The Knowledge Agenda of the Food & Business Knowledge Platform (F&BKP) guides knowledge development in the field of food & nutrition security. It contains several key areas that together bring focus to the Platform’s work on dissemination, research and other knowledge initiatives within the Dutch development agenda. Within the Platform comprehensive information from many networks and organizations is collected in order to continuously shape this Knowledge Agenda.

The Knowledge Agenda sets priorities

The Knowledge Agenda is the backbone of the F&BKP. Since food and nutrition security has many dimensions and many organizations and networks are dealing with these issues, the ambition of the F&BKP is to bring more focus and coherence to the knowledge activities in which Dutch partners are involved. It does this by promoting alignment, collaboration, synthesizing and co-creation between partners. As such the Knowledge Agenda indicates the content and sets priorities for the three main pillars of the F&BKP:

• Providing overview, disseminating knowledge and inspiring professionals by presenting good practices and cutting edge knowledge about the selected topics on the Knowledge Portal.
• Supporting knowledge activities of networks through co-creating knowledge, deepening existing knowledge and translating knowledge into policy and practice. For these special Themes several knowledge initiatives and studies are organized.
• Preparing the scope of the two related NWO-WOTRO research funds, Food & Business Global Challenges Fund and Applied Research Fund, and supporting research teams in achieving impact on practice and policy.

Feeding the Knowledge Agenda

Inputs for the F&BKP Knowledge Agenda can come from: suggestions of networks and stakeholders; input from the Steering Committee; consultations such as for the Dutch policy on food and nutrition and open debates on the website; and inventories of trends conducted by the Office.

There are general criteria for key areas to become part of the Knowledge Agenda. First of all, food and nutrition security and poverty reduction are central (development perspective). There also must be a clear demand from practice and policy (i.e. from existing and emerging networks or communities of practice, the private sector, ministries, embassies, etc). Additionally, topics in which the Netherlands has an added value and can make a difference are preferred. There should also be a link with networks which have experience to offer and are developing new solutions or business models. Finally, there should be a focus on impact generation at system level and a prospect to generate new knowledge and innovations (technological, methodology, organizational, institutional).

The Steering Committee has the final responsibility for the Knowledge Agenda and as such guides which key areas should be topics on the Knowledge Portal, subjects of collaboration with networks and organizations (e.g. studies, seminars, policy papers, conferences) and included in the content of research calls.