Workshop on "Policy Assistance Lesson Learning "
FAO, Rome: 19-20 April 2007

19-20 April 2007 - International workshop discussed the results of a global lesson learning exercise in policy assistance.

Policy advisers from FAO, multilateral and bilateral agencies gathered in Rome at FAO headquarters to discuss a policy assistance lesson learning exercise which started mid 2006 under the umbrella of the FAO and Netherlands Partnership Programme. The aim of the exercise was to capitalize on international experience in the provision of policy assistance in order to identify good practices for policy assistance.

The provision of policy assistance to member countries in the area of agriculture and rural development is an important part of the mandate of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Quality assistance in this area requires a specific mix of high level of expertise in the area of socio-economic, technical and institutional analysis, knowledge gained from an assessment of policy experiences at country and global levels, as well as a solid framework to guide action.

Over the years, a considerable corpus of literature has been developed both within FAO and elsewhere, on analytical approaches and tools that can be used for setting the ground for formulating agriculture, rural development and food security policies. Knowledge has also been accumulated on good policy practices. For example, the three Rome-based agencies, FAO, IFAD and WFP and their membership have agreed on the need to adopt the twin-track approach with a simultaneous promotion of broad-based sustainable agricultural growth and rural development, and targeted programmes to ensure that hungry people who have neither the capacity to produce their own food nor the means to buy it can have access to adequate supplies.

Based on the fact that the available literature does not provide appropriate guidance to those whose work it is to help countries in shaping their policies and ensure that the advice they provide have good chances of being adopted by governments, FAO embarked in 2006 on a lesson learning exercise in policy assistance aiming at capitalising on international experience in the provision of policy assistance in order to identify good (and bad) practices for policy assistance.

This endeavour has had three main lines of activities:

1. Literature review;

2. A survey of institutions delivering country level policy assistance to developing countries and countries in transition; and

3. Case studies of selected country level policy assistance projects undertaken by FAO in the recent past.

As a result of this, a synthesis is being prepared that presents lessons of a broad applicability indicating good and bad practices for the provision of policy assistance, and formulates recommendations addressed at policy advisors, the FAO and its partners.

The objective of the workshop held in FAO on 19 and 20 April is to discuss these lessons and recommendations in order get feedback and suggestions from a larger group of policy practitioners (list of participants), before finalisation of the synthesis report and dissemination within and outside of FAO.

For any additional information please contact:
Ms. Coumba DIENG
Coumba.Dieng@fao.org
Tel: (39) 06-570-52829
Fax: (39) 06-570-55522