Scenario-guided foresight processes are increasingly used to engage a broad range of stakeholders in sharing knowledge, reflecting, and setting priorities to respond to present and future climate change related dynamics. They are particularly useful to inform agricultural policies and planning in the face of a changing climate. Such participatory approaches are key to integrating multidisciplinary expertise, perspectives, and viewpoints, and ensuring that the multi-faceted vulnerabilities and the development needs of diverse groups are addressed in the design, planning, and implementation of climate adaptation policy. However, in practice, ensuring meaningful participation in the policy process is far from straightforward. In this paper, we examine the integration of gender and social inclusion considerations in 15 scenario-guided foresight use cases across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia to determine the ways in which gender and social inclusion dynamics were considered and integrated at different stages of scenario-guided planning processes. To inform the analysis, we use qualitative data from key informant interviews, interviewing scenario coordinators and a gender and social inclusion expert who was engaged in one of the cases; we also review associated reports and outputs. The results suggest that few scenario-guided planning processes centred gender and social inclusion considerations from an early stage and consistently throughout the interventions, translating often into low diversity of stakeholders and insufficient depth reached in the content produced. A number of common challenges are reported including time, budget, and human resource constraints, as well as existing power and institutional dynamics. The latter includes, for instance, low women’s representation in technical organizations or important hierarchical social norms structuring discussions. While the focus on the future can disrupt established modes of doing, the complexity of foresight methods can also undermine effective participation leading to important trade-offs. Innovations in the modes of engagement and parallel processes with diverse groups can be important leverage points for inclusion within policymaking processes.

The issue of quality in developing small-scale irrigation projects (SSIPs) in Sub-Saharan countries has become a concern. This necessitated the development of a quality management system (QMS) toolkit covering all phases of irrigation project development. The current toolkit was developed to provide guidance and support to establish a robust system that aligns with irrigated agriculture development best practices, standards and regulatory requirements. Literature from the three focal countries – Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda – was reviewed and stakeholder consultations, field visits and focus group discussions were conducted to learn lessons and gain insight to enrich the proposed parameters and checklists. Based on the lessons learned, the QMS toolkit was created, including a comprehensive set of guidelines, checklists, tools, resources, forms and templates that can help irrigation agencies and stakeholders at all levels implement and maintain an effective quality management system. It is an essential tool for organizations such as irrigation and agriculture ministries, regional bureaus and county offices to assess and improve their performance by meeting quality requirements, standards, regulations and specifications. The toolkit is prepared in two volumes. Volume II is a series of checklists of key parameters that need to be considered when implementing an irrigation quality management system. The checklists cover the first three phases and associated stages, components and subcomponents of an irrigation development process. These checklists will aid in streamlining quality management review processes and ensure consistency in quality control practices. By following the checklists in this volume, irrigation implementing agencies (IAs), organizations and project managers can ensure that each task is completed correctly and in compliance with established procedures, guidelines, methodologies, standards and technical specifications. Volume II also provides QMS workflow charts for each phase and stage of an irrigation project, which serve as quality control mechanisms that track whether tasks and services provided are fully completed and adhere to specified standards. This volume also contains proposed institutional arrangements for implementing a QMS initiative. These arrangements include a generic organogram, human resource requirements and job descriptions for key positions within the proposed QMS implementation team. Volume II includes the following three annexes: - Annex II-1 QMS forms and templates for pre-construction phases - Annex II-2 Forms and templates for project implementation and construction phase - Annex II-3 Annotated Terms of Reference (ToRs) for pre-construction phases

The Sustainable Development Goals are interconnected and cut across Food, Land and Water (FLW) systems. But the formulation and implementation of national policy objectives to attain the SDGs may be fragmented and uncoordinated. The CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS), aims to contribute to agri-foods system transformation, by identifying ways of building stronger FLW policies with greater coherence and investment capacity, to support Nigeria in addressing current crises and future development needs. This flagship report focuses on (in)coherence in policies related to FLW systems in Nigeria, through the lens of Policies and Institutions Landscape Analysis Framework. To achieve policy coherence for sustainable development, the report highlights the need for: 1. strengthening staff and institutional capacities for FLW contextual and policy analysis to effectively identify, anticipate and respond to crisis. 2. developing systemic polycentric decision-making and governance, involving multi-stakeholders at the Federal, State and Local levels. 3. providing sustainable funding for the effective implementation of policy objectives, projects and programmes in the relevant FLW-related sectors 4. maintaining continuity of the implementation of ongoing transformative FLW policy objectives and programmes when an incumbent government comes into power. 5. promoting evidence-based (real time and high-quality data) policy formulation, monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

Gender and social dimensions of access to and use of water resources are often overlooked in policy and programming despite their importance in shaping water security. This study examines factors affecting water security in urban Pakistan through a gender lens. We surveyed 560 men and women in two towns in Islamabad and Rawalpindi facing water and sanitation challenges. Through a binary logit model and marginal effects analysis, we analyzed the relationship between water security and multiple variables, including gender, education, age, employment status, payment for water, urban wealth quintile, drinking water source, individual water concern level, water satisfaction, and water quality perception. While more than 50 percent of both genders experience water insecurity, the prevalence of water insecurity is notably higher among women. Men in the surveyed population had higher levels of employment, wealth, and education levels compared to women. The regression analysis across both genders reveals that paying for drinking water negatively and significantly impacts water security, while concern about future water issues, satisfaction with drinking water, and water quality significantly and positively impact water security levels. For women specifically, access to improved drinking water sources, higher education levels, and employment significantly improve their water security level, underscoring the importance of promoting women’s education and economic empowerment. For men, age and wealth levels emerged as significant factors impacting their water security, with older men more vulnerable to water insecurity than younger men and women. These findings underscore the complex interplay of individual, social, and structural dynamics shaping water security experiences, emphasizing the need for gender-responsive and intersectional approaches to water interventions in urban Pakistan and beyond. Equitable water policies and programs necessitate the collection of more disaggregated data. This study marks the first application of the Individual Water Insecurity Experiences (IWISE) Scale used in Pakistan’s urban context, with recommendations for its broader implementation to improve decision-making that can lead to sustainable water solutions across diverse gender and social groups.

Advancing food security requires multi-level and inclusive approaches. This article presents a novel framework to (E) evaluate the social inclusiveness of policies and interventions (PIs) towards (V) vulnerable social groups in (A) agricultural value chains. The EVA-framework is applicable to any value chain, geography and vulnerable group. We apply it to the irrigated vegetable value chain of Mali, analyzing the social inclusiveness of weighted PIs towards women and youth. We find that respective PI formulation in Mali is largely not inclusive. Only few PIs set specific targets, quotas or a financial budget for women and youth inclusion. To be inclusive PIs need to consult targeted social groups, include clear targets, budgets, and accountability mechanisms, and be monitored and evaluated.