FACCE-JPI Report Highlights Significant Impact on Policy

The Joint Programming Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE-JPI) has released a report illustrating influence of its funded research on global policy formulation. Since its inception in 2010, FACCE-JPI has brought together around 24 countries to address the intertwined challenges of food security, agriculture, and climate change through collaborative research efforts.

Key Messages:

• Extensive Research Output: FACCE-JPI has successfully funded 170 research projects, resulting in 978 scientific publications. These efforts are documented in the FACCE Project Wheel, a repository of the initiative’s scientific contributions.
• Global Policy Citations: An analysis of 861 Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) revealed that 34% of FACCE-JPI publications have been cited in policy documents. Notably, 68.5% of these cited papers appear in multiple policy documents, underscoring their policy impact influence.
• Broad Geographic Impact: FACCE-funded research has been cited by policy documents from 44 countries, demonstrating the global reach of its scientific contributions.
• Leading Institutions Citing FACCE Research: Prominent organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Publications Office of the European Union, and the United Nations have frequently cited FACCE publications. The FAO alone has referenced FACCE research in 101 policy documents.
• Top Contributing Institutions: The report identifies key institutions whose research under the FACCE umbrella has had the highest policy footprint. Wageningen University & Research (Netherlands), the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Germany), and the Natural Resources Institute Finland are among the top contributors.

Impactful Research Areas: FACCE-JPI’s research spans a diverse range of critical areas including sustainable agriculture, climate change mitigation, and food security. Publications such as "Options for keeping the food system within environmental limits" by Marco Springmann et al. (2018) and "Greenhouse gas mitigation potentials in the livestock sector" by Mario Herrero et al. (2016) have been particularly influential, cited by major policy institutions like the IPCC, OECD, and various national governments.

Methodology: The report employs the Overton database, the world’s largest searchable index of policy documents, to trace where FACCE-funded research has been cited. Overton’s extensive database includes reports, guidelines, and working papers from governments, NGOs, and IGOs, providing a robust framework for assessing the policy impact of scientific research.

Future Directions: While the current report offers a preliminary analysis, it highlights the need for a more systematic evaluation of FACCE’s contributions. Future efforts may include mapping patents and innovations, conducting detailed bibliometric analyses, and performing qualitative studies to better understand stakeholder interactions and the real-world impact of FACCE’s research.

About FACCE-JPI: FACCE-JPI aims to foster a coherent and integrated European Research Area addressing the grand challenges of food security, sustainable agriculture, and climate change. By aligning national research priorities and promoting collaborative efforts, FACCE-JPI enhances the visibility and impact of European research on policy.

Download the report here or from our FACCE-JPI Zenodo community: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12531550

For more information, please contact:

Cristobal Marin Rojas

FACCE-JPI Secretariat

Email: cristobal.marin-rojas@inrae.fr