FAO publishes its 2022 progress report on partnerships with non-state actors

Achieving the objectives of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31 and the global goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda requires high levels of collaboration across the board. Strategic partnerships, particularly with non-state actors (NSAs), are vital and bring transformative, added value to FAO's work.

FAO continues to strengthen its engagement with NSAs – including civil society organizations (CSOs), cooperatives and producers’ organizations, parliamentarians, Indigenous Peoples, academia and research institutions (ARIs).

The Partnerships with Non-State Actors at FAO: Progress report 2022 outlines FAO’s work with these key actors over the course of 2022 and underscores our commitment to achieving greater results with even closer ties. The report sets out the introduction of a more streamlined partnership development process, as well as our enhanced monitoring procedures, success stories, and an overview of our partnerships with NSAs over the past year.

Highlighting the numbers and geographies

Increasing calls from NSAs at global, regional, and country levels to engage more closely with FAO in 2022 marked a true sign of confidence in what we can accomplish together. As of 31 December 2022, FAO has a network of 89 active partnerships with NSAs, spanning all global regions, including 18 newly signed or renewed in the course of the year. 

These partnerships have been instrumental in driving positive change at all levels.

FAO is increasingly engaging in “transformative partnerships” to achieve its goals. FAO partnerships are transformative when they deliver sustainable outcome(s) through systematic, long-term and disruptive action; when they catalyse impact at scale; and when all partners invest complementary resources (technical, financial, human, or knowledge) to create value beyond that which FAO could achieve operating alone.

Enhanced monitoring and wider inclusion

To closely track and assess the transformative aspects of our partnerships, FAO piloted a revamped reporting template for formalized partnerships in 2022. This enables our partners to provide detailed accounts of the activities stemming from the partnership, within the framework of FAO’s four betters.

Going beyond these formalized partnerships, we are increasing our engagements to consider a broader, more inclusive range of collaborations. We also continue to foster relationships with parliamentarians. Their power to create enabling environments, ensure budget allocations and oversee government actions on food security and nutrition makes their participation pivotal in achieving the FAO mandate.

“We are committed to continue building an organization that is more fit-for-purpose and able to respond to current and future challenges,” – Marcela Villarreal, Director of FAO’s Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division. 

Click here to read the Partnerships with Non-State Actors at FAO: Progress report 2022