Annual Plan for Revisions to the FEWS NET Knowledge and Learning Platform

The Hub captures, documents, and shares the wealth of FEWS NET analytical products, datasets, methodologies, and learning through three technical workstreams: the Data Management Platform (DMP), the Website Platform, and the Knowledge and Learning (K&L) Workstream. The K&L workstream is designed to realize the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) goal for greater knowledge capture and sharing, internal collaboration, and external awareness of the newly restructured FEWS NET Project. The K&L team facilitates effective problem solving and achievement of organizational goals by connecting people to new and existing knowledge resources. In Implementation Year One (IY1), for the first time in FEWS NET's history, USAID began integrating K&L approaches into the Project's analytical activities. During Implementation Year Two (IY2), the Hub team focused on delivering K&L activities organized under six goals from the IY2 Annual Plan for Revisions (APR) intended to shape the next four years of support for FEWS NET. The goals were further categorized by target audience—internal (i.e., implementing partners and the FEWS NET USAID Management team) or external (i.e., other USAID bureaus, international organizations, and partners in the food insecurity community). Highlights from implementation during IY2 include successful ongoing support for collaborative activities, completion of the FEWS NET Outreach Strategy, completion of the design for FEWS NET brand refresh, improved support for systems and data documentation, and local demand for communications support using Mailchimp expanded from the Latin America and the Caribbean region to include Afghanistan, Yemen, Jordan, and Zimbabwe. The Hub team observed that platforms such as the FEWS NET Exchange that are not part of a formal Sprint cycle still need routine checks with stakeholders to improve uptake and use. For practices like collaboration and adaptive management, aligning activities with not only the structure of FEWS NET but also the prevailing culture of learning is important to build value. These findings inform the Implementation Year 3 (IY3) plan to include additional outcomes as well as the continuity of existing successful work. Planned IY3 outcomes include FEWS NET's knowledge products and training materials being accessible via a learning management system, strengthened professional networks for FEWS NET team members to share and learn from external partners as a result of FEWS NET Outreach Strategy implementation, and modernized communications platforms and practices including outreach, branding, email, and social media platforms, enhanced access to Project data and knowledge products. The Hub will continue to manage fews.net email accounts and the FEWS NET Exchange. Additional support for tools such as Chat, Meet, Docs, and Sheets beyond the current user base is not anticipated to be a significant focus in IY3. The Knowledge Products Tracker and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Tracker will be discontinued or remain in the backlog pending scope and requirements from USAID. The Hub identified four internal-facing goals in IY2, two of which were revised in advance of IY3. The FEWS NET Exchange is a robust and actively used intranet, providing access to documents, guidance, and templates for all team members. The Hub will continue to support the FEWS NET Exchange and other platforms to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing among implementing partners and the FEWS NET USAID Management team.