Review of the CPWF small grants initiative

This working paper reviews the experiences of the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) with 14 “small grants for impact” that were contracted in early 2006 and operated for periods of 12 to 18 months. For a total investment of under US$1 million – less than the equivalent of a typical 3-5 year CPWF research for development project in Phase 1, the small grant projects made significant contributions to identifying water and food technology for specific end users (thus showing the potential of CPWF research in general); to better understanding of adoption; to stimulating research by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and to better connecting CPWF researchers in general to the reality of the development process. Four of the small grants were outstanding in their contribution across all four of these criteria; six others made significant contributions to one or more, representing a high success rate for the original investment. The quality of many of the 126 eligible proposals received was sufficient to have identified at least 20 more projects suitable for immediate funding at that time in late 2005. Unfortunately, other demands on CPWF funding and priorities on research set by the Consortium Steering Committee made it impossible to support these. This review concludes that calls for small grant proposals are an effective way of obtaining local impact and of connecting a wide range of relevant institutions to the efforts of a network such as CPW

Improving the resilience of agricultural systems through research partnership: A review of evidence from CPWF projects

This paper explores the potential benefits of working to improve the resilience of complex adaptive systems in agriculture and aquaculture through engaging in diverse partnerships among different types of research and development institutions, and the people in those institutions. We use five case studies of CPWF research-for- development efforts to draw lessons about achieving effective results in system resilience. The paper gives concrete examples of effective partnerships and the positive changes that resulted for farmer and fisher communities. According to the literature (e.g. Sayer and Campbell, 2001), one key to successful attainment of resilience is the interlinking of at least three system levels. Similarly, it appears from our study that projects need to intervene at three or more system levels, with their corresponding actors, to bring maximum benefit to small rural households. In the CPWF experience presented here, one level often provides the key opportunity to mobilizing the other levels. Hence, diverse partnerships increase the chance of innovation and success when that diversity covers at least three institutional scales, for example, farm households, community-based organizations and regional policy-making. We note that there is therefore likely to be a close link between resilient results and broad partnerships in research and development. We find evidence that research products produced in this way contributed better to the resilience of rural livelihoods than those typically obtained from “business as usual”, that is, using the science-driven Central Source of Innovation model, and that such contributions were often unexpected; this merits further study beyond the scope of this paper. In most of the cases, the “business as usual” research would not have produced any of the results. In others, some key results, but not the complete set of results, would have been obtained because not all levels of actors would have been present in the research. The projects discussed in these case studies contributed to resilience of livelihoods because they sped up learning processes that were cognizant and inclusive of different system scales. This provided the checks and balances necessary to avoid promoting a change to the detriment of a long term trend, or of another system user. Involving actors from more system levels increased the ability to analyze, and generated more benefit for more people. By scoping the environment of diverse institutions for ideas, partners picked up good ones quickly. They understood “what is going on”. A further key to success was leadership of the research-for-development teams by results-oriented, committed, well-connected people, accustomed to systems thinking, which was also a result of broader partnerships

The CGIAR’s Challenge Program Experiences: A Critical Analysis

This document has been prepared by staff of the four Challenge Programs (CPs) established by the CGIAR in 2002-2004 as a contribution to the first meeting of the Consortium Planning Team (CPT) with the Alliance Executive and Deputy Executive (17-20 February 2009)

Stories from the field: Most Significant Change (MSC) synthesis

In January of 2007, a number of people working with the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) were invited to tell stories about the “most significant change” (MSC) they had observed as a result of CPWF activity. They were guided by two questions, posed to establish the stories’ domain and time frame of interest. These were: “What has been the most significant technical development/advance made by your CPWF project / theme / basin since the start?” “What has been the most significant partnership change (significant in terms of making scientific progress and/or developmental impact more likely) that has taken place since the start of your CPWF project (or theme or basin)?” This paper aims to pull together some of the threads emerging from these stories, weaving them into a fabric that gives insight into CPWF approaches and achievements

Un marco metodologico para la investigacion en campos de agricultores (version resumida)

A detailed description of the methodological framework for on- farm research is included; it provides a logical sequence for the activities carried out in an agricultural subsystem and clarifies the objectives for each stage. This framework has been adapted by the CIAT Bean Program based on its experience with several national programs during 1982-86. The steps to be followed within the framework are selection of priority areas, characterization of agricultural practices, analysis of the problems, availability of resources, collection of secondary information, characteristics of the area, surveys, essay planning, special studies, technology evaluation, dissemination, and promotion. (CIAT)Se describe en detalle el marco metodologico para la investigacion en campos de agricultores (ICDA) que consiste en proporcionar una secuencia logica de las actividades realizadas en un subsistema agricola y clarificar los objetivos en cada etapa. Este marco metodologico ha sido adaptado por el Programa de Frijol de CIAT con base en sus experiencias con varios programas nacionales durante 1982-86. Los pasos a seguir dentro del marco metodologico de la ICDA son seleccion de las areas prioritarias, caracterizacion de las practicas de los agricultores, analisis de sus problemas, disponibilidad de recursos, recopilacion de informacion secundaria, reconocimiento de la zona, encuestas, planeacion de los ensayos, estudios especiales, evaluacion de tecnologias, difusion y promocion. (CIAT

Synthesis 2006

The purpose of this report is to summarize and synthesize activities and achievements of the CPWF through the end of 2006. The CPWF is a CGIAR Challenge Program designed to take on the global challenge of water scarcity and food security. It takes the form of an international, multi-institutional research-for-development initiative that brings together scientists, development specialists, and river basin communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It seeks to create and disseminate international public goods (IPGs) helpful in achieving food security, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, reducing agriculture–related pollution, and enhancing environmental security. This Challenge Program is a three-phase, 15-year endeavor. Several years have passed since the start of Phase 1 (2003-2008) which began with an inception phase in 2003 and was followed by full CPWF launch in January 2004. Research projects began field operations in mid-2004. This synthesis report, then, only describes work carried out in the first two and a half years of the Program. During this time, CPWF has conducted its research on water and food in nine benchmark basins, organized around five different themes. This work is being implemented through “first call projects”, “basin focal projects”, “small grant projects” and “synthesis research”. This present report is one example of the latter. CPWF projects have made considerable progress in developing innovative technologies, policies and institutions to address water and food issues. Some projects focused on improving agricultural water productivity. Others focused on developing mechanisms to inform multi-stakeholder dialogue and negotiation, or explored ways to value water used to produce ecosystem services. Advances were also made in understanding water-foodpoverty links, and their regional and global policy context