I share my experience of influencing policy and practice using SPI under the research consortium programme on Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA). The research uptake strategy was formulated through stakeholder engagements that identified priority issues to be addressed and related challenges. The Farming System for Nutrition (FSN) study under LANSA in India engaged in participatory research involving farm men and women at the community level, formed technology platform of research institutions to guide the agriculture interventions and stakeholder platform of civil society organisations, local government agencies, banks, and progressive farmers, for feedback/suggestions and dissemination. Government agencies and staff at the village, sub-district and district levels were informed and sensitized about the relevance of nutrition sensitive agriculture. Evidence emerging from the study was shared with officials at the district, state and central levels and with research institutions as part of the research uptake strategy for policy influence. There were encouraging results at the household community level (with changes in dietary pattern observed and more villages coming forward to adopt nutrition sensitive agriculture after the project ended) and at the policy level (support for nutrition-sensitive agriculture at both the state and national levels) - https://www.mssrf.org/our-stories/the-project-lansa-results-in-multiple-level-uptake/
Related Links:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0248698
http://59.160.153.187/blog/taking-farming-system-nutrition-approach-scale
http://59.160.153.187/sites/default/files/IndiaImpact%20brief%20NSA-4pg-online.pdf
http://59.160.153.187/sites/default/files/IndiaImpact%20brief%20NA-2pg-online.pdf
Advocacy for a Farming Systems for Nutrition Approach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2waQI7p54
(I shall be happy to proved a focused box for inclusion as case study in the report)
Dr. Bhavani R Vaidyanathan