A guide to the NAF Platform's Commitment Registration Form
A standardised and comprehensive platform has been developed to support the registration of nutrition commitments. The platform consists of two distinct forms: a Sign up Form and a Commitment Registration Form, which together collect all required information for commitments to be considered SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) (see The SMARTness of nutrition commitments). Both forms include embedded guidance to facilitate and streamline the process and ensure the accuracy of provided information.
This webpage provides detailed guidance and clarification for each question included in the forms. Throughout this guide, questions marked with an asterisk (*) indicate mandatory fields. For questions that are not covered by this guide, stakeholders should contact the Global Nutrition Report (GNR) at [email protected].
Stakeholders can find all the below information embedded in the forms. For efficiency, we have also made it available outside of the forms for those interested in familiarising themselves with the process before logging in to register their commitment. Similarly, we have created a downloadable version of the Sign up and Commitment Registration Forms for stakeholders that wish to draft the responses before registering them online.
Before registering a commitment, stakeholders are required to complete the Sign up Form to create an account with the Nutrition Accountability Framework (NAF). This form includes 14 questions and collects information on the organisation making the commitment and the contact details of the user. Except for the type and name of the organisation, the contact details entered in this form are not made publicly available.
Table 1: Sign up Form
| Question | Details |
|---|---|
| *Name of organisation | Full name of the organisation making the commitment. Commitments made on behalf of multiple organisations should be registered only once by the primary organisation (as identified by the stakeholders). The listed organisation is accountable for registering the commitment and reporting on its progress. The Commitment Registration Form allows the user to specify any additional accountable organisations for the commitment. |
| *Stakeholder type | The stakeholder type (e.g., country government, donor government, donor organisation private sector food business, civil society organisation, multilateral organisation) that best describes the organisation. Only one answer can be selected. |
| Country of the organisation | Country where the primary organisation is located. If the organisation is international and has multiple locations, the location of the headquarter offices should be reported. |
| City of the organisation | City where the primary organisation is located. If the organisation is international and has multiple locations, the location of the headquarter offices should be reported. |
| Website of the organisation | The URL (web link) of the primary organisation’s website. |
| *Name of authorised representative | First and last name of the authorised representative. The authorised representative is defined as the authorised person identified by the organisation to be responsible for the content recorded in the Commitment Registration Form. The authorised representative is going to be their organisation’s registered user of the Commitment Registration Form. |
| Position of authorised representative | The designation, position and/or role of the authorised representative. |
| Telephone of authorised representative | Telephone number of the authorised representative, including country code. |
| *Email of authorised representative | The email address of the authorised representative. The email address that will be indicated as the primary one will also serve as the username for the Commitment Registration Form. It will also be used for all future communication with the GNR, unless there is a different point of contact (see below). |
| *Point of contact | To specify whether the authorised representative is also the point of contact for any future communication, including for providing clarifications on the commitment(s) registered, receiving updates and reporting on progress. If so, the answer "Yes" should be selected and the Sign up Form ends. If there is a different person that the GNR should be contacting for clarifications on the registered commitment, the answer ‘No’ should be selected and additional fields follow for completion. |
| *Name of point of contact | (Appears only if "No" has been selected in the question about the point of contact). First and last name of the person who will serve as the point of contact. |
| Position of point of contact | (Appears only if "No" has been selected in the question about the point of contact). The designation, position and/or role of the point of contact. |
| Telephone of point of contact | (Appears only if "No" has been selected in the question about the point of contact). Telephone number of the point of contact, including country code. |
| *Email of point of contact | (Appears only if "No" has been selected in the question about the point of contact). The email address of the point of contact. This email address will be used for all future communication with the GNR. |
The Commitment Registration Form needs to be completed for every nutrition commitment to be officially registered with the NAF. The form, and, accordingly, this guide is split into seven parts: general instructions to read before completing the form; formulation of the commitment (Q1–Q6), links with key pledging moments (Q7–Q9), commitment costs (Q10–Q11), measurable goals of the commitment (Q12–Q13), additional details for each measurable goal of the commitment (G1.1–G1.10) and additional information and feedback (Q14).
Examples of fully completed Commitment Registration Forms can be downloaded from the GNR website. The examples cover different commitment types (action categories) and show the kind of information and level of detail required for each question.
General instructions
This part includes important information for the stakeholders. It is recommended that all stakeholders take a few minutes to read and understand the instructions (which are embedded in the Commitment Registration Form). If stakeholders have a question that they cannot find an answer for at this or any point when completing the form, they should contact the GNR at [email protected].
- This form is intended to facilitate the registration of SMART nutrition commitments, including for the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit.
- Each commitment constitutes a separate submission. Once you submit your first commitment, you will have the option to register additional ones.
