To realize its objectives, the 2020 Initiative engages in four major activities:

1. Generating timely, state-of-the-art information on key topics related to food, agriculture, and the environment, paying special attention to emerging issues that have long-term implications for feeding the world, alleviating poverty, and protecting natural resources;

2. Communicating the 2020 Vision challenges and related action program to raise public awareness of the world’s food and environmental problems and what can be done to solve them;

3. Providing fora for multi-stakeholder dialogue, debate, information sharing, and consensus building among policymakers, researchers, and leaders in nongovernmental organizations, private sector, and media through seminars, workshops, and conferences;
4. Undertaking pilot activities in research, policy communications, and capacity strengthening to support IFPRI’s long-term strategy.

When prioritizing new opportunities for work, the Initiative focuses on the following criteria:

• Emerging issues that have substantial implications for food security and poverty alleviation;
• Forward-looking research and analysis;
• Creating forums that bring together divergent points of view to exchange information and build consensus;
• Following a multi-stakeholder approach;
• Adding value to ongoing processes outside and inside IFPRI;
• Reaching out to different audiences for IFPRI, including non-traditional actors, and in particular high-level policymakers; and
• Pilot or catalytic activity for IFPRI that addresses issues that cut across the Institute.