The agroecology assessment framework was developed to evaluate individual projects/initiatives,
or entire portfolios of projects, for their degree of agroecological integration or, we might say, their
“agroecologicalness“. This framework, based on the High-Level Panel of Experts’ (HLPE) 13 Agroecology
Principles. It represents collaborative work by a community of practice on financing agroecology that
includes a number of researchers, CSOs, international organisations and donors (see above).
The framework evaluates the alignment of a project or initiative with each of the 13 HLPE principles.
For each of the principles the framework includes two “value statements” - one describing a strong
alignment with the principle, and one describing a lack of alignment, as well as a dynamic list of
examples/indicators of what contributes to the implementation of the principle.
While some principles may not be relevant to a particular project or initiative (e.g. “animal health”
principle for a project/initiative that does not involve any animals), four principles should always be
respected in all agroecological projects/initiatives. These are: co-creation of knowledge, social values
and diets, fairness, and participation.
The framework also includes “red flags” for practices that run counter to agroecological values. Projects/
initiatives with any “red flags“ do not qualify as agroecological no matter what the rest of their work
looks like.
While the framework was primarily designed to evaluate individual projects/initiatives for their
“agroecologicalness“, the red flags, the value statements and the list of examples/indicators for each
principle constitute an excellent guide for project design or for the design of calls for proposals, or even
as a pedagogical tool in conversations about what agroecology actually is and aims for.
This document has been designed to adapt the framework to inspire and assist in the development of
agroecological project proposals or in the design of calls for proposals for agroecological initiatives.
More information about the development of the framework can be found in the following article:
Moeller, N.I., M. Geck, C.R. Anderson, C. Barahona, C. Broudic, R. Cluset, G. Henriques, F. Leippert, D.
Mills, A. Minhaj, A. Mueting-van Loon, S. Piers de Raveschoot, E. Frison (2023) Measuring agroecology:
Introducing a methodological framework and a community of practice approach. In Elementa: Science
of the Anthropocene, Vol. 11, Issue 1. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00042