ABSTRACT

Multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) have proved popular as network governance approaches to align business, government, NGOs and other stakeholders in dealing with complex sustainability challenges in the agri-food sector. However, secretariats, members, stakeholders and funders rarely possess good information regarding MSP effectiveness, leaving them in the dark regarding how best to allocate resources and expectations towards different MSPs or MSP activities. This paper explores the feasibility of generating better and more timely evidence of the effectiveness of MSPs as agents of agri-food system transformation. It is based on the findings of action research with two agri-food MSPs: Bonsucro and the Farm to Market Alliance (FtMA), which used a theory-based methodology to understand progress towards intended results. Through critical questioning of their theory of change alongside multiple sources of evidence, the approach generated new insights regarding MSP effectiveness. The findings also offer lessons on three critical challenges in assessing network governance forms like MSPs: causal inference, goal attainment, and the potential for scale. The findings have implications for improving MSPs’ own monitoring in order to adaptively manage and improve their effectiveness, and for generating meaningful evidence of MSP contribution to more sustainable food systems.

摘要

事实证明，多利益相关方平台 (MSP) 作为网络治理方法很受欢迎，可以使企业、政府、非政府组织和其他利益相关者在应对农业食品部门复杂的可持续性挑战方面保持一致。然而，秘书处、成员、利益相关者和资助者很少掌握有关 MSP 有效性的良好信息，使他们对如何最好地为不同的 MSP 或 MSP 活动分配资源和期望一无所知。本文探讨了生成更好、更及时的 MSP 作为农业食品系统转型代理的有效性证据的可行性。它基于对两个农业食品 MSP 的行动研究结果：Bonsucro 和农场到市场联盟 (FtMA)，后者使用基于理论的方法来了解预期结果的进展。通过对他们的变革理论以及多种证据来源的批判性质疑，该方法产生了关于 MSP 有效性的新见解。这些发现还为评估 MSP 等网络治理形式的三个关键挑战提供了经验教训：因果推理、目标实现和规模潜力。这些发现对改进 MSP 自身的监测以适应管理和提高其有效性以及产生有意义的证据证明 MSP 对更可持续的粮食系统的贡献具有重要意义。