Deadline: February 15, 2026
Applications are invited for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) Partnership Award 2026. UN FAO conference established the Partnership Award to recognize outstanding cooperation with FAO in advancing the Organization’s work by Members, other UN agencies or international institutions, academic or research entities; and civil society or private sector entities, including media outlets.
Transformative partnerships are central to FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022–2031, which emphasises collaboration as a key driver for achieving sustainable agrifood systems. The FAO Partnership Award embodies this vision by recognising outstanding partnerships that have significantly advanced FAO’s mandate. These partnerships demonstrate innovation, inclusivity, and impact—engaging communities, raising awareness on food security, and promoting scalable solutions aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Award celebrates those who exemplify the power of cooperation in transforming food systems and improving lives.
Award
The award includes:
- a scroll describing the recipient’s achievements and/or award,
- a cash prize of USD $10,000*
*Note that the displacement of the cash prize must occur within 30 days from the day of notification.
Eligibility
- This award recognizes outstanding cooperation with FAO in advancing the organization’s work and significant contribution to the improvement of global food security.
- Eligible nominees include FAO members, other UN agencies or international institutions, academic or research entities; and civil society or private sector entities, including media outlets that, have, in the course of the biennium preceding the Conference, have made a significant contribution.
Criteria
The winning institution/organization should be one that can demonstrate outstanding cooperation with FAO and how it has in an area related to FAO’s mandate in the following categorization (Four Betters)
- Better Production: Promoting efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food systems.
- Better Nutrition: Ensuring access to safe, nutritious food for all, addressing all forms of malnutrition.
- Better Environment: Protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing natural resources and ecosystems.
- Better Life: Supporting inclusive economic growth, improved livelihoods, and resilience, especially for rural populations.
In addition, nominations should meet at least one of following criteria:
- Community engagement: engaged local communities and relevant stakeholders with the aim to improve people’s lives responding to their needs and rights and enhancing efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Awareness: raised visibility of the problem of hunger and malnutrition, communicating complex agricultural and economic issues to the wider public, and promoted successful solutions and projects for improved food security and nutrition
- Innovation and adaptability: presented an innovative idea, a new approach, or a unique policy that was implemented successfully and is adaptable to other context inspiring similar innovations within a given city, country, region or at the global level
- Impact evidence: developed an initiative that demonstrates evidence (e.g. )of impact in improving people’s lives; and/or
- Policy and advocacy: advocated successfully the value of policies*(ff policy,) and principles that FAO prioritizes.
Application
For more information, visit Partnership Award.