Communities of Practice
Policy Systems Strengthening
Updated January 2024
While making changes to specific policies is often strategically important, sustainable policy change is not possible without strengthening the broader system that makes, implements, and monitors policy. Serving as a facilitator, Policy LINK works with and through local actors to strengthen policy systems that advance agriculture and food security priorities, in line with the U.S. Government’s Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS). Unlike other policy activities that solely focus on developing specific policies, Policy LINK strengthens the leadership capacity of public, private, and civil society actors and fosters collective action among them to transform policy systems themselves.
We have organized our experiences, approaches, and tools for policy system strengthening by the three reinforcing components of the policy system—prioritizing the agenda, improving the institutional architecture, and strengthening mutual accountability. Some of these experiences and approaches are policy theme-specific, meaning that they advance the policy system in a particular area, such as seed, fertilizer, trade, finance, nutrition, and climate resilience. Others are policy system wide, meaning that they advance the policy system for agriculture and food systems more broadly and are policy theme/sector agnostic.
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Prioritizing the Agenda
Why is a Policy Systems Approach Fundamental to Programming Success?
“Policies and the systems through which they are formulated and implemented determine food security by advancing or limiting the progress of sustainable and productive agriculture and food systems. Unclear policies, ambiguous procedures, and unpredictable implementation waste precious public resources and increase the time and costs of compliance for firms and farms. Conversely, a well-integrated policy systems approach can increase clarity and inclusiveness within a policy making process, boosting predictability and improving fitness of policies to the needs of stakeholders.”
Programming Approaches for Policy Systems Strengthening, U.S. Government’s Global Food Security Strategy Activity Design Guidance.
To build the capacity of and engage stakeholders to advance inclusive policy systems, Policy LINK emphasizes facilitative leadership and collaborative models for decision-making.
