What Works Best In Food Programs?

“Best practices” and “innovative programming” are terminology used a lot in the NGO community to promote successful, effective and easily-replicable projects.  But what really are “best practices” and “innovative programming”?

Spurred on by the urgency of food security issues, as price increases reduce access to food for millions of the world’s poor and most vulnerable, InterAction developed the Best Practices and Innovations (BPI) Initiative, which focuses on identifying and learning from “what works” in food security and agricultural programming. 

Originally launched in 2009 with support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the initiative seeks to strengthen program standards in the sectors of food security and agriculture, and, in turn, make more rigorous guidelines for what can be called best practices and innovative standards.

Open to members of InterAction and IFAD, the BPI Initiative has solicited submissions on projects that succeeded in improving food security, reducing poverty, increasing resilience and improving productivity.

Through two rounds of BPI, 11 projects have been recognized as successful and promising interventions. Projects covered a vast range of areas, from nutrition to livestock production to access to markets.  More information on the winning submissions can be found on InterAction’s website:http://www.interaction.org/best-practices-innovations.

Criteria to evaluate submissions were developed by looking at other similar initiatives and in consultation with the NGO community.  A panel of technical experts evaluate submissions based on evidence documenting five criteria: (1) effectiveness/evidence of success; (2) efficiency/cost-effectiveness; (3) equitable outcomes for women and men; (4) sustainability; and (5) replicability/adaptability.

While InterAction’s BPI Initiative is not the definitive word in what is a best practice or innovative programming, we believe that this initiative is part of a larger discussion within the NGO community of what is a best practice or innovative programming and how do we evaluate programs to ensure they meet those definitions. 

InterAction will announce the winners of the 3rd Round of the Best Practices and Innovations InitiativeTODAY.

Visit www.interaction.org for more information on BPI and contact Danielle atdheiberg@interaction.org. 

As featured on the Hunger and Undernutrition blog