- For the Tokyo N4G Summit, commitments are encouraged to be registered by 31 October 2021 and the summit will be the hard deadline for registering commitments for the Nutrition Year of Action. If you submit your commitment by 31 October, the GNR will be able to perform a basic level of verification. For those registered after 31 October, verification will not be performed in time for the summit and therefore commitments registered after 31 October may not be featured in the summit. All commitments registered between 14 December 2020 (the launch of the N4G Year of Action) and 8 December 2021 (the closing of the N4G Year of Action) will be included in the Compact (Annex), the outcome document of the summit.
- The form will remain open for stakeholders to make nutrition commitments at any point, but it will not be linked to the Nutrition Year of Action or the Tokyo N4G Summit.
- The form should be completed in English. If that is not possible, please contact us.
- Compulsory fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).
- If you wish to download the Commitment Registration Form to see the information required in advance, you can do so. The pdf form is for your own use only; the registration of your commitment(s) is valid only if you complete and submit the online registration form.
- Commitments will be publicly shared by the GNR, which will be tracking commitments and reporting on their progress annually.
Formulation of commitment (Q1–Q6)
This is the first fillable part of the form, which contains up to eight questions and refers to the formulation of the overall commitment to be registered.
Table 2: Commitment Registration Form: Formulation of commitment
| Question | Details |
|---|---|
| *Q1 | A brief title (containing a maximum of 40 characters) for the commitment. This title will be used as an easy identifier of the commitment. For example, if a user has registered more than one commitment, a list with the title of each registered commitment will appear when they sign into the form and they can then choose which one they would like to view (or edit and report on progress in future iterations of the form). |
| *Q2 | The full formulation of the commitment. Stakeholders may use this field to provide all details relevant to their commitment, including the vision of the organisation if applicable. |
| *Q3 | The global nutrition target(s) the commitment aligns with. The answers listed under this question refer to the maternal, infant and young child nutrition global targets and the diet-related non-communicable disease global targets that were endorsed by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Even if the commitment is not about committing to directly impact one of the global targets (e.g., reduce childhood stunting), stakeholders need to specify the targets expected to be impacted by their commitment (e.g., in committing to implement a nutrition supplementation programme for pregnant women, the expected impact may be to reduce low birthweight). |
| Q4 | Any resources that stakeholders consider as relevant to their commitment and that the GNR can refer to for more information. The attachments may be up to 1 GB of documents in any of the following file formats: pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, csv, txt, rtf, html, zip, mp3, wma, mpg, flv, avi, jpg, jpeg, png, gif. |
| *Q5 | Specification of whether this is a joint commitment. If the commitment is made on behalf of multiple stakeholders, the answer “Yes” should be selected. |
| *Q5a | (Appears only if "Yes" has been selected in Q5). The number of additional organisations that are involved in making this commitment. The form allows to list up to 5 additional organisations. |
| *Q5b | (Appears only if "Yes" has been selected in Q5). It collects the stakeholder type (e.g., country government, donor government, donor organization, private sector food business) and name of each of the additional organisations. |
| *Q6 | Qualification criteria for the commitment. To register with the NAF, each commitment should meet all three criteria listed under Q6. Stakeholders need to confirm that 1) their commitment is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound); 2) they will report their progress to the GNR annually; and 3) they will work with the GNR to provide clarifications regarding the commitment, as needed. The criterion of SMARTness will be verified by the GNR based on the information provided in the compulsory fields of the form. |
You can download examples of completed Commitment Registration Forms. See also ‘Examples of SMART nutrition commitments’ in The SMARTness of nutrition commitments for examples of fully formulated commitments.
Links with key pledging moments (Q7–Q9)
This is the second fillable part of the form, which contains up to three questions and assesses whether the commitment is to be linked with key pledging moments.
Table 3: Commitment Registration Form: Links with key pledging moments
| Question | Details |
|---|---|
| *Q7 | Specification of the event(s) the commitment is linked to. Stakeholders need to specify whether this commitment is linked to any upcoming event(s), such as the 2021 Tokyo N4G Summit. Multiple answers may be selected. |
| *Q8 | (Appears only if “2021 Tokyo N4G Summit” has been selected in Q7). Alignment with the additional N4G qualification criteria. To register a commitment as an N4G commitment, you need to confirm that this commitment aligns with national priorities and the N4G Principles for Engagement. Please refer to the N4G Commitment Making Guide for details on these criteria. |
| *Q9 | (Appears only if ‘2021 Tokyo N4G Summit’ has been selected in Q7). Thematic areas of the N4G commitment. Stakeholders need to specify the thematic area(s) of their commitment. Please refer to the N4G Commitment Making Guide for definitions and examples of the N4G thematic areas. |
Commitment costs (Q10–Q11)
This is the third fillable part of the form, which contains up to three questions and collects information on the costs associated with the delivery of the commitment.
