For researchers in global development, engaging with stakeholders is essential. Our projects alone cannot solve large-scale problems like food security, malnutrition and food safety. For research to influence the food system, farmers, private companies and governments must buy into the new concepts and data arising from our research and translate them into practice and policy. This can be challenging because they may see us as presumptuous outsiders rather than the allies we wish to be. I experienced this early in my career when a research proposal was rejected outright by an in-country government agency. As I later discovered, the reason was not the merits of the proposal but rather the perception that we were outsiders intending to impose our ideas and that we did not have prior consultations. In short, building a relationship with key stakeholders needed to come first. It was a formative learning experience for me, and I’d like to share what I’ve subsequently learned about how to develop long-term, productive stakeholder relationships in three decades of working in economics and agricultural development.
Embracing marginal gains. We economists often think in terms of marginal gains, marginal losses and marginal costs. Marginal gains theory is the idea that small improvements across several areas will result in big gains overall. In my experience, this accurately captures the process of engaging with government and other stakeholders. An individual meeting or dialogue may not pay off immediately. However, the repeated interactions build trust and form a long-term relationship that can deliver the ultimate prize: their attention to the issues you are addressing, recognition of the issues as priorities and the use of your data to develop policy recommendations and new operating procedures. Embracing marginal gains can help you sidestep a common pitfall — rushing a new concept and creating negative feedback instead of common ground. It’s not realistic to expect buy-in after a single meeting, but taking the time to introduce a new concept gradually will pay dividends over time.
Engaging early. Too often, engaging with government and other stakeholders is viewed as a final step in a project, undertaken when there are results to be shared. However, effective engagement begins before the proposal is even written. We need to seek out government representatives, as well as other stakeholders, during the formulation of a project. One strategy is to first align your research with national goals — often articulated in a multiyear plan — if at all possible. The benefit of alignment, rather than an ad hoc proposal, is that your project is firmly situated as a part of the country’s existing efforts and framework. Through direct dialogue, you can identify what questions they need answered, existing findings and trends, how you could contribute and how the research would benefit the country. This early engagement positions your project as within the system, rather than imposed from outside, facilitating buy-in when results are relevant for policy formation and providing the basis for long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.
Listening first. My advice when engaging stakeholders and government representatives is to start with a listening attitude. First, let’s listen to the people who have been there for generations: What are their concerns? What are their potential suggestions for solutions? It’s not uncommon for U.S.-based researchers to discover that what we learned working in our home universities is not readily transferable to a particular farming situation in Africa or Asia, and our naivete can drive justifiable pushback. However, if we first present the general goal for the research, for example, strengthening food safety, and then listen to their priorities — government officials can probably name 15 or 20 ideas — it allows us to identify the three or four we could pursue in a project. Even if it’s a small project, it will lay the groundwork for more work in the future, and that’s a solid start.
Building a broad in-country network. It’s important for researchers to demonstrate their long-term commitment in a country by building a network that includes government colleagues as well as other researchers and stakeholders. For a U.S.-based researcher, this sometimes means being on Zoom at 3 a.m. to participate in a policy discussion or webinar, but it’s worth it to be a part of the dialogue. Look for opportunities to participate in professional meetings with diverse audiences, for example government budget discussions, nongovernmental organization (NGO) forums and webinars hosted by in-country universities, and one event will build on the next. It’s helpful to think broadly as you develop your network, including not just the stakeholders who’ll benefit from your current work, but planning ahead to related value chains or regions where the work could be expanded in the future.
Leveraging events. For building relationships and raising awareness, it’s valuable to host events throughout the life of a project and to plan outreach that brings together government and value chain stakeholders. In our Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Safety project to strengthen the food safety in the fish and chicken value chains in Bangladesh, we seize every opportunity to gather. Recently, harvesting the fish for an experimental auction became an occasion to invite university, government and stakeholder representatives to hear research updates and provide feedback to us. Periodically hosting different types of events — extension events, research updates and sensitization workshops — gives us the flexibility to accommodate the schedules of key government figures and relieves the pressure to schedule a single annual event where everyone can attend.
We’ve noticed that the strategic inclusion of both stakeholders and government representatives in an event is beneficial in two ways: we get useful feedback on the project’s design and implementation, and our alignment with government builds trust with growers, whose cooperation is necessary for implementing change. Hearing from trusted government officials can have a stronger impact on farmers than hearing from unfamiliar university researchers. As key venues for stakeholder input, including government feedback, the events contribute to the long-term sustainability of our project and have resulted in valuable modifications in our research trajectory.
In addition, we routinely invite local media to cover our events and provide them with written briefings ahead of time to assist with the stories. Media coverage is another productive avenue to engage with government in particular, because many government officials are media savvy. Over time, we’ve learned that one media story builds on the others, accumulating more marginal gains.
Articulating policy implications. Once your research is completed, how does it get translated into data-informed policy, rather than just a citation in your C.V.? Each time we publish a paper, we try to consider how it could inform the general direction of policy. What do the results mean for a policymaker? What concepts would be applicable? Can we develop a policy brief to share? Articulating the policy implications of research is part of sustaining a continuous dialogue with government. In July, we are taking this idea one step further by hosting a policy cocreation workshop in Bangladesh for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish. We will present our findings from several papers and discuss with officials what value the results hold for policy formation. To be clear, we are not dictating policy, but rather ensuring officials are aware of the data and offering help, if desired, in their translation into policy.
Fostering cultural change. Effective engagement involves cultural change, within both universities and government agencies. One of the most profound changes in mindset we have seen is among our researchers. In academia, the focus is often on publishing papers, and many resist involvement in policy discussions. However, within our research partnerships, we have developed a culture of considering and sharing what our econometric results mean to farmers and policymakers. We hope to inspire a complementary change in government, where government agencies begin to prioritize data-driven policy as part of their planning process.
Through our projects, we are also fostering a culture of collaboration across governmental agencies. In Bangladesh, like many other countries, the responsibility for food safety falls under several ministries and agencies, each with their own reporting guidelines, policies and administrative structure. It’s a long-term process, but by hosting interministerial discussions at our project events, we are seeing a shift toward collaboration across agencies, such as the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority working with the Department of Fisheries to strengthen the food safety of fish produced in Bangladesh. This kind of shift can create dividends for decades to come.
Concluding thoughts. Across Feed the Future Innovation Labs, we are addressing the world’s greatest challenges in agriculture and food security, with goals that are shared by the governments and other stakeholders in our focus countries. Governments are crucial partners in effecting change through policy development and food system investments, and private companies and producers have significant leverage in implementation. In my experience, effective engagement is the product of long-term relationships which are built on mutual respect, trust and continuous dialogue. It requires strategic actions that demonstrate our commitment and alignment with their aspirations for the well-being of their citizens, communities and customers. It’s never too early to start.
Dr. Madan Dey is a professor of agricultural business and economics and chair of the Department of Agricultural Sciences at Texas State University. He leads the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Safety-funded project, Enhancing Food Safety in Fish and Chicken Value Chains of Bangladesh, and serves as the Asia specialist for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish.