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From
Scaling for Impact Program
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Published on
21.08.25
The 4th International Conference on Governance and Development (ICGD4) took place from July 30 to August 2, 2025, at Kasetsart University’s Bangkhen Campus in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference, organized by the College of Public Affairs and Development at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and Kasetsart University, served as a platform for exchanging ideas and fostering partnerships for sustainable development through transdisciplinary actions. It attracted more than 400 participants, including representatives of various development and research agencies (ACIAR, CGIAR, IUCN…) as well as universities and research institutes in Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, and beyond. ICGD4 focused on the critical role of governance in promoting global citizenship and empowering communities to address complex global challenges, including poverty, climate change, food insecurity, and learning gaps.
The conference conluded after four days, highlighting key messages on the importance of building communities of practice, supporting lifelong learning, and fostering innovative innovations that contribute to inclusive and sustainable development.
Taking advantage of the conference (under the theme Innovative Institutions for Community Development), Quoc Nguyen, Senior Research Associate at the Food Environment and Consumer Behaviour (FECB) research group in Hanoi, Vietnam, presented findings under Work Package 2 (WP2) of the CGIAR Asian Mega-Deltas (AMD) Initiative (2022–2025), now continued under Area of Work (AoW) 5.2 of the CGIAR Scaling for Impact (S4I) Program. Representing a collaborative team from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, alongside colleagues Huynh Thi Thanh Tuyen, Pham Thi Mai Huong, Duong Thi Thanh, and partners from Vietnam’s Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development (DCRD, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), Quoc delivered a presentation titled “Integrating Nutrition-Sensitive Agrifood Systems (NSAF) into Policy Frameworks to Achieve Zero Hunger in Vietnam.” The research demonstrates how multisectoral collaborative efforts through processes of co-developing, institutionalizing, contextualizing, capacity building, engaging, and leveraging have contributed to the integration of nutrition-sensitive principles into national policy frameworks since 2019, especially the Zero Hunger Program and the National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction.
By sharing this work at ICGD4, the NSAF integration approach was positioned among Asian universities and development agencies as a promising model for scaling in other regions. The presentation can also spark interest in adapting similar processes to strengthen food and nutrition security through collaborative efforts of other participants in the conference.
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