How NAF commitments are cleaned, standardised and verified

Stakeholders are invited to register nutrition commitments in the Nutrition Accountability Framework. The registration form collects information via standardised data fields that are based on SMART principles (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound). The Global Nutrition Report (GNR) reviews and assesses information provided for eligibility, internal consistency, completeness and clarity, and assigns commitments to relevant action categories (using the Nutrition Action Classification System) and SMARTness levels (using the Nutrition Action SMARTness Index). Eligible commitments and their corresponding data are publicly shared via the NAF Commitment Tracker.

Raw commitment data submitted by commitment makers undergo automated cleaning and standardisation to ensure quality across key dimensions such as completeness, consistency, integrity, uniqueness and validity. This process includes generating data quality reports, which help the GNR to identify and correct errors—either directly when the cause is clear, or by requesting clarification from the commitment maker as part of the verification process.

After data cleaning, all test submissions and confirmed duplicate commitments are removed. Potential duplicates are identified manually and confirmed with commitment makers before removal. The remaining commitments are then assessed for eligibility: only those with nutrition-related goals are included in the NAF. If a commitment appears unrelated to nutrition, the commitment maker is contacted to confirm. For commitments that lack sufficient detail to confirm nutrition relevance, they remain in the process, and their connection to nutrition is clarified with the commitment maker during verification.

All commitments are classified using the Nutrition Action Classification System and assessed for SMARTness (see Assessing the SMARTness score of nutrition commitments). Throughout the entire process, all changes are documented in a data change log.

The GNR contacts stakeholders with registered commitments, as needed, to obtain clarifications on data provided and/or missing data. The verification is conducted in English and via email, supported by online calls as appropriate. Through this process, the GNR aims to help stakeholders improve the formulation—and as such the SMARTness—of their commitment(s). Based on revised data obtained (once verification is complete), GNR re-assesses eligibility, nutrition action classification and SMARTness of each commitment. The verification should not change the intent of the commitment or data already provided unless there is an error associated with it. Any corrections or updates are made only with the commitment maker's approval.

The NAF does not have a regulatory nature with regard to validating self-reported data against other sources. As such, during the verification process, the GNR:

• Does not validate the truthfulness or accuracy of self-reported information against other sources and/or country monitoring systems.
• Does not confirm that the nutrition actions registered are evidence-based and align with national priorities and/or internationally accepted standards.

Commitments are initially shown in their pre-verified form, with the verification status tagged as ‘pending’ while the verification process is underway. Once the verification is completed for each commitment, the online verification status changes to:

• Verified. This means that all data relevant to the commitment is available and clear, either as registered (no clarifications required) or after the verification process (after all requested clarifications were obtained).
• Partially verified. This means that some of the requested clarifications were obtained.
• Unverified. This means that none of the requested clarifications was obtained or that the stakeholder is unresponsive.

Commitments can also have a ‘withdrawn’ status, if a commitment maker is no longer pursuing this commitment, or a ‘superseded’ status, if a commitment maker has made a more recent commitment that replaces or modifies a past commitment. In either case, these commitments will no longer be updated or reported on but remain in the NAF Commitment Tracker for archival purposes.

An organisation can have multiple commitments and each of those may have a different verification status. The NAF Commitment Tracker is updated regularly to include newly registered commitments and to provide newly obtained data for existing commitments (once the verification process is complete).

A similar verification process is followed for the data submitted as part of the progress reporting of registered commitments.

The previous methodology of data standardisation was used for the 2021 N4G Tokyo Summit and Nutrition Year of Action. All NAF commitments, from 2021 and beyond, are now cleaned, standardised and verified using the process described above.