New CGIAR Champions Network to Bridge Gap between Science and Policy

A new CGIAR Insight to Impact Policy Champions Network recently met to deliberate on what needs to change for food systems science to better align with, respond to, and inform global, regional, and national policies.

There is a stark gap between science and policy, and it is hampering progress on hunger, poverty, inequality, climate change, and environmental degradation.

Policymakers driving efforts to strengthen food systems are facing complex realities. Not only are they expected to tackle unprecedented challenges, but they must navigate competing political interests and demands, limited budgets, and tight timelines. To make decisions, they therefore rely on sources of information that are relevant, timely, and accessible.

The problem: Food systems science is not always easy to interpret or put into use. That’s why CGIAR has convened a network of 20 policy champions from more than 15 countries to contribute to ongoing conversations on how scientists and policymakers can better exchange knowledge, co-design research agendas, and pursue science-informed policy action.

“We know that science alone is not enough. What matters is how science is used—how it is translated into policies, investments, and programs that are relevant to each national context. That’s why we support CGIAR’s commitment to demand-driven, impact-oriented research,” said Aliénor De Cuypère, advisor at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

De Cuypère spoke to the policy champions as they met during the CGIAR Science Week in Nairobi, Kenya. “You, all of you here, are policy champions. You are at the heart of this transformation, and your experiences are vital in guiding this network.”

Making science relevant and actionable

The CGIAR Insight to Impact Policy Champions Network is comprised of policymakers, parliamentarians, technical advisors, and others from ministries, government departments, and regional policy bodies. Their positions give them the mandate and power required to turn science-backed recommendations into reality and deliver impact at scale.

But for that to happen, scientists need to adapt their tactics:

“There needs to be a shift in how scientists conduct their work so that it responds to a specific need. We need to make sure that we align science-backed insights with existing policies and legislative frameworks at all levels, making them easier for us as policymakers to propose and implement,” expressed Neema Lugangira, member of parliament in Tanzania. “That’s why I want to commend CGIAR for realizing that we need to bring policymakers and scientists together—this policy champions network is exactly the missing part of the puzzle.”

To learn from the champions’ experience and expertise, CGIAR invited members of the network to pressure test its inaugural flagship report, Insight to Impact: A Decision-Maker’s Guide to Navigating Food System Science. This report, built on evidence from CGIAR and its more than 3,000 partners, was designed exactly to bring practical insights, solutions, and experts directly into the hands of policymakers. But does it deliver?

While policy champions hailed the report’s aspirations, relevance, and practical solutions, they also offered valuable feedback on how to tailor offshoot products and recommendations to make future reports even more actionable. Notably, they highlighted the need to align science-backed insights with existing policies and commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition, the champions emphasized the need to match science-backed recommendations with local, national, and regional contexts—while maintaining links to global frameworks. Likewise, the importance of an integrated approach that cuts across CGIAR’s five impact areas, under which the flagship report’s recommendations are organized, was underscored. As one policy champion put it: “Now we have five sets of recommendations, but it all comes down to one farmer.”

Lastly, participants highlighted the value of going beyond reports:

“We cannot stop at reports, but we should also work on the dialogue between scientists and policymakers,” said Lamine Diatta, senior expert in climate change and environmental safeguard at the Ministry of Environment and Ecological Transition in Senegal. “We can work together at the country and regional level to enhance direct dialogues between farmers, policymakers, and decision-makers to identify other solutions and other challenges that we can address in the future.”

Strengthening dialogue between scientists and policymakers

To make progress on tackling our agriculture and food systems challenges, bridging the existing gap between science and policy is both a necessity and a shared responsibility.

“It’s not just about ‘science to policy’—it’s science and policy together,” emphasized Patrick Caron, vice chair of the CGIAR Integrated Partnership Board. “We need to create knowledge together, to co-design, in order to build the evidence decision-makers need to make difficult decisions on pain points and trade-offs.”

In the coming months, the policy champions will convene virtually, including to establish their own terms of reference and chart out a path for future exchanges with food system scientists. These plans will strengthen the bridges built during the network’s initial interactions, capitalizing on the potential to jointly make food systems more productive, resilient, and sustainable:

“This network is extremely valuable to a person like me because here we are gathered a number of policymakers, and with scientists who have produced research that can be beneficial and can be implemented in a country like mine,” concluded Samjhana Kafle, joint secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development in Nepal.