Our Focus

Strategic Objectives

Rebuilding food systems and developing rural areas requires ideas, actors and finance. The Platform brings together these necessary elements so that donors can develop and implement programmes that help rural people improve their lives and livelihoods.

Our Focus

Strategic Objectives

Rebuilding food systems and developing rural areas requires ideas, actors and finance. The Platform brings together these necessary elements so that donors can develop and implement programmes that help rural people improve their lives and livelihoods.

The platform strategy has three distinct yet complementary elements: strategic influencing, knowledge sharing and networking and convening.

Strategic Influencing

We help shape the thinking, policies and programming of the global donor community about food systems and rural development to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and longer-term prosperity and sustainability.

  • Keeping watch for emerging issues and alerting donors to emerging risks or opportunities (Horizon-scanning).
  • Convening task teams on issues that affect donors and partners to identify possible responses.
  • Convening high-level events and briefings to keep members up to date on the latest thinking and evidence.
  • Hosting an annual meeting of Members’ senior managers responsible for food systems/agriculture/rural development.
  • Mobilizing new joint efforts by donors to respond to emerging issues/funding gaps.
  • Helping donors reach a shared view in the run-up to global forums and processes.
  • Profiling and discussing key emerging issues with high-level representatives during its Annual General Assembly.

Knowledge Sharing

We broker the sharing of evidence, lessons, insights and technical expertise necessary for donors to align efforts, learn from each other and improve the impact of their food system and rural-development related policies and programmes.

  • Identifying policy and programming questions and issues that concern donors and drawing upon the experience of other donors or relevant expertise to help resolve them. Convening working groups and seminars on priority topics that enable donor staff to share experiences and lessons. with each other on priority topics.
  • Holding virtual briefing sessions on emerging issues, new research and new evaluations targeted to the specific needs of donors.
  • Providing a resource portal on its website so that members have easy access to each other’s key policies, reports and evaluations.
  • Providing blogs and a social media feed targeted to the interests of donors.

Networking and Convening

We strengthen networking, relationships and communication between donors and other actors as a foundation for collaboration and innovation.

  • Supporting a network of donor focal points, or contacts, among Platform members.
  • Bringing donor staff together in both face-to-face and virtual working groups, seminars and conferences and other exchanges.
  • Linking donors when they are looking for project partners.
  • Telling others about work being carried out by Platform members that could interest a wider audience – through blogs, social media, news updates and mailings.
  • Hosting the Annual General Assembly, which provides a forum for in-depth engagement between donors and other partners to share and debate knowledge and ideas.
  • Maintaining up-to-date contact lists for those with key food system and rural development responsibilities across donors.

Our Strategic Plan 2021-2025

In 2021, the Platform adopted a new vision that advocates a radical transformation of global food systems to achieve better access to safe and nutritious food, improved environmental sustainability and more prosperous rural communities.

The Strategic Plan 2021-2025 situates the work of the Platform across the domains of food systems, food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural livelihoods. It recognizes the Platform’s particular focus and orientation towards SDG 2 and the intersection with other SDGs.

While staying true to the original intent and purpose of the Platform, the Strategic Plan actions changes to the its vision, mission and objectives to better reflect the changing operating context and environment of the donor community to ensure its ongoing relevance.

The platform strategy has three distinct yet complementary elements: strategic influencing, knowledge sharing and networking and convening.

Strategic Influencing

We help shape the thinking, policies and programming of the global donor community about food systems and rural development to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and longer-term prosperity and sustainability.

  • Keeping watch for emerging issues and alerting donors to emerging risks or opportunities (Horizon-scanning).
  • Convening task teams on issues that affect donors and partners to identify possible responses.
  • Convening high-level events and briefings to keep members up to date on the latest thinking and evidence.
  • Hosting an annual meeting of Members’ senior managers responsible for food systems/agriculture/rural development.
  • Mobilizing new joint efforts by donors to respond to emerging issues/funding gaps.
  • Helping donors reach a shared view in the run-up to global forums and processes.
  • Profiling and discussing key emerging issues with high-level representatives during its Annual General Assembly.

