Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan for AICCRA Zambia

This Monitoring and Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan for the AICCRA project is a management tool that will help the project track and assess progress and achievements and make adjustments if necessary to ensure that the project can achieve its objectives intended results. The purpose of this MEL plan is: (i) to explain how the project will be monitored to determine whether the intended results are being achieved; (ii) to define the project data sources that will be used to verify the results achieved; (iii) to establish a process to alert implementers and stakeholders of any problems in project implementation and provide the basis for making any needed adjustments; and (iv) to describe information products such as reports and other written documentation that the project will produce and disseminate to its stakeholders, internal and external audiences

What does CGIAR do to address climate change? Perspectives from a decade of science on climate change adaptation and mitigation

CGIAR consists of a network of international publicly funded agricultural research for development institutes. Over five decades it has worked to increase food abundance, reduce hunger and poverty rates, and lower the geographical footprint of agriculture in lower- and middle-income countries. CGIAR's first formalised research program on climate change was set up in 2009. Here we report on an analysis of 300 outcomes generated over the lifetime of this program, which ran until 2021. Outcomes were characterised in relation to the climate objective, geography, thematic scope, and contribution to global goals. More than half of the outcomes analysed were related to policies for agriculture development under climate change. Twenty-six percent of outcomes related to climate, information and financial services, and 22 percent were related to organisational programming. Most outcomes analysed were at an early stage of maturity, focusing on design and planning stages of policies, strategies, and investments. Fewer than five percent of outcomes had evidence of impact at scale. Outcomes were facilitated by a wide network of partners and contributed to more than ten Sustainable Development Goals. The results of the analysis show the value of outcome-oriented science in being able to harness diversity, balance strategy with opportunism, plan flexibly, work across multiple vulnerability contexts, and allocate resources towards outcomes. These elements have played a significant role in fostering change across contexts, in adjusting research to emerging needs and context changes, in creating conditions for spillovers, and in ensuring global relevance. To transform the food system, the research for development agenda needs to be bolder. It will require more outcomes of various types, achieved through diverse partnerships, spanning a diversity of geographies, vulnerable contexts, and priorities. Significant and intentional investments in strengthening monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning capacity will be required to further realize the potential for outcome-oriented research

2022 AICCRA Partnership Survey Results Report

Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) is a USD 60 million three-year project, funded by the World Bank and being led by CIAT, with participating partners from six countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Mali and Senegal. This report provides an overview of the Satisfaction Survey that was disseminated to partners to gather their feedback on three of the intermediate Project Indicators (IPI), as laid out in the Project Implementation Arrangements. These indicators capture progress on (1 - IPI 1.3) the satisfaction with the usefulness, accessibility and relevance, particularly for gender and youth responsiveness, (2 - IPI 2.4) effectiveness of partnerships and (3 - IPI 3.3) the use or adaptation of AICCRA-funded climate-relevant knowledge products, decision-making tools and services. The survey was open from 8 December 2022 to 11 January 2023 Cluster leads provided the products/services to survey for their cluster, and they sent the survey to their partners totaling 451 recipients. There were 312 responses from 309 unique individuals, which was a 69% response rate. Three individuals reported on two separate Clusters. All second-year targets were achieved. Satisfaction with the products and services of the project (IPI 1.3) attained an average of 82%, 2% higher than the 2021 average of 80% and 5% higher than the target of 75%. Effectiveness of partnerships (IPI 2.4) surpassed the target of 75% and achieved an average score of 85% for all criteria including Vision, Leadership, Accountability, Communications & Collaboration and Impact, which matches the 2021 result. Through an elaborative capacity development program, IPI 3.3 - which looked precisely at how many respondents have used the products - scored an average of 73% confirmed use (233 identified use cases); well above the 12.5% target for year two. Continuous feedback on the survey design and results are also being compiled and will help improve the process for next year

AICCRA leveraging on networks to communicate climate information and climate smart agriculture to smallholder farmers in Zambia

