Resources & New Publications
Measuring the impact of EU interventions on decent and sustainable job creation in Sub-Saharan Africa
This study examines how the European Commission and the European Investment Bank measure the impact of their external action programmes and investments on decent and sustainable job creation in Sub Saharan Africa, with particular attention to the Global Gateway. This paper summarises current employment impact assessment practices, recognising their capacity to capture high level direct and indirect employment effects while also identifying clear limitations, especially in harmonising job quality metrics. The paper identifies solid foundations alongside clear shortcomings in the EC and EIB appraisal, monitoring and evaluation systems for measuring decent jobs impacts. It finds that shifts under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe have underscored the importance of adopting robust job creation metrics and for embedding these systematically across EU external action. Finally, the paper showcases good practices in EU programmes and partner multilateral development banks and development finance institutions that have strengthened clarity and commitment to monitoring decent job impacts through country jobs diagnostics, adopting employment markers, reinforcing environmental, social and governance due diligence frameworks and policies promoting responsible business conduct. More here.
The transformation of agrifood systems toward sustainable production is essential for reducing the environmental impact of agriculture and meeting growing global food demands. This requires the adoption of innovative and sustainable practices, including the use of environmental inhibitors (EIs) – compounds applied in agriculture to reduce non-CO₂ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve nitrogen utilization in crop production.
Most EIs today are either directly applied to animals and plants or animals may be exposed to EIs through ingested soil or feed that may contain EIs. Thus, the consideration their use may potentially create on safety issues is one of the important aspects to be considered and assessed.
The report focuses on two main categories of environmental inhibitors: methanogenesis inhibitors and nitrogen inhibitors. Methanogenesis inhibitors are among the strategies for reducing methane emissions from ruminant livestock, while nitrogen inhibitors provide alternative approaches to reduce nitrogen losses from farmlands. For both categories, the report emphasizes the importance of evaluating the possible transfer of residues into the food chain.
The publication also highlights that regulatory frameworks governing the classification and use of environmental inhibitors differ significantly across countries and regions.
Agricultural innovation frames, policies, and instruments: evolution, lessons, and future research
Scientific and technical innovation offers solutions to many pressing development problems in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in the agriculture sector. However, successful innovation is almost always contingent on an enabling policy environment. This paper reviews the evolution of research on the interaction between agricultural innovation and public policy. It is organized around a sequence of three distinct conceptual frameworks and policy narratives that have shaped this body of research over the past 60 years: the science and technology policy frame, the innovation system policy frame, and the transformative innovation policy and scaling frame. Drawing on seminal studies—both conceptual and empirical—from each frame, we examine their aims and objectives, the policy issues they sought to address, and the methods of analysis used. We then identify and discuss five key agenda points for future research: (1) approaches that provide integrated frameworks, credible data, and novel methods to better assess multiple policy objectives and inform resource allocation in the context of multiple and competing development goals; (2) strategies that inform scaling efforts through a better understanding of how to develop best-fit approaches that take account of local context for scaling innovations for agronomy and natural resource management; (3) solutions-oriented research through action learning, co-design processes, and evaluations that quantify and qualify real-world impacts of the innovation process in a rigorous and nuanced manner; (4) entry points for organizational and institutional reforms to support innovation processes and scaling; and (5) entry points for supporting and accelerating sustainability transitions and systems-transformation. This agenda highlights the need to consider different technological, organizational, and institutional innovations at multiple scales as well as political and economic factors to better inform policy design and execution in a manner that achieves desired outcomes.
Catherine Ragasa, David Spielman, John Lynam,
Agricultural innovation frames, policies, and instruments: evolution, lessons, and future research, Food Policy, Volume 137, 2025, 103008, ISSN 0306-9192. Access here.
Bundling measures for food systems transformation: a global, multimodel assessment
Current food systems leave one in ten individuals at risk of hunger while driving unsustainable environmental impacts. Inaction risks further exacerbating negative impacts on both human and planetary health. These challenges emerge from complex system interactions, requiring approaches that engage with this complexity and consider how transformation measures interact across food systems. We aimed to quantify the magnitude and uncertainty of the impacts of key food systems transformation measures both individually and in a bundle using an ensemble of global economic models.
Sundiang, Marina et al. The Lancet Planetary Health, Volume 9, Issue 10, 101339. October 2025. Access here.
Holistic performance measurement for food systems transformation: Scoping the potential of holistic assessment for supporting agroecological transitions – Final Report
This study from CIFOR-ICRAF highlights the need for more holistic approaches to measuring agrifood system performance in order to fairly assess agroecology alongside alternative approaches. Drawing on reviews, interviews, and workshops held in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Tunisia, it identifies barriers and opportunities for measuring and advancing agroecological transitions. Key findings stress the need for harmonized yet context-sensitive metrics, stronger capacity and guidance, and attention to often-overlooked social dimensions such as equity and agency. The study calls for greater coordination among governments, researchers, NGOs, and funders, as well as more strategic investments, to ensure that agroecology can play its full role in transforming food systems towards resilience, sustainability, and inclusivity. Access here.
Global Trade Update (January 2026): Top trends redefining global trade in 2026
Global trade enters 2026 under mounting pressure from slower growth, geopolitical fragmentation, accelerating digital and green transitions and tighter national regulations. Together, these forces are reshaping trade flows, investment decisions and global value chains, with the greatest risks and opportunities concentrated in developing economies. This report highlights ten trends that will define how countries trade in 2026 – and how trade policy choices could either reinforce fragmentation or support more resilient and inclusive growth. Trends include: Global economic and trade growth slows; Updating the rules (WTO reform); Tariffs on the rise; Value chains continue to reconfigure; Servicification of trade; South–South trade surge; Sustainable trade; Critical mineral; Feeding the future and trade regulations tighten.
CDP programme for PhD candidates
The Collaborative Doctoral Partnership programme (CDP) aims to train a new generation of doctoral graduates on the science-policy interface. The CDP programme is an initiative by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the science and knowledge service of the European Commission. The JRC provides independent science and knowledge in the service of EU policy-making.
The programme offers PhD projects in collaboration with over 40 partner universities. As a part of the CDP, you can carry out up to two years of your doctoral studies at the JRC and combine the best of both worlds: academic rigour with cutting-edge research expertise in a science for policy environment.
The JRC has research facilities at six sites across five EU countries, with its headquarters located in Brussels, Belgium. The map highlights the locations of the JRC sites along with current partner universities. There is regularly call for and select new partner universities. More here.
Dr Namukolo Covic leads CGIAR’s Liaison Office for Africa
In this strategic role, Dr Covic will support the CGIAR Continental Champion for Africa in advancing CGIAR’s mission to deliver science and innovation that transform food, land, and water systems across Africa. The CGIAR Liaison Office for Africa has been established to strengthen coordination and coherence across CGIAR Centers, regional partners, and continental institutions. Based in Addis Ababa, the Office will deepen CGIAR’s engagement with the African Union (AU), FARA, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Sub-Regional Research Organizations (SROs), and national governments, ensuring that CGIAR’s science responds directly to Africa’s priorities and policy agendas, including AU Agenda 2063, the CAADP framework, and the CAADP Kampala Declaration.
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