<p>August 2015, stakeholders of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) will come together as a Constituent Assembly to consider the strategic direction and future governance of the Forum.To help guide and inform discussion, background papers have been prepared on each of the four topics to be addressed at the meeting. GFAR provides its constituencies the opportunity to engage in collective actions where they can bring their capabilities together for development success. Yet within the Forum, the concept of “collective action” is not well defined or understood. The purpose of this paper is to clearly define collective action in the GFAR context, and to highlight its value to all stakeholders –public, private, producer and civil society sectors. Key decision-points at the end of the document will form the basis for further discussion. &nbsp;</p>