Who really counts in Iran’s National Food Assistance Program? Lessons from multi-stakeholder processes in the wicked policy area of food security
Abstract: Multi-stakeholder processes - as a necessary part in the development of public policies - can provide diverse perspectives to inform and to improve food security policy-making. Iran’s National Food Assistance Program (NFAP) is one of the major welfare programs in Iran that reduces food ins...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
2022-01-01
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Series: | Cadernos de Saúde Pública |
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Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-311X2022000105011&tlng=en |
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author | Mona Pourghaderi Nasrin Omidvar Amirhossein Takian Arlette Saint Ville Hannaneh Mohammadi Kangarani Hassan Eini-Zinab |
author_facet | Mona Pourghaderi Nasrin Omidvar Amirhossein Takian Arlette Saint Ville Hannaneh Mohammadi Kangarani Hassan Eini-Zinab |
author_sort | Mona Pourghaderi |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Abstract: Multi-stakeholder processes - as a necessary part in the development of public policies - can provide diverse perspectives to inform and to improve food security policy-making. Iran’s National Food Assistance Program (NFAP) is one of the major welfare programs in Iran that reduces food insecutiry to low-income households. This study aimed to identify and to categorize actual and potential stakeholders in NFAP using the stakeholder salience model. According to Mitchell’s theory, stakeholders’ attributes (power, legitimacy, and urgency) were assessed based on the nature of their interactions, roles, and level of engagement. Results revealed a number of significant but marginalized stakeholders, including Iranian Ministry of Health (office of community nutrition improvement), academia, center for food and nutrition research, target group, charities, and international organizations, who have not received any targeted organizational attention and priority to their claims. The unbalanced attention provided to some stakeholder groups characterized as “definitive” and “dominant” and ignoring some important ones will jeopardize long-term viability and undermine support for the program with inevitable declines in legitimacy. Understanding the change in the stakeholders’ characteristics is the main variable to determine the allocation of organizational resources in response to different and rising stakeholders’ demands and possibly the projects outcomes. This will facilitate and enhance the possibility of knowledge exchange and learning, and greater trust among stakeholders during the food and nutrition policy-making process. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-20T18:44:22Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-eb0625f45925443aaaaee9bedcc578c4 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1678-4464 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-20T18:44:22Z |
publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
publisher | Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz |
record_format | Article |
series | Cadernos de Saúde Pública |
spelling | doaj.art-eb0625f45925443aaaaee9bedcc578c42022-12-21T19:29:45ZengEscola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo CruzCadernos de Saúde Pública1678-44642022-01-0138110.1590/0102-311x00341820Who really counts in Iran’s National Food Assistance Program? Lessons from multi-stakeholder processes in the wicked policy area of food securityMona Pourghaderihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3467-2468Nasrin Omidvarhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7305-0461Amirhossein Takianhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7806-5558Arlette Saint Villehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8951-8188Hannaneh Mohammadi Kangaranihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3998-5658Hassan Eini-Zinabhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6895-034XAbstract: Multi-stakeholder processes - as a necessary part in the development of public policies - can provide diverse perspectives to inform and to improve food security policy-making. Iran’s National Food Assistance Program (NFAP) is one of the major welfare programs in Iran that reduces food insecutiry to low-income households. This study aimed to identify and to categorize actual and potential stakeholders in NFAP using the stakeholder salience model. According to Mitchell’s theory, stakeholders’ attributes (power, legitimacy, and urgency) were assessed based on the nature of their interactions, roles, and level of engagement. Results revealed a number of significant but marginalized stakeholders, including Iranian Ministry of Health (office of community nutrition improvement), academia, center for food and nutrition research, target group, charities, and international organizations, who have not received any targeted organizational attention and priority to their claims. The unbalanced attention provided to some stakeholder groups characterized as “definitive” and “dominant” and ignoring some important ones will jeopardize long-term viability and undermine support for the program with inevitable declines in legitimacy. Understanding the change in the stakeholders’ characteristics is the main variable to determine the allocation of organizational resources in response to different and rising stakeholders’ demands and possibly the projects outcomes. This will facilitate and enhance the possibility of knowledge exchange and learning, and greater trust among stakeholders during the food and nutrition policy-making process.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-311X2022000105011&tlng=enStakeholder ParticipationFood Assistance ProgramsPublic Policies |
spellingShingle | Mona Pourghaderi Nasrin Omidvar Amirhossein Takian Arlette Saint Ville Hannaneh Mohammadi Kangarani Hassan Eini-Zinab Who really counts in Iran’s National Food Assistance Program? Lessons from multi-stakeholder processes in the wicked policy area of food security Cadernos de Saúde Pública Stakeholder Participation Food Assistance Programs Public Policies |
title | Who really counts in Iran’s National Food Assistance Program? Lessons from multi-stakeholder processes in the wicked policy area of food security |
title_full | Who really counts in Iran’s National Food Assistance Program? Lessons from multi-stakeholder processes in the wicked policy area of food security |
title_fullStr | Who really counts in Iran’s National Food Assistance Program? Lessons from multi-stakeholder processes in the wicked policy area of food security |
title_full_unstemmed | Who really counts in Iran’s National Food Assistance Program? Lessons from multi-stakeholder processes in the wicked policy area of food security |
title_short | Who really counts in Iran’s National Food Assistance Program? Lessons from multi-stakeholder processes in the wicked policy area of food security |
title_sort | who really counts in iran s national food assistance program lessons from multi stakeholder processes in the wicked policy area of food security |
topic | Stakeholder Participation Food Assistance Programs Public Policies |
url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-311X2022000105011&tlng=en |
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