Knowledge Sharing

We broker the sharing of evidence, lessons, insights and technical expertise necessary for donors to align efforts, learn from each other and improve the impact of their food system and rural-development related policies and programmes.

  • Identifying policy and programming questions and issues that concern donors and drawing upon the experience of other donors or relevant expertise to help resolve them. Convening working groups and seminars on priority topics that enable donor staff to share experiences and lessons. with each other on priority topics.
  • Holding virtual briefing sessions on emerging issues, new research and new evaluations targeted to the specific needs of donors.
  • Providing a resource portal on its website so that members have easy access to each other’s key policies, reports and evaluations.
  • Providing blogs and a social media feed targeted to the interests of donors.

Networking and Convening

We strengthen networking, relationships and communication between donors and other actors as a foundation for collaboration and innovation.

  • Supporting a network of donor focal points, or contacts, among Platform members.
  • Bringing donor staff together in both face-to-face and virtual working groups, seminars and conferences and other exchanges.
  • Linking donors when they are looking for project partners.
  • Telling others about work being carried out by Platform members that could interest a wider audience – through blogs, social media, news updates and mailings.
  • Hosting the Annual General Assembly, which provides a forum for in-depth engagement between donors and other partners to share and debate knowledge and ideas.
  • Maintaining up-to-date contact lists for those with key food system and rural development responsibilities across donors.

Our Strategic Plan 2021-2025

In 2021, the Platform adopted a new vision that advocates a radical transformation of global food systems to achieve better access to safe and nutritious food, improved environmental sustainability and more prosperous rural communities.

The Strategic Plan 2021-2025 situates the work of the Platform across the domains of food systems, food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural livelihoods. It recognizes the Platform’s particular focus and orientation towards SDG 2 and the intersection with other SDGs.

While staying true to the original intent and purpose of the Platform, the Strategic Plan actions changes to the its vision, mission and objectives to better reflect the changing operating context and environment of the donor community to ensure its ongoing relevance.

The Platform in Action

Co-Chairs Bruce Campbell (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation - SDC) and Federica de Gaetano (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, AICS) are featured in the Devex 2024 Global Voices list, for their opinion piece on “How blended finance can catalyse private capital for agriculture”, originally published on 1 October 2024.

Key messages from the webinar Jobs for Youth in the Agrifood Sector: Leveraging Micro and Small Enterprises

This special episode of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)'s podcast Farms. Food. Future. takes us behind the scenes of the Donor Platform's work.

Read the draft background paper produced by the GDPRD to inform and stimulate discussions during the 2024 Annual General Assembly (AGA) on 26 – 27 November. The AGA will focus on the theme “Financing Food Systems Transformation and Rural Revitalization: Opportunities and Challenges.”

The Food Systems Architecture Database, developed by the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, is an interactive tool to map organizations and key initiatives driving food systems transformation. This resource supports partnerships by allowing donors to identify synergies, gaps, and collaboration opportunities. Explore the database in interactive or tabular form, with downloadable tables for further analysis.

The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD) is pleased to welcome The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) as its newest member.

Co-Chairs Bruce Campbell (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation - SDC) and Federica de Gaetano (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, AICS) are featured in the Devex 2024 Global Voices list, for their opinion piece on “How blended finance can catalyse private capital for agriculture”, originally published on 1 October 2024.

Key messages from the webinar Jobs for Youth in the Agrifood Sector: Leveraging Micro and Small Enterprises

This special episode of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)'s podcast Farms. Food. Future. takes us behind the scenes of the Donor Platform's work.

Read the draft background paper produced by the GDPRD to inform and stimulate discussions during the 2024 Annual General Assembly (AGA) on 26 – 27 November. The AGA will focus on the theme “Financing Food Systems Transformation and Rural Revitalization: Opportunities and Challenges.”

The Food Systems Architecture Database, developed by the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, is an interactive tool to map organizations and key initiatives driving food systems transformation. This resource supports partnerships by allowing donors to identify synergies, gaps, and collaboration opportunities. Explore the database in interactive or tabular form, with downloadable tables for further analysis.

The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD) is pleased to welcome The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) as its newest member.