ISPC reports, publications, articles
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Item End of Meeting Report - ISPC 16(Report, 2017-10-17) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThe ISPC holds two open meetings per year to report on ongoing activities in each of its five workstreams. The 16th meeting of the ISPC took place at ICARDA Offices in Rabat, Morocco, from 18-19 September 2017.Item End of Meeting Report - ISPC 15(Report, 2017-04-25) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThe fifteenth meeting of the ISPC was held from 04-05 April 2017 in Rome, Italy View presentations here (https://www.slideshare.net/ISPC-CGIAR/tag/ISPC15)Item Data, Metrics, and Monitoring in CGIAR - Strategic Study(Report, 2014-12) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThis document contains the final report of the Panel together with the ISPC commentary. The Panel Report presents an analysis of the current activities within CGIAR concerning data, metrics, and indicators, and offers a series of recommendations to address the key issues and challenges identified.Item An Evaluation of the ISPC Science Forum 2016(Report, 2017-02) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilFollowing SF 2016, the ISPC conducted an evaluation of the Forum to assist in planning and modeling future events more successfully. An online participant survey was carried out and citation analyses were done for the papers published in the special issues after the previous three SFs.Item An Evaluation of the ISPC Science Fora(Report, 2014-04) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThe ISPC recently conducted a self-evaluation of the Science Forum series as a core mechanism for mobilizing science in terms of identifying new science needs and opportunities, and forging new partnerships. The purpose of this evaluation was to gauge the extent to which the SFs met their objectives, document their merits and shortcomings and detail the major lessons learned.Item The Role of CA and Associated Technologies in Achieving the SLOs - Concept Note(Independent Commentary, 2012-04) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThis strategic study will examine the evidence base for conservation agriculture and associated soil-based technologies in achieving the system-level outcomes of the new CGIAR system. The concept note describes the motivation for the study, its objectives, and outlines a workplan.Item A Stripe Review of Natural Resources Management Research in the CGIAR(Report, 2012-09) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThe NRM Research Stripe Review, for which the ISPC developed the Executive Summary on the basis of the Panel’s inputs, seeks to identify conceptual and operational issues that still require attention from CRP leaders, CGIAR Centers, and CGIAR leadership, in order to develop research that will meet CGIAR system level outcomes.Item Natural Resources Management: Challenges and Way Forward - Concept Note(Independent Commentary, 2011-08) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThe present study “Natural Resources Management: Challenges and Way Forward for the New CGIAR – a Stripe Review” is designed to provide CGIAR leadership, centers, and donors with perspectives on the factors that influence achieving impact at scale from NRM research, sharing insights and information helpful to assist in developing quality programs.Item Assessing the Impacts of International Agricultural Research on Nutrition and Health in Africa and Asia(Working Paper, 2018) Bulte, E.The multifaceted agriculture-health-nutrition nexus contains many linkages, suggesting wide scope for leveraging agriculture to improve nutrition and health outcomes. Levers may range from changing crops to reforming national policies. Impacts may be direct, such as through dietary changes or changes in the nutritional value of food consumed. They can also be indirect, such as through changes in income or food prices. In the past, for example, much of CGIAR research targeted interventions aimed at raising farm-level productivity, which, when adopted at a sufficient scale, helped increase the overall supply of food and thereby lowered food prices. It is understood that the nature of the agriculture, nutrition, and health nexus varies from one region to the next, and that cross-sectoral links are mediated by conditional factors such as local infrastructure, market structures, women’s empowerment, and the distribution of assets (including land). This note summarizes a recent effort by the ISPC’s Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA) (https://cas.cgiar.org/spia) to build evidence examining how CGIAR research impacts health and nutrition outcomes. This research was supported by ISPC-SPIA under the grant “Strengthening Impact Assessment in the CGIAR (SIAC) (https://cas.cgiar.org/spia/news/strengthening-impact-assessment-cgiar-siac-2013-2016).”Item Agriculture Towards 2030: Changes in Urbanization and Farm Size - Concept Note(Internal Document, 2012-07) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThe next two decades will see continuing and dramatic changes in world food systems. This concept note is intended to point the way towards a systematic study of the ways in which some major trends and issues are likely to impact the international public research system, with specific relevance for the research portfolio of CGIAR and its partners.Item Biotechnology Research in the CGIAR - Concept Note(Internal Document, 2013) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThis study is designed to provide the CGIAR system, the CGIAR Research Programs, and Donors with an analysis and recommendations for enhancing biotechnology research, through investment and partnership strategies that can best serve system efficiency and the attainment of CGIAR goals. It focuses on genomics and bioinformatics, and GMOs, including the related policy and institutional aspects.Item Where Can Agricultural Research Most Contribute to Winning More and Losing Less? Key Insights and Implications for CGIAR from Science Forum 2018(Brief, 2018-11) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThis brief summarizes discussions at Science Forum 2018 (SF18), organized around four main building blocks (1. Research design; 2. Prioritizing activities; 3. Measuring success; and, 4. Demonstrating impact) that the Forum participants were asked to consider in every session. Could we win more benefits for smallholder farmers and lose less nutritional quality in diets if we shift the focus of plant breeding programs? How can agricultural research help win more benefits from livestock intensification and lessen the negative environmental impacts and increased risks from zoonoses? Where are the key opportunities to increase energy and water efficiency while improving our food systems? These are some of the questions posed at the recent SF18, held from October 10-12 in Stellenbosch, South Africa . The event was designed to take a close look at the interactions, i.e. synergies and trade-offs, that may be a by-product of too narrow a focus on individual Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and how agricultural research can play a role in effectively meeting multiple objectives.Item What is the True Impact of Improved Cassava Varieties in Nigeria?