Table 4: Commitment Registration Form: Commitment costs
| Question | Details |
|---|---|
| *Q10 | It captures whether the total costs associated with the delivery of the commitment have been estimated and can be disclosed. Total costs refer to the estimated costs to implement the commitment, such as human resources, equipment and facilities. There are relevant options for stakeholders that cannot disclose the total costs publicly but are willing to share these with the GNR for aggregate analysis and reporting; for stakeholders who cannot disclose the costs either publicly or with the GNR (i.e., confidential information); or for stakeholders who do not currently know the amount of total costs. |
| *Q10a | (Appears only if either of the first two responses in Q10 has been selected). The estimated total costs associated with the delivery of the commitment. For financial commitments, the amount corresponds to the total committed funds (e.g., if both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive financial resources are being committed, the total costs correspond to the sum of the two). Local currency should be used to report costs. |
| *Q11 |
The funders, funding mechanism and amount secured. Stakeholders need to specify the following information. 1. The name of all funder(s), including funding organisations that will make their own financial commitments. This will help the GNR identify dependencies between commitments and across stakeholders (for example, between a donor that is making a financial commitment to fully fund the implementation of a nutrition intervention in a country and the country that is committing to implement the particular nutrition intervention funded by the donor). 2. The funding mechanism, such as private, public, self or anything else as appropriate. 3. The financial resources that have been secured either as an amount or as a percentage (%) of total costs or even as a broad estimate (e.g., total costs are partially/fully secured). |
Measurable goals of the commitment (Q12–Q13)
This is the second fillable part of the form, which contains two questions and aims to capture the measurable goal(s) of the commitment.
Table 5: Commitment Registration Form: Commitment goals
| Question | Details |
|---|---|
| *Q12 |
Number of the measurable goals of the commitment. A measurable goal is what stakeholders are committing to achieve and will be used to track and assess progress made towards the commitment. The measurable goals should be nutrition-related goals, including nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive ones. The following are examples of nutrition-related goals. · Reduce stunting in children <5 years of age · Reduce anaemia in women of reproductive age · Expand network by [countries] · Design a national nutrition action plan · Invest [amount] on nutrition-specific interventions and in particular in [sectors] (if the sectors are not known at this point, you will be asked to report on these during the progress assessment of the commitment) · Invest [amount] on nutrition-sensitive interventions and in particular in [sectors] (if the sectors are not known at this point, you will be asked to report on these during the progress assessment of the commitment) · Establish a regulatory body for nutrition · Increase the national budget dedicated to nutrition. The Commitment Registration Form can support the reporting of up to 10 goals per commitment. If more than 10 goals, please contact [email protected] |
| *Q13 | Description of each measurable goal. |
Additional details for the measurable goals (G1.1–G1.10)
This is the third fillable part of the form, which contains up to 19 questions which are specific to the measurable goal. This section will need to be completed for each of the goals (if >1) separately. In other words, these questions will be repeated as many times as the number of measurable goals specified in Q12. For example, if the commitment has only one goal, then this section will appear only once; if the commitment has three goals, then this section will appear three times (once for each measurable goal).
Table 6: Commitment Registration Form: Additional details for the commitment goals
| Question | Details |
|---|---|
| *G1.1 | The type of the measurable goal. Stakeholders need to specify which of the four types listed under this question (i.e., financial, policy, programmatic, impact) best describes their commitment goal. Please refer to the N4G Commitment Making Guide for examples on the different commitment goal types. |
| G1.2 |
The action plan for achieving the measurable goal. Stakeholders need to clearly specify the strategy (in up to 400 words) they will follow to achieve the measurable goal. The action plan represents the “road map” for reaching the goal of the commitment and ensures that possible pitfalls and challenges are identified. For example, the goal of reducing childhood stunting from 15% to 10% will be achieved through developing and implementing a cross-government, risk-informed food system policy, as well as nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions. The nutrition-specific interventions will include [detail]. The nutrition-sensitive interventions will include [detail]. |
| *G1.3 | Reporting progress on a different tracking/accountability mechanism. Stakeholders need to specify whether they are expected to report on the progress of the measurable goal to another tracking/accountability mechanism (in addition to the GNR). Examples of other tracking/accountability mechanisms include the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for financial commitments and Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI) for private sector food businesses. |
| *G1.4 | The geographic area covered by the measurable goal. ‘Global’ refers to all countries worldwide; “multi-country” refers to selected countries or regions (e.g., Southeast Asian countries or Western African countries); “national” refers to the country level; “sub-national” refers to country regions, such as states and provinces; and “local” refers to the level of a city, suburb or community. |
