Apply now for the 2026 Partnership Award
FAO Award for Partnership
On 18 June 2021, the FAO Conference, at its Forty-second session, decided to establish a “FAO Award for Partnership” to recognise outstanding cooperation with FAO in advancing the Organization’s work by Members, other UN agencies or international institutions, academic or research entities; and civil society or private sector entities, including media outlets.
Nature of the Award
- a scroll describing the recipient's achievements and/or award,
- a cash prize of USD 10 000*
* Please note that the displacement of the cash prize must occur within 30 days from the day of notification.
The winning institution/organization should be one that can demonstrate outstanding cooperation with FAO and how it has in an area related to FAO’s mandate in the following categorization (Four Betters)
- Better Production: Promoting efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food systems.
- Better Nutrition: Ensuring access to safe, nutritious food for all, addressing all forms of malnutrition.
- Better Environment: Protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing natural resources and ecosystems.
- Better Life: Supporting inclusive economic growth, improved livelihoods, and resilience, especially for rural populations.
In addition, nominations should meet at least one of following criteria:
- Community engagement: engaged local communities and relevant stakeholders with the aim to improve people’s lives responding to their needs and rights and enhancing efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Awareness: raised visibility of the problem of hunger and malnutrition, communicating complex agricultural and economic issues to the wider public, and promoted successful solutions and projects for improved food security and nutrition
- Innovation and adaptability: presented an innovative idea, a new approach, or a unique policy that was implemented successfully and is adaptable to other context inspiring similar innovations within a given city, country, region or at the global level
- Impact evidence: developed an initiative that demonstrates evidence (e.g. )of impact in improving people’s lives; and/or
- Policy and advocacy: advocated successfully the value of policies*(ff policy,) and principles that FAO prioritizes.
Particular emphasis will be given to the human value involved in the achievements of the programme, i.e. the way these programmes have contributed in an integrated manner to enhancing the livelihood, social inclusion and dignity of the poorest and most malnourished groups of a given population.
The procedures and general guidelines to be followed are set out below:
Submission of Nominations
Proposals for nominations presented by national, regional or global institutions should be submitted to FAO Representatives (in countries with an accredited FAO Representative) or to FAO Regional and Subregional Representatives (in countries with no accredited FAO Representative), as appropriate, for submission to the Awards Secretariat by 15 February 2026. If the nomination form is submitted by an individual or institution, an endorsement or letter of support from a FAO Representative (email or signed letter) should be attached or the application form will not be considered valid. All endorsements or letters of support will be verified.
The Partnership and Outreach Stream will provide the FAO Awards Secretariat with the necessary technical support, particularly with regard to the eligibility of each nomination including standard due diligence of the nominees if the entities are non-state actors.
An ad hoc interdepartmental Screening Committee chaired by the FAO Director of Cabinet and comprising the FAO Core Leadership Team, Assistant Directors-General at headquarters and at regional level, the Legal Counsel, the Director of the Agricultural Development Economics Division, and the Director of the Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division and the Director of the Office of Communications, as Secretary, will review the list of nominations submitted by the Awards Secretariat, and establish a short-list of three nominations. The Chairperson of the Screening Committee will submit the short-list of three institutions to the Chairperson of the Selection Committee.
The Award is conferred for activities and programmes with remarkable achievements during the biennium preceding the current one. The Award will be presented by the Director-General to the individual or representative of the recipient institution during a special ceremony at the FAO Council in June 2026.
The individual or representative of the selected institution will be invited to FAO Headquarters in Rome for the ceremony, the cost of travel being borne by the Organization.
Nomination Form
PLEASE SUBMIT by 15 February 2026.
Please note:
- The text of the detailed nomination should be self-contained and should provide concrete elements and information.
- The nomination can be submitted electronically at the form below or sent via mail at [email protected]