanning).
  • Convening task teams on issues that affect donors and partners to identify possible responses.
  • Convening high-level events and briefings to keep members up to date on the latest thinking and evidence.
  • Hosting an annual meeting of Members’ senior managers responsible for food systems/agriculture/rural development.
  • Mobilizing new joint efforts by donors to respond to emerging issues/funding gaps.
  • Helping donors reach a shared view in the run-up to global forums and processes.
  • Profiling and discussing key emerging issues with high-level representatives during its Annual General Assembly.

Knowledge Sharing

We broker the sharing of evidence, lessons, insights and technical expertise necessary for donors to align efforts, learn from each other and improve the impact of their food system and rural-development related policies and programmes.

  • Identifying policy and programming questions and issues that concern donors and drawing upon the experience of other donors or relevant expertise to help resolve them. Convening working groups and seminars on priority topics that enable donor staff to share experiences and lessons. with each other on priority topics.
  • Holding virtual briefing sessions on emerging issues, new research and new evaluations targeted to the specific needs of donors.
  • Providing a resource portal on its website so that members have easy access to each other’s key policies, reports and evaluations.
  • Providing blogs and a social media feed targeted to the interests of donors.

Networking and Convening

We strengthen networking, relationships and communication between donors and other actors as a foundation for collaboration and innovation.

  • Supporting a network of donor focal points, or contacts, among Platform members.
  • Bringing donor staff together in both face-to-face and virtual working groups, seminars and conferences and other exchanges.
  • Linking donors when they are looking for project partners.
  • Telling others about work being carried out by Platform members that could interest a wider audience – through blogs, social media, news updates and mailings.
  • Hosting the Annual General Assembly, which provides a forum for in-depth engagement between donors and other partners to share and debate knowledge and ideas.
  • Maintaining up-to-date contact lists for those with key food system and rural development responsibilities across donors.

Our Strategic Plan 2021-2025

In 2021, the Platform adopted a new vision that advocates a radical transformation of global food systems to achieve better access to safe and nutritious food, improved environmental sustainability and more prosperous rural communities.

The Strategic Plan 2021-2025 situates the work of the Platform across the domains of food systems, food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural livelihoods. It recognizes the Platform’s particular focus and orientation towards SDG 2 and the intersection with other SDGs.

While staying true to the original intent and purpose of the Platform, the Strategic Plan actions changes to the its vision, mission and objectives to better reflect the changing operating context and environment of the donor community to ensure its ongoing relevance.

The Platform in Action

Key messages from the UNFSS+2 official side event: Innovative donor approaches to sustainable finance for food systems transformation

In a candid conversation, Conrad Rein, the outgoing Co-Chair of the Donor Platform, reflects upon the pivotal moments and future pathways that have marked his three-year tenure.

Jaron Porciello is Co-Director of Hesat2030, Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame. and a close partner of the Donor Platform. Jaron shares her insights on the present and future of artificial intelligence in rural development.

2022 was an extraordinary year for the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, with a focus on transforming food systems in times of crisis, and shifting from strategy to implementation. This annual report details many of the achievements with a lens towards 2023.

Please join us in welcoming the World Rural Forum as a Member of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development and with WRF Director Laura Lorenzo as their representative.

Jo Puri is the Associate Vice-President of Strategy and Knowledge Department at IFAD and a close partner of the Donor Platform. Jo shares her vast experience and insight on all things data and how standard use of good data could be the game-changer in transforming food systems.

Final report of the findings and deliberations from the event “Assessing the Data ‘Quantum’ Leap in Agriculture and Food Systems: s” held on 13 February 2023 at IFAD Headquarters.

Key messages from the UNFSS+2 official side event: Innovative donor approaches to sustainable finance for food systems transformation

In a candid conversation, Conrad Rein, the outgoing Co-Chair of the Donor Platform, reflects upon the pivotal moments and future pathways that have marked his three-year tenure.

Jaron Porciello is Co-Director of Hesat2030, Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame. and a close partner of the Donor Platform. Jaron shares her insights on the present and future of artificial intelligence in rural development.

2022 was an extraordinary year for the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, with a focus on transforming food systems in times of crisis, and shifting from strategy to implementation. This annual report details many of the achievements with a lens towards 2023.

Please join us in welcoming the World Rural Forum as a Member of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development and with WRF Director Laura Lorenzo as their representative.

Jo Puri is the Associate Vice-President of Strategy and Knowledge Department at IFAD and a close partner of the Donor Platform. Jo shares her vast experience and insight on all things data and how standard use of good data could be the game-changer in transforming food systems.

Final report of the findings and deliberations from the event “Assessing the Data ‘Quantum’ Leap in Agriculture and Food Systems: s” held on 13 February 2023 at IFAD Headquarters.