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Policy Coherence Indicators for Food and Nutrition Security: Experts’ View


Food and nutrition security (FNS) continues to be a critical global wicked problem, and it is especially true in the Philippines. This challenge is exacerbated by fragmented programs as well as policy incoherence which could lend development initiatives ineffective. While policy coherence is an emerging concept in food and nutrition security (FNS) research and policy, there remains to be limited empirical studies as well as policy assessment tools to measure and evaluate it. This study contributes to addressing this gap by developing a policy coherence indicator framework for food and nutrition security. The study is part of the project Developing Policy Coherence Impact Indicators for Food and Nutrition Security (Phase 2), funded by UP CIDS. We adapted and modified the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development Composite Indicator 17.14.1 Domains for FNS. A two-round e-Delphi survey was conducted from July to December 2025, preceded by pretesting through a regional workshop in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and e-Delphi pretesting. A total of 19  experts from government, academe, civil society, and development institutions participated in the final e-Delphi study. Each indicator and sub-indicators were assessed based on relevance, feasibility, measurability, comparability, and potential impact. Across all six indicator domains, experts expressed high levels of agreement and also consensus from financial resources, inter-department and crosssectoral coordination, consultation and coordination across government levels, institutional mechanisms, sustainability, and participatory processes. The study demonstrated strong consensus on the relevance and impact of the adapted indicator framework on policy coherence for FNS. Qualitative feedback emphasized the compliance and consistency, contextualization, and concept clarifications. Some of the comments for indicator or sub-indicator refinements are on feasibility/consistency, availability/measurability and comparability. Overall, this study contributed to the development of an empirically grounded indicator framework that can support institutions in assessing policy coherence for food and nutrition security. The indicator framework could offer a practical foundation and tool to further advance an integrated, inclusive and impactful food and nutrition policies in the Philippines.



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