AICCRA Zambia supports networks and community responses through programs on climate innovation and agribusiness, leveraging on media and communication channels. Interventions are designed to stimulate networks of actors at multiple levels (macro, meso, micro) that catalyse dissemination of climate information and climate smart products and services to smallholder farmers. At project level, communication and outreach strategies that support networks and linkages within and across the networks can also contribute to achieving impact. Network strengthening and media communications can provide an important bridge for research, development, climate and agri-business to achieve their targets of enhancing uptake of climate information and climate smart agriculture. Assessment tools are being developed to identify what networks, partnerships and strategic stakeholders the media can leverage on and start working with. Assessing value creation stories with key stakeholders will show how communication and outreach activities of the AICCRA project have resulted in stimulating response by intermediaries and end-users and improved program performance and impact on smallholder farmers. Providing feedback on how good the media interventions were, how they contributed to local impact pathways, and what new opportunities for partnerships were discovered, supports monitoring and evidencing achievements in accordance with the project results framework

AICCRA Partnership Survey Results Report

Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) is a USD 60 million three-year project, funded by the World Bank and being led by CIAT, with participating partners from six countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Mali and Senegal. This report provides an overview of the Satisfaction Survey that was disseminated to partners to gather their feedback on three of the intermediate Project Indicators (IPI), as laid out in the Project Implementation Arrangements. These indicators capture progress on (1 - IPI 1.3) the satisfaction with the usefulness, accessibility and relevance, particularly for gender and youth responsiveness, (2 - IPI 2.4) effectiveness of partnerships and (3 - IPI 3.3) the use or adaptation of AICCRA-funded climate-relevant knowledge products, decision-making tools and services. The survey was open from 29 January through 9 February 2022. Cluster leads provided the products/services to survey for their cluster, and they sent the survey to their partners. There were 157 responses from 150 unique individuals. Two individuals reported on two separate Clusters. Five individuals responded twice. All first year targets were achieved. Satisfaction with the products and services of the project (IPI 1.3) attained an average of 80%; 5% higher than the target of 75%. Effectiveness of partnerships (IPI 2.4) surpassed the target of 75% and achieved an average score of 85% for all criteria including Vision, Leadership, Accountability, Communications & Collaboration and Impact. Through an elaborative capacity development program, IPI 3.3 - which looked precisely at how many respondents have used the products - scored an average of 61% confirmed use; well above the 2.5% target for year one. Feedback on the survey design and results are also being compiled and will help improve the process for next year. This includes the ability to better survey the partners on the products and services that they have been trained on, providing the survey in French, and trying to anticipate the satisfaction survey to avoid simultaneous timing with the AICCRA Annual Report

AICCRA 2022 Survey Results - final data

Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) is a USD 60 million three-year project, funded by the World Bank and being led by CIAT, with participating partners from six countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Mali and Senegal. This report provides an overview of the Satisfaction Survey that was disseminated to partners to gather their feedback on three of the intermediate Project Indicators (IPI), as laid out in the Project Implementation Arrangements. These indicators capture progress on (1 - IPI 1.3) the satisfaction with the usefulness, accessibility and relevance, particularly for gender and youth responsiveness, (2 - IPI 2.4) effectiveness of partnerships and (3 - IPI 3.3) the use or adaptation of AICCRA-funded climate-relevant knowledge products, decision-making tools and services. The survey was open from 8 December 2022 to 11 January 2023 Cluster leads provided the products/services to survey for their cluster, and they sent the survey to their partners totalling 451 recipients. There were 312 responses from 309 unique individuals, which was a 69% response rate. Three individuals reported on two separate Clusters. All second year targets were achieved. Satisfaction with the products and services of the project (IPI 1.3) attained an average of 82%, 2% higher than the 2021 average of 80% and 5% higher than the target of 75%. Effectiveness of partnerships (IPI 2.4) surpassed the target of 75% and achieved an average score of 85% for all criteria including Vision, Leadership, Accountability, Communications & Collaboration and Impact, which matches the 2021 result. Through an elaborative capacity development program, IPI 3.3 - which looked precisely at how many respondents have used the products - scored an average of 73% confirmed use (233 identified use cases); well above the 12.5% target for year two. Continuous feedback on the survey design and results are also being compiled and will help improve the process for next year. (2022-12

CGIAR Level Agricultural Results Interoperable System Architecture (CLARISA) factsheet

CLARISA is a web service that helps to transform raw data on CGIAR research and activities into meaningful information that can shape how we work, and reveal what our impacts are on development – on reducing poverty, improving food and nutrition security for health, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services