WP 2| Stocktaking and Enabling Environment

Lead FARA with CABI on data policy, with support from all WP participants. T2.2 will assess the policy environment in Africa through desk research and interviews. Target participants for the interviews will be identified under T.2.3 and include representatives of policy makers within Ministries across the 12 target countries.

Furthermore, T2.2 will investigate relevant continental, regional, and national initiatives on soil health, including existing systems for developing and disseminating soil health, relevant advisories and extension services, success stories, and challenges related to SISs. The continental level assessment results will be presented in a review report on the policy environment and initiatives (D2.2). A more detailed national level assessment will be conducted under WP6.

Lead AFAAS, with support from FARA, CABI, ICARDA, UNISS, ISRIC, national partners: CSIR, INP, IRAD, ICRA, MoA, KALRO, DLRC, ZARI, CSRI, INIDA, FOFIFA. T2.3 will identify relevant stakeholders expected to use and contribute to AUSO (global, continental, regional, national, local), as well as identify existing initiatives that involve collecting, producing or using soil data in the 12 African countries – these are the national institutes who are consortium partners in the AUSO project (i.e., from Cabo Verde, Madagascar, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe) , to prepare a stakeholder map (D2.3). This task will identify key stakeholders to engage in the assessment of the enabling environment in T2.1 and the assessment of the policy environment in T2.2.

The stakeholder map will be the foundation for the stakeholder engagement plan of WP7. Further, T2.3 will formulate user expectations from distinct groups on how they can use or contribute to AUSO, particularly on soil health monitoring in policies, land management recommendations and advisories, targeting and prioritization of investments, as well as formulation of development programs and research and innovation agendas. This activity will undertake a survey with questionnaires, organize online key informant interviews, and online focus group discussions. The stakeholder map and needs assessment report (D2.4) along with the engagement around the needs assessment will also lay the foundation for continuous stakeholder engagement as reflected in the DEC plan (WP7).

Lead CABI, with support from FARA, IITA, ISRIC, UKCEH, UNISS. T2.4 will develop a comprehensive design for the ideal AUSO (D2.5), detailing its structure, operation, functionality, and the way it delivers information to its users. This task will also include providing indicative cost estimates for the establishment and ongoing operation of the observatory. This functional specification merges the insights from the SIA companion document, enabling environment assessment (T2.1), and needs assessment (T2.3). The design will incorporate FAIR data principles to ensure the system can provide high-quality, interoperable, and reusable data that can be widely shared across multiple platforms and user groups.

Lead CABI, with support from FARA, ISRIC, IITA, ICARDA, National partners: CSIR, INP, IRAD, ICRA, MoA, KALRO, DLRC, ZARI, CSRI, INIDA, FOFIFA. T2.5 will develop a comprehensive data strategy (D2.6) by establishing FAIR data principles through series of engagements with key stakeholders, and set up procedures for data FAIRness, long-term responsibilities in data curation, data governance, data sharing requirements, and innovations for data/information access, sharing, and system sustainability. Indicative long-term costsfor data management will also be identified.

This data strategy will be a forward-looking, operational framework that ensures a structured, scalable, and sustainable flow of soil data from national partners into AUSO over the long term. It is designed not only for current partners but also for future countries that may join AUSO, providing clear guidelines on data standardization, integration, and governance. The strategy will outline how national soil data is continuously integrated into AUSO, including pathways for countries with limited soil information systems to gradually adopt AUSO’s standards and contribute data.

It will also address policies for data-sharing agreements, capacity-building, and technical support for national institutions. Whereas Task 1.4 ensures compliance with data management requirements, Task 2.5 isstrategic and operational, providing the foundation for long-term data governance, sustainability, and expansion. Task 2.5 will build on insights from Task 2.1 and Task 2.2, ensuring its feasibility within national policy environments, while also incorporating best practices from Task 1.4 to uphold data integrity, interoperability, and accessibility. The data strategy will be updated midway through the project (D2.7) and at the project end (D2.8) to incorporate lessons learnt through its application and to adjust to user experiences and needs.

Lead FARA, with support from AFAAS, CABI, ICARDA, ISRIC.
T2.6 will assess institutional requirements and develop the organization and management plan for FARA to manage AUSO (D2.9). This task will evaluate current and future needs of FARA in terms of institutional set-up, technical expertise, and the capacity needs of FARA to manage and maintain AUSO. The organizational plan will inform T2.8 to become part of a living document to be updated by FARA throughout their operation of AUSO.

Lead FARA with support from CABI, AFAAS and ISRIC. T2.7 will bring together key stakeholders in two workshops to co-develop the continental roadmap (D2.10) This will provide a recommended path forward that can be applied to all 55 African countries to support inclusion of soil health in relevant policies, programming and targeting of investment in response to trends in soil health, with special attention to social inclusion. CABI will assist FARA in organizing the workshops.

T2.7 is based on the results of the previous tasks, specifically the assessments of T2.1 enabling environment.T2.3 stakeholders expectations, and T2.5 data strategy. The first draft of the roadmap (in M21-M26) will be drafted following the first workshop to inform WP4, WP6, and WP7, and then will be updated again (D2.11) with the results from the soil health indicator framework of WP3, the convergence of evidence maps of WP4 (based on the new data from WP5) and other key findings (in M45-M50), all of which will be discussed during the second workshop.

Lead FARA, with support from AFAAS, CABI, ICARDA, UNISS. T2.8 will be built into the stakeholder engagement plan (T7.3), as well as the final DEC plan (T7.1), and combine insights on the anticipated user community from T2.3, idealized system design from T2.4, the data strategy from T2.5 and the organizational plan of T2.6 into a long-term strategy and financial sustainability plan (D2.12) for AUSO. This task will include consultations with key stakeholders to identify opportunities for revenue generation, assess target users’ willingness to pay, and review the long-term potential funding sources to develop a revenue structure.

A cost structure will be developed that incorporates the indicative costs identified in T2.5, T2.6 and T2.7. The long-term strategy and financial sustainability plan will be updated based on experiences during AUSO development and new insights gained during project implementation (D2.13). Towards the end of the project, a short policy brief (2-3 pages) and publication will be developed to highlight the AUSO availability, results, impacts, and long-term value (D2.14) The financial sustainability plan will be a living document for FARA to update as the owners and operators of AUSO