The “efficient boundaries” of international agricultural research: A conceptual framework with empirical illustrations

Kamanda, Josey; Birner, Regina; Bantilan, Cynthia

doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2016.10.012

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(35 reference statements)

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“…Iconic success such as the green revolution HYV cereals mask a patchier record of technology "perfected (by research) but rejected by (farmers)." At the heart of this challenge is the search for ways to move from a technology delivery pipeline to an approach that creates an interactive interface between different forms of research inquiry-discovery, adaptive testing, problemsolving-and domains of social and economic activity where change and innovation takes place (ISPC, 2016;Kamanda et al, 2017). Advocacy for partnerships to help build this interface is long-standing, but there is still much ambiguity about how this should actually be done, with who and how the performance of partnerships should be evaluated (Horton, 2013;ISPC, 2016).…”

Section: Creating a Research User Interfacementioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, for these tools to be successful, they need to be accompanied by new forms of research practice and institutional designs, supported by appropriate management systems and strategies (Chave et al, 2012). This deeper institutional change agenda has been the key bottleneck in evolving the way the CGIAR deploys science for impact (Hall et al, 2003;Horton and Mackay, 2003;ISPC, 2016;Kamanda et al, 2017;Watts et al, 2003). This article documents an example in the CGIAR where a significant innovation in research practice appears to have taken place.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emerging research practice for impact in the CGIAR: The case of Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI)

et al. 2019

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Under increased scrutiny by its funders, the CGIAR continues to search for ways of translating research excellence into innovation and developmental impact. Several approaches have been suggested that recognize the interactive nature of innovation. While these have been deemed useful, it is the deeper institutional change agenda that has been a bottleneck in the evolving ways of the CGIAR deploying science for impact. This article documents an example in the CGIAR where significant innovation appears to have taken place in research practice, and where the institutional setting of both the CGIAR center involved and its donors have adapted to accommodate this new approach. The case study presented is recent experiences at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) of developing and facilitating the adoption of Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) in Kenya and Ethiopia. The approach of the IBLI program evolved as a form of research practice that expands the boundaries of legitimate research practices in the CGIAR: it maintained the essentials of international public goods, but also included activities engaging with innovation processes that led to tangible household impacts. While the development and use of this approach was not without its tensions both within ILRI and with donors funding the work, the approach proved highly successful and won acceptance and legitimacy. This suggests that organizations should encourage and support individual projects and teams to adapt, develop, and adopt different approaches in order to achieve impact. Accepting pluralistic narrative of success will be a critical part of this.

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Section: Creating a Research User Interfacementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging research practice for impact in the CGIAR: The case of Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI)

et al. 2019

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“…In this context, studying and improving the CGIAR's knowledge generation models in relation to climate change offers an opportunity to identify best practice for institutionalization, and thereby enable the sector as a whole to more effectively support adaptation actions. As the international system for agricultural research, the CGIAR reform process has attracted the attention of various scholars (Mccalla, 2014(Mccalla, , 2017Kamanda et al, 2017;Leeuwis et al, 2018;Byerlee and Lynam, 2020), and in addition to scholarly research, the reforms have also been reviewed by leading international experts as part of CGIAR's evaluation processes (Beddington et al, 2014;Birner and Byerlee, 2016). While Byerlee and Lynam (2020) have argued that the formation of the CGIAR is "the major institutional innovation of the 20th century for foreign assistance to agriculture, " they note that in order to retain its leadership, longstanding organizational and funding issues will need to be resolved (Byerlee and Lynam, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Changing Climate for Knowledge Generation in Agriculture: Lessons to Institutionalize Science-Policy Engagement

Dinesh¹,

Hegger²,

Vervoort³

et al. 2021

Front. Clim.

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Effective science-policy engagement efforts are crucial to accelerate climate action. Such efforts should be underpinned by high-quality knowledge generation that enhances salience, credibility and legitimacy of research results. This is particularly important for the agricultural sector. Agriculture has been identified as a priority for climate action. The sector also constitutes well-established institutions set up to help achieve food and nutrition security. Institutionalizing high quality knowledge generation for climate change adaptation within these institutions presents a major opportunity to catalyze climate action within the sector. To contribute to insights about this institutionalization, we draw on and develop Cash et al.'s 2002 success conditions for enhancing salience, credibility and legitimacy: (1) increased accountability, (2) use of boundary objects, (3) participation across the boundary, (4) mediation and a selectively permeable boundary, (5) translation, and (6) coordination and complementary expertise. We examine how these success conditions apply in a major global case of agricultural research for development under climate change: the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). We explore these success conditions in the wider context of CGIAR reform and response to climate change as the international system for Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D). Our results specify and confirm the practical relevance of the six success conditions for institutional design and reform, but also point to the need to complement these with two inductively-derived success conditions: effective leadership and presence of incentives. To institutionalize these success conditions among AR4D institutions, there is an urgent need to create a conducive environment that enables the development of context-specific science-policy engagement strategies, along with leadership development and efforts to break traditional disciplinary silos which constrain user-oriented knowledge production.

