Group facilitation skills for participatory decision-making: report of a follow-up outcome evaluation

This working paper reports on an evaluation designed to assess the usefulness of the skills gained during the training course, if the skills learned have been applied and, if so, how the new facilitation tools and techniques have changed meeting processes. The evaluation also identified obstacles to the use of new skills faced by participants, additional follow-on activities that have been conducted by participants, and other related skills that are needed to complement what was learned in the ILAC facilitation course

Workshop Clinic on Evaluation Practices

On 9 January 2012, a workshop clinic was held at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) office in Accra, Ghana, organized by Dr. Olufunke Cofie (Challenge Program on Water and Food -­‐ CPWF, of the CGIAR) and Ms Cristina Sette (Institutional Learning and Change Initiative -­‐ ILAC, of the CGIAR), and led by Prof. Patricia Rogers, from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology -­‐ RMIT, a well known professional in the field of program theory and evaluation. The results of the workshop were very positive as there was great engagement and participation from the 13 professionals present. The 3 hour workshop was structured in 7 sessions: (1) introduction, (2) what is good evaluation, (3) presentation on the CPWF in the Voltabasin, (4) professional practice fishbowl, (5) reflection on the fishbowl exercise, (6) next steps, and (7) a short presentation on the BetterEvaluation project

An overview of rural extension in Brazil: the current situation

This document is the result of a series of interviews carried out in November 2012 with extensionists, university professors, researchers, technicians, and extension service coordinators from different states in Brazil. A total of 14 professionals from CATI, ESALQUSP, EMPAER-MT, EMBRAPA, and independent consultants were interviewed. The information shared by those professionals was combined to build a narrative, showing an overview of the current rural extension practices in Brazil

Knowing what research organizations actually do, with whom, where, how and for what purpose: Monitoring research portfolios and collaborations

Peer Revie

Avaliação de métodos para quantificar geada em evaporadores de refrigeradores frost-free

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Mecânica, Florianópolis, 2015.Em evaporadores no-frost o acúmulo de geada é inevitável. Por degenerar a capacidade de refrigeração do sistema, degelos periódicos são necessários. Esse processo normalmente ocorre através do acionamento de um resistor elétrico e tem impacto negativo para o sistema, pois aumenta a carga térmica e causa variação da temperatura no refrigerador. Portanto, em um refrigerador é normalmente desejada a ocorrência de degelo somente quando necessário, para manter a eficiência do sistema de refrigeração. Entretanto, o atual controle desse processo permite que degelos desnecessários ocorram, não atuando de forma inteligente. Em vista disso, este trabalho tem por objetivo estudar possibilidades de identificação da quantidade de geada presente nos evaporadores para que o degelo possa ser controlado pela demanda. Para isso, investigaram-se experimentalmente diversas possibilidades. Deu-se enfoque às possibilidades que não exigem inserção e utilização de mais transdutores nos refrigeradores. Para os ensaios, construiu-se bancada própria e um refrigerador de modelo comum foi adaptado permitindo a visualização do processo. Testaram-se soluções baseadas na perda de carga do escoamento de ar sobre o evaporador, na eficiência da troca térmica do evaporador e também na evolução das temperaturas do evaporador e suas consequências, tais como a variação de resistência elétrica do resistor de degelo e a do enrolamento do motor do ventilador. Alguns transdutores capacitivos, indutivos e ópticos também foram avaliados. Os melhores resultados foram obtidos nas soluções baseadas na evolução de temperaturas. Um transdutor de fluxo de calor instalado permitiu analisar a influência da geada. Os resultados mostraram a degradação do coeficiente de transferência de calor devido à presença da geada, porém de maneira insuficiente para indicar a quantidade de geada. A possibilidade baseada na análise da dinâmica de variação das temperaturas frente à perturbação do sistema foi validada. Porém, o conceito encontrou obstáculo para diferenciar quantidades menores de geada depositada. Ao final deste trabalho não foi possível encontrar um método eficiente para o presente problema.Abstract : In no-frost evaporator, frost accumulation is unavoidable. Since this accretion depletes the cooling capacity of the refrigeration system, defrosts must be periodically carried out. This process is usually made by electrical heaters but it has a negative impact for the system because it increases the thermal load, and also causes temperature variation in the refrigerator. For this reason, in a refrigerator, it is normally desirable to defrost only as necessary to maintain an efficient cooling system. However, the current control of this process allows unnecessary defrosts, and not intelligent actions. Therefore, the present work aims to study possibilities to identify amount of frost accumulated in evaporators, so that process of melting can be controlled by demand. Because of this, some solutions were experimentally investigated. The main focus were the possibilities that do not require insertion and use of more transducers in refrigerators. In order to test, an experimental apparatus was assembled; a common model of refrigerator was adapted allowing the visualization of the process. Solutions based on the pressure loss of the airflow over the evaporator, the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator; and the evolution of evaporator temperatures and its consequences, such as the variation of the electrical resistance of the heater and the fan motor winding, were tested. Some sensors, based in capacitive, inductive and optical principle, were also evaluated. The best results were obtained in solutions based on the temperature development. A heat flow transducer installed in coil allowed analysis of the frost. The results showed the degradation of heat transfer coefficient due to the presence of frost, but insufficiently to indicate the amount of frost. The option based on the analysis of the dynamics of temperatures variation by a system disturb was validated. However, the concept encountered an obstacle in real operation condition of refrigerator. At the end of this work was not possible to find an efficient method to this problem

Monitoring the composition and evolution of the research networks of the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB)

Several tools have been developed in the last three decades to manage not-for-profit research activities. Most of these tools have focused on research outputs or outcomes, while few have analysed the processes of research and innovation to identify emerging problems and opportunities during the course of a project. This brief presents a cost-effective methodology that can be used to monitor changes in research networks. Since these networks change as the research projects mature (Kratzer, Gemuenden and Lettl, 2008), tracking the network structure provides information on the nature and evolution of research activities

CADEIAS PRODUTIVAS – FOCO NA CADEIA PRODUTIVA DE PRODUTOS AGRÍCOLAS

Esse artigo visa apresentar uma conceituação de cadeias produtivas, com foco na cadeia produtiva de produtos agrícolas. Através de uma análise histórica do surgimento do conceito de cadeias produtivas e a diferença entre as escolas americana e européia. Ao final examina a temática das cadeias produtivas curtas e aponta um questionamento sobre a possibilidade de estar surgindo um novo paradigm