The ANH Academy Science-Policy Platform will build on the successes of the Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Action (IMMANA) programme which addresses the complex challenge of how to feed a growing global population in a way that is healthy, sustainable and affordable.
It will do this by strengthening the evidence base on what policy interventions are impactful, in what contexts and for whom. It will also make this evidence easily accessible to policymakers at national, regional and global levels, and will foster international scientific collaboration through the ANH Academy Network. These actions will equip policymakers with the scientific evidence needed to plan food system transformations in line with commitments under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Food Systems Summit.
Professor Bhavani Shankar, from the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food and School of Geography and Planning, will be part of the Management Committee that oversees the ANH Academy Science-Policy Platform. Professor Shankar will contribute strategic thinking on policy engagement and work with the rest of the Management Committee to make decisions about priority research areas and themes for the Academy.
The ANH Science-Policy Platform is funded over 2025-29 by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and The Gates Foundation. It builds on previous funding for the IMMANA programme provided to a consortium led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and including the University of Sheffield and Tufts University (USA).
With this new funding for the Platform, the consortium will expand to include a partner institution from the African continent. Together, these partners will work with a range of institutions in Africa and Asia to synthesise emerging evidence and enable its uptake in policy. It will also facilitate a community of practice in food systems and nutrition research and promote capacity sharing across institutions.
Professor Bhavani Shankar said: “We are very pleased to be able to continue the excellent work that the IMMANA programme has already begun. Developing a food system that provides healthy food in a way that is sustainable and affordable is a hugely complex challenge - one that can only be addressed with robust scientific evidence and international collaboration. Over the next four years we hope to help policymakers access the evidence base on food system, nutrition and sustainability linkages, and translate the evidence into policy measures. The University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food has a unique breadth of expertise in this area, ranging from the biosciences to the social science of food systems, and the Institute’s research will inform the efforts of the Academy.”