Consultant - Food Systems Summit 2024 Compendium and Proceedings
Who we are and what we do?
World Resources Institute India is an independent, non-profit global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity and human well-being. Our work focuses on building sustainable and livable cities and working towards a low carbon economy. Through research, analysis, and recommendations, World Resources Institute puts ideas into action to build transformative solutions to protect the earth, promote livelihoods, and enhance human well-being.
WRI India has the capacity to convene key stakeholders, and forge strategic partnerships with governments, business, foundations, civil society organizations, institutes and NGOs, to scale-up solutions that can bring game-changing results for the sustainable management of natural resources in India.
Overview of Food and Land Use Coalition
Established in 2017, the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) is a community of organizations and individuals committed to the urgent need to transform the way we produce and consume food and use our land for people, nature, and climate. The core partners of the FOLU India Country platform are Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW), The Energy and Resources Institute
(TERI), Revitalising Rainfed Area Network (RRA-Network), and WRI India.
Working at FOLU India offers you the unique opportunity to learn and grow as you collaborate with a diverse set of change agents across India. As a unique group that works on food system transformation, we seek thoughtful, open-minded and sensitive individuals who can help us support this transformation and make a positive difference in the way we produce and consume food. More about FOLU India: https://www.foluindia.org/ .
Background and about your role:
Our food systems — the way we produce, market, and consume food — are part of the social, economic, ecological, and cultural fabric of our communities. Given the complex interactions between food systems and the socio-economic-environmental substrate and the imperfections in the system, the true costs of our current food systems are yet to be fully investigated, much less quantified. The food systems continue to grapple with many challenges, old and new, notably persistent hidden hunger, obesity, loss of biodiversity, environmental damage, and climate change.1 During the last seven decades, India has risen from a land of food shortages to a nation, which achieved cereal security at the national level and became the fifth largest economy in the world. However, its food system is yet to fully address issues of accessibility, affordability and nutritional quality. The recent report by Food System Economics Commission (FSEC) estimated the hidden costs of India’s food system at 124.8 lakh crore rupees, mainly on account of poor nutritional outcomes and unsustainable production practices.2
Various initiatives addressing multiple challenges of the food system are happening across the nation. While some target environment, natural resources and biodiversity conservation, others focus on production and distribution efficiency, supply chain management and farmer livelihood improvement. During the last five years of facilitating dialogues between the stakeholders and the actors of food system transformation in India, the Food and Land Use Coalition India (FOLU India) and Bharat Krishak Samaj observed that most of these efforts are in silos, with little or no coordination between agencies focussing on certain sectors and without adequate communication among these stakeholders and other actors.
Recognizing the need for integrated efforts and bringing stakeholders and actors together to transform the current food systems into sustainable and resilient activity cycles, FOLU India and Bharat Krishak Samaj, has conceived the idea of establishing the Food Systems Hub (FSH) at the national level. FSH will serve as a national collaborative platform, bringing together diverse stakeholders, including policymakers, researchers, market players, and civil society organizations, to address complex challenges faced by the food systems.
The Food Systems Summit (FSS) 2024
Food Systems Summit 2024 is designed as a premier national conference of the Food Systems Hub where practitioners, academicians and private sector will showcase their work on various aspects of food systems transformation. The Summit is co-organized by Food and Land Use Coalition India (FOLU India) with the support of its core partners and Bharat Krishak Samaj. The inaugural edition of the Summit is scheduled to take place from 15th to 17th October 2024 in New Delhi.
Objective and thematic focus
The objective of the Summit is to foster understanding, collaboration, and learning among participants to accelerate Food Systems Transformation in a just and inclusive manner. The Summit will showcase sustainable models focusing on the following four key thematic areas:
- Supporting regenerative agriculture production
- Supporting rainfed area management for sustainable agriculture
- Improving nutritional outcomes
- Ensuring sustainability in distribution and influencing consumer behavior in favour of sustainable agriculture and consumption of healthy diet
Organization and Structure
The Summit will be held over three days.
Events will include:
- High-level plenary sessions and addresses by sectoral experts
- Parallel sessions across the four thematic areas hosting about 80 CSOs
- Networking opportunities for all participants
Audiences
The conference will target about 200 participants in all, drawn from a diverse group of sectoral experts. The expected audience includes the presenting institutional representatives, policymakers, individual experts, civil society, students, and academia.
FOLU India aims to curate the ground experiences, success stories, working models presented during FSS into a detailed knowledge product that showcases them for the benefit of all national and global stakeholders of the food system in India. This knowledge product is intended to be in the form of a compendium. To assist in the preparation of this product, FOLU India is soliciting the services of an experienced consultant familiar with the aspects of the food system sector.
Responsibilities of the consultant
Following is the scope of work for the proposed consultant:
The consultant is expected to form a team of four other members who will support them in the following activities. The Consultant will be fully responsible for all activities and coordination of this team. He/she will manage the working group and update all progress made to the FOLU India Country Coordinator.
- Conduct Online Research/Desk Review:
Conduct online research and find the documents (research papers, reports, policy briefs, books and others) which are available in public domain to capture a high-level overview of the current status of assets (knowledge, expertise, and institutions) under the four themes of the Food Systems Summit (FSS):
- Supporting regenerative agriculture production
- Supporting rainfed area management for sustainable agriculture
- Improving nutritional outcomes
- Ensuring sustainability in distribution and influencing consumer behavior in favour of sustainable agriculture and consumption of healthy diet
- Document Pavillion sessions:
Attend all the sessions, with special focus on the presentations, happening in all the four FSS pavillions across all the three days (15th-17th October, 2024) and document in detail the key points from presentations and any important discussions or conversations around them.
- Daily Consolidation of Discussions:
At the end of each day, consolidate the key discussion points from the presentations and format them into a clear, structured document. This will be shared with the pavillion partners to assist them in preparing the final presentation in the closing plenary on day 3 of the FSS.
- Analysis and Categorization:
Analyze the consolidated documents/notes generated from the summit and categorize them into different brackets/themes and make it available for later access to the FOLU pavillion partners.
- Draft a compendium of the Summit:
Prepare the draft compendium in coordination with the FOLU Project Management Unit (PMU), ensuring all relevant information is included and well-organized. The draft compendium along with all background literature created/curated by the working group will be submitted to FOLU India for designing and publishing activities.
Qualifications and requirements we seek:
- Prior experience in working in the development sector, especially with respect to report writing or any other literature.
- Interest and acumen in research related work.
- Fluency in spoken and written English.
- Ability to take initiative and juggle multiple priorities.
- Commitment to WRI / FOLU mission and values.
- Excellent inter-personal communication skills.
- Highly motivated, proactive work style and excellent organizational skills.
- Ability to travel.
Remuneration: Consultant fee will be commensurate with qualification and experience.
Location: New Delhi, India/remote
Position – Consultant – full time.
Duration – Total 14 days
- 10 working days including 5 days for desk review ahead of the Summit and attending the Summit
- 4 consecutive days to prepare the draft of the compendium
Reporting Manager - The Consultant will report to the FOLU India Country Coordinator
Closing date: 5th October, 2024
Interested applicants to share CV.
Email ID: folu.india@folu.org
List of Documents to be attached: Resume
Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview purpose.
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