| *G1.5 | Any additional specifications about the geographic coverage of the measurable goal. Stakeholders may provide more information on the geographic coverage of the goal, such as specifying the countries for “multi-country” coverage or the states/provinces for “sub-national” coverage. Stakeholders may further specify whether the goal is focused on geographic areas with a given characteristic (such as high prevalence of a given form of malnutrition, or low income). |
| *G1.6 | The targeted population of the measurable goal. Stakeholders need to specify whether the goal targets the overall population, specific population groups (e.g., children under 5 years of age) or no population (e.g., when committing to establish an international collaboration to scale-up nutrition action). For private sector food businesses, whose products refer to all consumers (not specific population groups), the appropriate answer is “overall population”. If the products refer to consumers of a specific population group (e.g., children, pregnant women), please select “specific population group(s)”. |
| *G1.6a | (Appears only if “Specific population group(s)” has been selected in G1.6). The sex of the specific population group that is targeted by the measurable goal. |
| *G1.6b | (Appears only if “Specific population group(s)” has been selected in G1.6). The age range of the specific population group that is targeted by the measurable goal. |
| G1.6c | (Appears only if “Overall population” or “Specific population group(s)” have been selected in G1.6). The population coverage of the targeted population group. Stakeholders need to specify in absolute number (e.g., 2 million individuals) or as a percentage (%) of the overall population (40% of the country population) the size of the population that is targeted by the goal. |
| G1.6d | (Appears only if “Overall population” or “Specific population group(s)” have been selected in G1.6). Differential approach adopted for reaching the population of interest. Stakeholders may specify whether they adopted a differential approach to reach different population groups based on key population characteristics (e.g., age, gender, income, location, ethnicity, education or disability). |
| *G1.7 | Start and end date for achieving the measurable goal. Stakeholders need to specify the start and end month and year of the commitment period for the measurable goal. |
| *G1.8 | Information on the primary indicator that will be used to measure progress towards this commitment goal. |
| *G1.8a |
Name and unit of the primary indicator. Examples: • Prevalence (%) of stunted children under 5 years of age • Prevalence (%) of women of reproductive age with anaemia • Annual US$ disbursement • Establishment of a nutrition committee • Number of children treated for malnutrition. |
| *G1.8b | The baseline (current) level and unit of the primary indicator. Stakeholders need to specify the baseline level of the primary indicator that will be used to measure progress against (e.g., 20% of children under 5 years of age are stunted). |
| *G1.8c | The year the baseline level was assessed. Stakeholders need to specify the year the baseline level of the primary indicator was assessed (e.g., 2020). If the survey used to assess the baseline level spans over a two-year (or more) period (e.g., 2020–2021), the earliest year (i.e., 2020) should be indicated. The baseline year should be as close as possible to the starting year of the commitment. |
| *G1.8d | The level of the primary indicator to be achieved. Stakeholders need to specify the level of the primary indicator that they commit to achieving by the end date of the commitment period (as specified in G1.7). The same unit needs to be used (e.g., 10% of children under 5 years of age are stunted). |
| G1.8e | The potential interim milestone(s) to be achieved. Stakeholders may specify any interim milestones for the primary indicator to be achieved within the commitment period. For example, if the baseline level for the prevalence of childhood stunting is 20% in 2020 and the level to be achieved by 2028 is 10%, there may be an interim target to achieve a prevalence of 15% by 2024. |
| *G1.8f |
The monitoring and evaluation plan for the primary indicator. Stakeholders need to specify how they are planning to monitor and measure the primary indicator to report on its progress, as well as the frequency this monitoring will take place. Examples include: • Annual survey in children which collects anthropometric measurements • OECD Development Assistance Committee Creditor Reporting System validated by an independent third party every year for measuring nutrition-specific disbursements • Bi-annual national nutrition survey to measure dietary intakes. |
| *G1.9 | (Appears only if “Financial” has been selected in G1.1). Financial disbursement versus commitment. Stakeholders making a financial commitment need to specify whether this commitment refers to a financial disbursement (actual expenditure) or a financial commitment (legal decision to fund). |
| G1.10 | Goal developed as response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Stakeholders may specify whether this commitment goal was developed to address nutrition impacts related to Covid-19. The GNR in recognition of the importance of the Covid-19 pandemic on nutrition worldwide added this question only for reporting purposes. This is not a qualifying criterion or a requirement for registering the commitment with the N4G Summit. |
Additional information and feedback (Q14)
This is the last fillable part of the form, which contains one question and aims to capture any additional information as well as feedback on the registration process.
Table 7: Commitment Registration Form: Additional information and feedback
| Question | Details |
|---|---|
| Q14 | Any additional information on the commitment and/or any potential comments, thoughts and suggestions for the commitment registration process. |
Last updated: 15 August 2022