ECART / ASARECA / CTA Workshop

On Impact Assessment of Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa Entebbe, Uganda, 16 - 19 November 1999

Executive Summary

Draft 2.12.99

While there is now widespread acceptance of the need for Impact Assessment (IA) of Agricultural Research, its implementation is limited. Problems have been identified not only with regard to methodology, but also concerning institutional capacity and organisational learning. By realising the potential of regional co-operation, the Workshop aimed to improve the implementation of Impact Assessment of Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa.

Strategic elements for implementing IA were identified with regard to institutional aspects, processes, and methods.

"Impact culture" was identified to be a useful guiding principle for institutionalizing IA, with an orientation towards organizational learning, and improved accountability to donors, governments and beneficiaries.

Adequate resources and capacity development are necessary but not sufficient conditions to institutionalize IA. In addition,

  • A conceptual framework that distinguishes institutional levels of IA stating the responsibilities, tasks, frequency and resources should be developed;

  • An organizational framework to generate and use impact assessments should be developed and integrated into the existing research process and decision-making system;

  • Internal responsibilities for IA up to the top management level, irrespective of discipline should be defined;

  • The motivation to do IA by sensitising managers and scientists for the usefulness of IA should be enhanced; and

  • Development-oriented research by rewarding scientists for their contributions to development objectives as well as for their scientific output should be encouraged.

Recommended IA processes include establishment of a relation between IA and strategic planning/policymaking. Participation and systematic feedback of beneficiaries and other stakeholders should be ensured; e.g. indicators to assess attainment of research objectives should be negotiated with them. Direct benefits should be assessed at the research programme level (3 to 6 years after the start). Development changes should be assessed at the institution or strategic level (4 to 10 years after start of research activities). Such impact assessment clearly differs from project evaluation which measures project output in shorter intervals, most often annually.

In order to improve research accountability towards donors and beneficiaries and credibility of IA results, the need to be explicit on assumptions underlying IA results is stressed. Moreover, it is recommended to assess not only economic but also social - including gender-related impact -, environmental and institutional impacts. Both quantitative and qualitative indicators are considered useful.

It was recommended to ASARECA to integrate the follow up activities resulting from the Workshop into its five year strategic plan. A task force on IA within Eastern and Central Africa should be initiated, and guidelines and criteria for IA, data base of external experts, and inventory of methods elaborated. Within each NARS and regional networks an appropriate organisational structure to implement IA should be developed, and the necessary IA capacity should be developed through training and practical experience.

The need for external support to institutionalise IA within NARS and regional networks and for capacity building should be identified and potential donors approached.

It was recommended to initiate similar workshops in other regions, especially CORAF and SACCAR. Regional and international co-operation in implementing IA should realize efficiency gains to address common IA issues, adhering, however, to the subsidiarity principle.

Half of the invited participants were from ASARECA networks and NARIs, and the other half from international institutions (ECART members including ATSAF, CIRAD, GTZ, IAO, KIT, NRI; CTA; CGIAR Centers; The World Bank; FAO; USAID; IDRC) and NGOs. CORAF and SACCAR were also invited.

The programme included a keynote address by Alex McCalla, The World Bank, a lead paper by the Workshop Preparation Group, a state of the art paper by the CGIAR/IAEG and a commissioned regional paper. Six case studies were presented. Working groups supported by facilitators analysed the situation, developed recommendations and identified next steps with regard to improving accountability, organisational learning, institutionalising IA, and regional and international co-operation to implement IA of Agricultural Research.

The Workshop was organized by the European Consortium for Agricultural Research in the Tropics (ECART) together with the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) and the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA). Funding was kindly provided by ECART, ASARECA, CTA, CGIAR/IAEG, EU (INCO/DEV) and GTZ. The report will be published by CTA.

CTA's working document series consists of material that, in view of its immediate relevance and practical utility to specific readerships, the Centre wishes to make available without the delays inherent in the formal publication process. These working documents have not yet undergone technical editing by CTA and should be cited accordingly. Comments on matters of substance are welcome, and should be addressed directly to CTA.

 

  
 

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