Analysis of stakeholder frames on positioning, drivers and solutions to food insecurity in Australia

Abstract

Background: The issue of food insecurity has diverse and often divergent interpretations among stakeholders. This has contributed to fragmented responses within an incoherent policy landscape to address worsening food insecurity in the face of compounding crises of cost-of-living pressures and inequity, geopolitical unrest and the accelerating climate emergency. This project aims to understand different stakeholder’s perspectives regarding the positioning, drivers and proposed solutions to food insecurity, as articulated within submissions to the current federal parliamentary inquiry into food security. In addition, the project explores how the proposed solutions to food insecurity are influenced by divergent stakeholder framings of the problem. Methods: This project involves thematic analysis of all written submissions (n=185) according to Braun & Clarke’s 6-step approach, complemented by stakeholder mapping to understand engagement within the inquiry across both written submissions and invited oral hearings. A codebook was developed to capture the following components from each submission: 1) terminology and framing of food security 2) perceived drivers of food insecurity; 3) proposed policy solutions and recommendations; and 4) degree of alignment with the inquiry’s terms of reference. Submissions will be coded in NVivo, with subsequent development and consolidation of themes. Discussion: Findings will shed light on the diverse and often conflicting solutions proposed by food system stakeholders to address food insecurity. These findings will have applications in advocacy, as an adjunct to the inquiry’s report (expected by end of 2023) and in-turn, influencing the government’s response (expected by mid-2024).