The International Food Policy Research Institute’s mission is to provide research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries. Established in 1975, IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 50 countries. It is a research center of CGIAR, a worldwide partnership engaged in agricultural research for development.

IFPRI works with a range of partners in pursuit of its mission. IFPRI recognizes the importance of private sector organizations in improving the quality, efficiency, and impact of global efforts to reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition. Businesses provide most of the development investment and jobs that contribute to poverty reduction and have the capacity to sustainably bring solutions to scale. IFPRI engages with private sector organizations for the common purpose of reducing poverty and ending hunger and malnutrition and when shared objectives and values exist. Further details of IFPRI’s work can be found at www.ifpri.org.

Principles of Engagement

Transparency and Accountability

  • IFPRI will publicly disclose all partners and funding sources. As a publicly funded organization, IFPRI discloses its research projects and designs and publishes the results of all activities and evaluations and follows the Open Access Principles of the CGIAR.
  • Any engagement must further and not compromise IFPRI’s mission. IFPRI does recognize the potential for achieving private benefits together with its public goods objectives. Clear objectives that are relevant and achievable and measurable steps to assess achievement need to be clearly articulated and communicated in any engagement with the private sector.

Mutual Respect and Agreement

  • IFPRI respects the independence and organizational missions of private sector entities and requires that its private sector organization partners respect IFPRI’s independence and its public good, research quality, and public transparency and accountability requirements.
  • IFPRI will actively engage with interested private sector organizations to develop and clearly document in agreements their mutually agreed objectives, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and agreements on these principles of engagement.

Quality and Ethics

  • IFPRI will ensure that its quality standards for research are implemented in the design, monitoring, and assessment of joint projects. This includes but is not limited to registration of trial and study protocols, application of ethical reviews for research with human subjects, open access of data and results, and peer review of publications.

Risk Management

  • IFPRI implements a due diligence process to identify and manage risks of engagement with private sector organizations and potential conflicts of interest. IFPRI will work with its partners in this process, including reviewing and updating risk assessment and management plans and procedures.

Updated November 2019