Some of the world’s fastest growing economies are in Asia. Yet the region is still home to two-thirds of the world’s poor and the highest proportion of undernourished children. The sustainability of the region’s growth and development is persistently challenged by problems of food insecurity, and increasingly, by climate change and global financial turmoil.

Knowledge gaps; limited access to data, tools, and policy analysis; and a lack of basic information about what works and what doesn’t are hindering policymaker, researcher, and civil society efforts to find timely and credible solutions to these challenges.

IFPRI is launching a new web platform that offers what these groups yearn for: information to support evidence-based decisionmaking.

The Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System for Asia (ReSAKSS-Asia) website is a platform that promotes the exchange of experiences and dialogue, and the use of knowledge in the policy process—particularly for country-owned agricultural and rural development strategies.

The web platform offers, in a user-friendly, mobile- and tablet-ready design:

• key research products and policy analysis on agricultural growth, poverty reduction, and food and nutrition security in the region;
• data from national governments and regional and international organizations, as well as data collected by IFPRI and network partners;
• web-based data analysis and visualization tools such as regional dashboards for a quick view of agriculture, food security and nutrition situation in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia; and
• early research results of on-going projects and other literature generated by local policy research institutions.

In addition, the website design offers special features, including:

• open-source and ready-to-use maps and graphs, and raw datasets on economic and welfare indicators, rural incomes and employment, and food and nutrition security;
• an interactive map tool that allows users to track and monitor trends; and
• access to publications and knowledge products, formatted for other organizations to easily link to their own websites.

Xinshen Diao, one of the co-leaders of the ReSAKSS-Asia, emphasizes the web platform as only a start. “It will always be a work in progress, continuously changing to reflect the needs of its users,” she said. ReSAKSS-Asia welcomes feedback and comments as the program continues to improve the website to promote discussion and contribute to the policy debate on agricultural transformation, inclusive growth, poverty reduction, and improved nutritional outcomes in Asia.