Intervening in complex food systems: how outcome mapping of multi-actor platforms traces change in central Mozambique

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Purpose: Agricultural Innovation Platforms (AIPs) are increasingly applied by advisory services as approaches to facilitate learning and co-create food system solutions. However, the outcomes of such processes are rarely documented. In this study, we present an approach for capturing process outcomes and share findings from applying the approach to an AIP in central Mozambique.Design/methodology/approach: We complemented propensity score matching with regression adjustments and incorporated outcome harvesting as a participatory, retrospective evaluation method.Findings: We find that the AIP led to the formation and registration of a farmer association. This improved self-organisation and fostered ownership among participants in driving systemic change and generated spillover effects to farmers who were not directly involved in the process. Moreover, AIP members reported adopting improved agricultural practices compared with the control group.Practical implications: Our study highlights the challenges of providing evidence for outcomes and offers ways to address some of them. The proposed approach can support future AIP initiatives in embedding the documentation of process outcomes into the implementation process.Theoretical implications: Our research reaffirms that improving food systems requires integrated approaches that address multiple components of the system while accounting for trade-offs and synergies. To capture changes across these components, research designs need to be flexible and employ multiple methods.Originality/value: Strengthening this evidence base on the impacts and outcomes of AIP processes is essential for refining the approach and increasing the confidence of extension agents in applying AIPs at a larger scale.