Created in 2008 under the auspices of the OECD, the Farm-Level Analysis Network (FLAN) is a collaborative network of experts from government-related institutions and agricultural research institutes involved in the collection and analysis of micro farm-level data. Responding to demands to improve policy decision making, the common goal of the members of the network is improving the quality and relevance of agricultural policy analysis using micro-level data. To achieve this goal, the network shares practical applications and contributes to identify issues of interest in the programme of work of the OECD Committee for Agriculture (CoAg). The network provides consistent micro-level analysis across countries, identifies policy and methodological challenges and solutions including data sources and innovative approaches, and promotes cooperative efforts to undertake and finance analyses that respond to OECD members’ demands.

Professor Sauer has been a member of the FLAN for several years. At the 27th network meeting, which took place online on April 23, he gave a presentation entitled "A strategy to measure the different dimensions of resilience using farm-level data".