Food Security Indicator & Policy Analysis Tool

The FIPAT guidebook outlines a structured analytical process for national and sub-national governments to strengthen food system resilience against climate variability. The tool is divided into two main sections: Section A focuses on mapping the food system, identifying climate risks, and developing resilience indicators; Section B evaluates the capacity of specific public policies to support resilience actions, enhance actor capacity, and maintain system stability. The process emphasizes stakeholder engagement and iterative learning to identify policy gaps and develop tailored recommendations for food security.

• FIPAT is designed for national and sub-national government decision-makers to identify food system vulnerabilities to climate shocks, determine necessary resilience actions, and monitor progress through specific indicators.
• The tool utilizes a 'spinwheel' conceptual framework for food systems that analyzes four dimensions of food security—availability, access, utilization, and stability—across five rings: household food utilization, food access, food availability, supporting resources and services, and supporting organizations and policies.
• Climate risk within the tool is analyzed as the interaction between climate hazards (such as storms or droughts), exposure (presence of people and assets in hazard-prone areas), and vulnerability (a function of sensitivity and adaptive capacity).
• The policy analysis component (Section B) assesses public policies not on their general effectiveness, but specifically on their capacity to support resilience actions, the capacity of actors to reduce risk, and the overall resilience of the system and institutions.
• The tool employs a scoring system to quantify vulnerability and policy support, where climate impacts are rated from -2 (very negative) to +2 (very positive), and policy support is rated from 0 (no support) to 2 (direct support).
• Effective implementation of FIPAT requires a participatory approach involving government departments, NGOs, and practitioners to ensure shared ownership of results and to navigate political sensitivities regarding policy assessment.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2014). Food Security Indicator & Policy Analysis Tool. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/fipat_manual_en.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Food Security Indicator & Policy Analysis Tool. 2014. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/fipat_manual_en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Food Security Indicator & Policy Analysis Tool |date=2014 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/fipat_manual_en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2014food, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Food Security Indicator \& Policy Analysis Tool}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2014}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/fipat_manual_en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }