10 things to consider for scaling climate-smart agricultural index-based insurances

Agricultural index-based insurances can increase smallholder farmers’ resilience in a changing climate. CCAFS science successfully informs different insurance schemes around the globe. However, scaling up insurance products for the most vulnerable population remains a challenge, beyond the need to identify locally viable indices. In July 2018, CCAFS organized a South-South Cooperation event to facilitate exchange and learnings among its participants and partners, including government officials, private sector representatives and climate finance specialists and professionals. Their insights can give a first orientation to peer practitioners with plans to scale climate-smart agriculture (CSA) through insurance schemes. This Info Note is based on insights and discussions of CCAFS participants, partners and stakeholders working on climate-smart agricultural index-based insurances, during the first CCAFS South-South Collaboration Meeting in New York, July 2018

Designing knowledge-matching facilities for scaling climate-smart agriculture: A proposal for accelerating food systems’ transformation in a changing climate

The brief talks about designing knowledge-matching facilities for scaling climate-smart agriculture. This is a priority discussed in the International Workshop on Scaling up and out of Climate-smart Technologies and Practices for Sustainable Agriculture (an initiative initiating from 2019-MACSG20), as well as of numerous CCAFS partners in the governments, research, donor, financial and policy institutions, civil society and private sectors. CCAFS proposes to join efforts, and outlines a way forward to develop and/or shape knowledge matching facilities for accelerating food systems transformation in a changing climate. This document is intended to be a living document that informs members and interested stakeholders about intermediate results and the planned or next steps

Accelerating innovation development and scaling processes for agricultural transformation

At the 5th Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture in Bali, CCAFS, IFAD and USDA-FAS organized the Side event “Accelerating innovation development and scaling climate-smart agriculture to drive a transformation in food systems”. High-level representatives of > 20 governments, research, donor, financial and policy institutions, civil society and private sectors discussed their previously shared insights and agreed to act as an “Insight Group” for further related CCAFS research and action. This Info Note summarizes the groups’ first findings, along with a short proposal for next steps

Lessons learnt from CCAFS - 10 years scaling climate-smart agriculture: Insights from the review of CCAFS scaling activities, 2019

This Info Note is based on the insights of the CCAFS core team, lessons shared by project leaders via the MARLO, and interviewees from the following CGIAR centers and partners: Bioversity, CIAT, CIMMYT, CIP, ICARDA, ICRAF, ICRISAT, IFPRI, IITA, ILRI, IRRI, IWMI, WorldFish, and WUR. After ten years’ implementation, lessons learnt of practitioners validate two concepts that CCAFS has used and developed for scaling CSA: the Three-Thirds Principle for effective science-policy engagement (Dinesh et al. 2018) applies widely for scaling CSA, when adding the element of iterative learning; and the LearningWheel with 11 cornerstones for effective research and development to improve livelihoods and the environment (Campbell et al. 2006) is a useful framework for managing not only R4D, but also scaling processes

The Scaling Mindset – Shifting from Problems to Solutions. Insights from the Review of CCAFS Scaling Activities, 2019

In the frame of the review of CCAFS scaling activities in 2019, 21 project leaders and –implementers were interviewed about their scaling processes, touching a series of aspects that had been identified as crucial and/or critical by earlier research. Results were analysed with a systemic approach, to draw organisational learnings. The findings were validated with CCAFS core team during their Scaling Workshop in Madrid, May 2019, in which the Core Team also prioritized its programmatic areas of response. This working paper captures the main insights and learnings from both the interviews on project level, followed by the results’ analysis. It then summarized the Core Team workshop’s main discussion points and shortly outlines the programmatic areas of response that CCAFS identified. The learnings and insights on the realities of scaling agricultural innovations presented in this working paper can provide a rich basis for further synthesis and/or deeper research on the different aspects of innovation development and scaling

Transformative end-to-end innovation (E2EI) in a new era for food and climate: Insights and key actions supporting institutional change

There is a broad consensus that we need to transform our innovation systems, to achieve food security for everyone, under a fast-changing climate and other global crises. End-to-end innovation (E2EI) systems carry lots of expectations, since they have been employed successfully by different sectors, including corporate, health, education. But what does it actually mean in the context of agricultural research for development? And what needs to be done, to make the different institutions and innovations systems fit for transformative E2EI? This Info Note highlights the key findings of the evidence review study “Understanding and support for end-to-end innovation approaches ahead of COP26”, towards a shared understanding and shared action, by providing: A shared definition of E2EI in the context of transforming agricultural innovation systems; The main building blocks of & potential barriers along the innovation processes; and Recommendations for stakeholder-actions that are doable and impactful

Coupling scientific methodologies and design thinking tools in a hybrid approach

Design thinking initiatives are open-ended and unpredictable: a challenge for AR4D institutions. A project team of the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT (ABC) experimented with a hybrid approach, featuring both scientific methodologies and design thinking tools. This Info Note tackles the main lessons learnt from this initiative, such as: • Sequence is key, and large-scale surveys might be wasted is applied too early in the iterative process; • Budget and time need to be invested in staff/ design team training and continuous engagement; • Reflection and communication formats need to be adapted and recognized by all team members; and • Good practice is to embed design thinking initiatives in larger programs that can continue the process

Investing in impacts to transform food systems in a changing climate: A design challenge for scaling sustainable finance in climate-smart agriculture

An info note on a design challenge for scaling sustainable finance in climate-smart agriculture. In a virtual design thinking workshop (2nd semester 2020), representatives of the relevant financiers will design (elements) of these crucial mechanisms. Designing sustainable investments can change the ways food system innovations are developed and prioritized

A SME self-assessment tool: integrating an impact-& investment scan and a pre-matching platform (A prototype designed by actors of the sustainable finance community)

Scaling up sustainable finance in agriculture is limited by several systemic bottlenecks. To address these, CCAFS organized a design thinking series with actors of the sustainable community. This Info Note details the final prototype of the SME self-assessment tool that can help accelerate SME’s investment readiness. The Sustainable Finance Challenges Series was implemented with funds by ACIAR and the Ministry of Nature, Agriculture and Food Quality of the Netherlands

Open for business: Pathways to strengthen CGIARs responsible private sector engagement

CGIAR has considerable experience with private sector engagement in the context of its mission to create sustainable and resilient food, land and water systems, and there is continuing interest and dialogue on this theme within CGIAR and the international development community more generally. The on-going CGIAR reform provides an opportunity to capture those experiences and harmonize strategies under the new structure, as has been acknowledged in the new 'CGIAR 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy'. Commissioned by the NL-CGIAR Strategic Partnership, this report aims to identify, discuss and evaluate pathways for strengthening collaboration between CGIAR and the private sector to stimulate innovation and the scaling of these innovations in food, land and water systems. The objective is to advance private sector engagement in the CGIAR, based on transparent CGIAR system-wide mechanisms and processes