(Brief, 2018-02) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilNigerian farmers grow over 60 cassava varieties linked to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) (http://www.iita.org/) research efforts. While yields and the area under cassava have increased over the past decade in Nigeria, there is a lack of rigorous impact evidence—this despite cassava being a major source of food and income. The extent to which an agricultural technology is adopted is a critical input to examine productivity and welfare impacts resulting from adoption. The Cassava Monitoring Survey, implemented by IITA and the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI)-Nigeria, addresses three policy-relevant research questions: True adoption rate of improved cassava varieties in Nigeria; the effects of adoption on productivity and poverty; and the extent to which self-reported adoption status (versus DNA fingerprinting) over- or under-estimates these effects. This research was supported by ISPC-SPIA under the grant “Strengthening Impact Assessment in the CGIAR (SIAC) (https://cas.cgiar.org/spia/news/strengthening-impact-assessment-cgiar-siac-2013-2016).”Item Social and Economic Benefits of CIFOR’s Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP)(Brief, 2018-05) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThe Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP) (https://www.cifor.org/swamp) of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) (https://www.cifor.org/) aims to provide policy makers with the scientific information they need to make sound policy and strategy decisions about wetlands. Researchers from Virginia Tech (https://aaec.vt.edu/research/rural-regional-development/spia.html) and CIFOR estimated the potential economic value of SWAMP-generated knowledge through two pathways: (1) improved implementation of the Indonesian forest moratorium in peatlands, and (2) increased retention of peatlands and mangroves worldwide. This research was supported by ISPC-SPIA under the grant “Strengthening Impact Assessment in the CGIAR (SIAC) (https://cas.cgiar.org/spia/news/strengthening-impact-assessment-cgiar-siac-2013-2016).”Item What Is the Impact of NERICA Rice on Yields and Nutrition in Sierra Leone? Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial(Brief, 2018-05) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilInnovations for Poverty Action (IPA) (https://www.poverty-action.org/), in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) (https://www.rescue.org/) and the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (http://www.slari.gov.sl/), conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of NERICA-3 (an upland rice variety) in five districts of Sierra Leone to assess the effects on farmers’ yields and child nutrition. This research was supported by ISPC-SPIA under the grant “Strengthening Impact Assessment in the CGIAR (SIAC) (https://cas.cgiar.org/spia/news/strengthening-impact-assessment-cgiar-siac-2013-2016).”Item Science Forum 2016 Special Issue Inception Workshop(Brief, 2017-06) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilFor each of its Science Fora, the ISPC has developed a special issue journal publication to inform CGIAR research and the field at large. This Brief highlights key messages from a Special Issue Workshop (https://cas.cgiar.org/spia/events/science-forum-2016-sf-2016-special-issue-workshop) held after Science Forum 16 (https://cas.cgiar.org/isdc/events/science-forum-2016).Item Nutrition and Health Outcomes: Targets for Agricultural Research. Brief 43(Brief, 2014-09) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThis brief outlines the context and the existing evidence base, together with priority research areas and key issues identified by participants at the 2013 Science Forum as those which CGIAR needs to consider in designing agricultural research that can deliver better nutrition and health outcomes.Item Quality of Research for Development: Insights and Way Forward(Brief, 2017-03) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThe ISPC is facilitating System-wide agreement on the nature and assessment of Quality of Research for Development (QoR4D). A small working group (WG) on QoR4D with representation from Centers, CRPs and the IEA was established late last year. This WG organized a workshop at FAO on 06-07 February 2017 with representation from across CGIAR System constituencies - key findings from those discussions are elaborated in this brief.Item Quality of Research for Development in the CGIAR Context(Brief, 2017-10) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThe ISPC is facilitating System-wide agreement on the nature and assessment of quality of research for development (QoR4D), and a working group on QoR4D was established in 2016 under ISPC chairmanship. The consultative process led to a consensus that QoR4D in the CGIAR context should be viewed as an integrated whole of four key elements: relevance, scientific credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness that could be the basis for a common frame of reference across the System. This Brief highlights case studies from different CGIAR entities and provides an overview of key considerations and suggested approaches for designing, implementing, assessing and managing QoR4D at each level, from Center/CGIAR Research Program (CRP) to performance management for individual scientists.Item Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Production Systems: A Research Agenda at the Crossroads?(Brief, 2018-05) CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership CouncilThis brief summarizes the outcomes of the SPIA workshop on 'Assessing the Impact of Research on Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Production Systems’ (https://cas.cgiar.org/spia/events/assessing-impact-research-managing-natural-resources-sustainable-production-systems) and the proposed next steps. Key messages include: - Broad acknowledgement of—and little resistance to—the findings that adoption rates for these practices in the target countries in Africa and Asia are generally low outside of project contexts. - Strong challenge on the “adoption of NRM technologies and practices” paradigm—many felt that it is an inappropriate paradigm through which to understand, and to track uptake and influence of, CGIAR research on on-farm NRM. - Strong support for continued methodological innovation in impact assessments of NRM research, along the lines of tools applied in the SPIA studies and the advances being made outside of the CGIAR. - Recognition of the lack of a clear and compelling vision for this research area, and NRM research as a whole, even as the motivation to positively influence both social and environmental outcomes is apparent. This research was supported by ISPC-SPIA under the grant “Strengthening Impact Assessment in the CGIAR (SIAC) (https://cas.cgiar.org/spia/news/strengthening-impact-assessment-cgiar-siac-2013-2016).”