As the international community collaborates and creates pathways to achieving a hunger-free world, there has been a surge in research on food systems. This research plays a vital role but is massively disorganized and difficult to understand. With the most extensive collection of high-quality studies on food systems interventions in low- and middle-income countries, 3ie’s ‘living’ evidence gap map (EGM) has supported decision-makers and implementers in identifying evidence clusters and recognizing the research gaps.

As we had hoped when we started out two years ago, there has already been visible progress towards filling some gaps. Evidence gap maps and syntheses are particularly important for helping researchers, funders, and decision-makers quickly digest massive amounts of information. Developed with support from Innovative Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA), the living EGM has been commissioned by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit's (GIZ) 'Knowledge for Nutrition' program.