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“…In this context, studying and improving the CGIAR's knowledge generation models in relation to climate change offers an opportunity to identify best practice for institutionalisation, and thereby enable the sector as a whole to more effectively support adaptation actions. As the international system for agricultural research, the CGIAR reform process has attracted the attention of various scholars (Byerlee and Lynam, 2020;Kamanda et al, 2017;Leeuwis et al, 2018;McCalla, 2014McCalla, , 2017, and in addition to scholarly research, the reforms have also been reviewed by leading international experts as part of CGIAR's evaluation processes (Beddington et al, 2014;Birner and Byerlee, 2016). While Byerlee and Lynam (2020) have argued that the formation of the CGIAR is 'the major institutional innovation of the 20th century for foreign assistance to agriculture', they note that in order to retain its leadership, longstanding organisational and funding issues will need to be resolved (Byerlee and Lynam, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stepping up science-policy engagement to accelerate climate action in food systems

Dinesh¹

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Science-policy interactions, interfaces and engagement in the context of climate change 1.2 Climate change, agriculture and food security 1.3 Science-policy engagement to accelerate a transformation in food systems: main challenges and knowledge gaps 1.4 Research aim, questions and relevance 1.4.1 Research aim and questions 1.4.2 Societal relevance 1.5 Research design, selected case study and methods 1.5.1 Case study 1.5.2 Data collection and methods 1.5.3 Data analysis 1.5.4 Research ethics and positionality 1.6 Outline of the dissertation 2.1 2.4.1 Navigate towards specific points of leverage 2.4.2 Allocate resources in three thirds 2.4.3 Join in external processes 2.4.4 Use research products to build scientific credibility 2.4.5 Sustain co-learning throughout policy engagement and implementation 2.4.6 Tackle power and influence 2.4.7 Invest in, and monitor, capacity enhancement 2.4.8 Mainstream higher-level goals 2.4.9 Create mechanisms for internal learning 2.4.10 Communicate strategically and actively 2.4.11 Explanatory factors for successful science-policy engagement 2.4.12 Challenges in science-policy engagement efforts 2.4.13 Quantitative analysis and contextualisation of principles 2.5 Discussion 2.5.1 Engagement 2.5.2 Evidence 2.5.3 Outreach 2.6 A revised and improved programme theory 2.7 Conclusion 3.1 3.4.5 Adverse power dynamics 3.4.6 Lack of institutional capacity 3.4.7 Inductively derived fail factors in science-policy engagement 3.4.8 Fail factors contextualised in examples 3.5 Discussion 3.5.1 Credibility, salience and legitimacy 3.5.2 Institutional arrangements and capacity 3.5.3 Navigating power dynamics 3.5.4 Funding uncertainties 3.6 Failing intelligently at the interface between science and policy 3.7 Conclusions 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Conceptual approach and methods 4.2.1 Conceptual approach: institutional analysis for AR4D 4.3 Methods 4.4 Results 4.4.1 Accountability 4.4.2 Use of boundary objects 4.4.3 Participation across the boundary 4.4.4 Mediation and a selectively permeable boundary 4.4.5 Translation 4.4.6 Coordination and complementary expertise 4.4.7 Additional success conditions identified 4.5 Discussion 101 4.5.1 Success conditions for institutionalising efforts to enhance salience, credibility and legitimacy 101 4.5.2 Creating an environment for 'enlightened' boundary work 102 CHAPTER 4: A changing climate for knowledge generation in agriculture: Lessons to institutionalise science-policy engagement 8 4.5.3 Opportunities for institutional analysis 4.6 Conclusion 5.1 Introduction 5.2 A theory of change to catalyse a transformation in food systems under climate change 5.3 Methods 5.4 Results 5.4.1 Biggest issues facing the food knowledge and innovation system 5.4.2 Priorities across themes 5.4.3 Empowering farmer and consumer organisations, women and youth 5.4.4 Digitally enabled climate-informed services 5.4.5 Climate-resilient and low-emission practices and technologies 5.4.6 Innovative finance to leverage public and private sector investments 5.4.7 Reshaping supply chains, food re...

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The “efficient boundaries” of international agricultural research: A conceptual framework with empirical illustrations

Abstract: The role of international agricultural research centers (IARCs)

Cited by 7 publications

References 27 publications

Emerging research practice for impact in the CGIAR: The case of Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI)

Emerging research practice for impact in the CGIAR: The case of Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI)

A Changing Climate for Knowledge Generation in Agriculture: Lessons to Institutionalize Science-Policy Engagement

Stepping up science-policy engagement to accelerate climate action in food systems

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