DOCSLIB.ORG

Shifting the Goalposts—From High Impact Journals to High Impact Data

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Shifting the Goalposts—From High Impact Journals to High Impact Data WHITE PAPER Shifting the goalposts—from high impact journals to high impact data Anja Gassner1, Luz Marina Alvare2, Zoumana Bamba3, Douglas Beare4, Marichu Bernardo5, Chandrashekhar Biradar6, Martin van Brakel7, Robert Chapman8, Guntuku Dileepkumar9, Ibnou Dieng10, Sufiet Erlita11, Richard Fulss12, Jane Poole13, Mrigesh Kshatriya11, Guvener Selim14 Reinhard Simon14, Kai Sonder12, Nilam Prasai2, Maria Garruccio8, Simone Staiger Rivas14, Maya Rajasekharan14 , Chukka Srinivasa Rao9 1 World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, PO Box 30677 Nairobi 00100 Kenya 2 International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), 2033 K St, NW, Washington, DC 20006-1002 USA 3 International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), HQ-PMB 5320, Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria 4 WorldFish, Jalan Batu Maung, Batu Maung, 11960 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia, PO Box 500 GPO, 10670 Penang, Malaysia 5 International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), DAPO Box 7777 Metro Manila 1301, Los Baños, Philippines 6 International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA, "Dalia Building 2nd Floor, Bashir El Kassar Street, Verdun, Beirut, Lebanon 1108-2010 P.O. Box 114/5055 Beirut, Lebanon" 7 International Water Management Institute (IWMI), P. O. Box 2075, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 127, Sunil Mawatha, Pelawatte, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka 8 Bioversity International, "HQ- Via dei Tre Denari 472/a 00057 Maccarese (Fiumicino) Rome, Italy" 9 International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru 502 324 Andhra Pradesh, India 10 Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) 01 B.P. 2031, Cotonou, Benin 11 Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), HQ- Jalan CIFOR, Situ Gede Bogor (Barat) 16115, Indonesia, Mailing-P.O. Box 0113 BOCBD Bogor 16000, Indonesia" 12 International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Km. 45, Carretera, México-Veracruz, El Batán, Texcoco CP 56130, Edo. de México, Apdo. Postal 6-641, 06600 Mexico, D.F., Mexico 13 International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), HQ-PO Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100 , Old Naivasha Road, , Nairobi, Kenya 14 International Potato Center (CIP), Avenida La Molina 1895, La Molina, Apartado Postal 1558, Lima, Peru 15International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Km 17, Recta Cali-Palmira Apartado Aéreo 6713, Cali, Colombia Contents Introduction .................................................................................... 3 Types of research data .................................................................... 4 Research data infrastructure across the centers ............................ 6 Success stories .............................................................................. 15 Barriers to mainstreaming data sharing ....................................... 18 Recommendations ........................................................................ 21 Key references .............................................................................. 24 PAGE - 2 - Introduction CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership. Its science is carried out by the 15 research centers who are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. Each member of the CGIAR Consortium has the mandate to contribute to the eradication of hunger and poverty at the global level by advancing research in development. Being funded mainly through public funds there is an obligation to extract maximum public good value from the research data the individual centers are collecting. With the exception of a few designated projects, in the past, data itself was merely seen as a means to an end, synthesized to produce selected knowledge products such as publications, technical manuals or policy briefs. Changing financial realities and the need to reach our aid targets with less available resources is leading to a shift in thinking for new ways to make scientific research, and research data, more available, reusable and reproducible. Sufficiently preserved and replicable data are more absolute than contemporaneously drawn conclusions and, if they are collected to address one scientific question, can later be applied for the solution of entirely different problems (Altman et al., 2006). A growing number of donors now require data sharing requirements in their standard grant contracts and open access to be applied to the research data of the work they fund. DFID and the European Commission are among those who are now adopting this policy. As one of the first custodians of development related data, the World Bank, launched an open data initiative in 2012. CGIAR itself followed this example and approved in March 2012 a policy that clarifies CGIAR research results, including data, are openly available and accessible by default – and that any deviation has to be justified. Open data is not a new concept for CGIAR, but in the past has largely remained linked to specific projects or core programs that are designed to collect and share data widely. In keeping with the changes to the amount, management and analyses of data, the role of scientists working in development, such as those at the CGIAR Centers, is changing. Previously, grant awards, and performance evaluations focused strongly on publication in high-impact journals. Fortunately, there is a rediscovery that the real currency of research and scientific knowledge –the data methods and ideas- are also important instruments, in their own right, to accelerate the impact. Our scientists are increasingly using their skills and their strategic advantage of being well integrated in farming communities to create well designed datasets for others to use. While there is no doubt that progress on development related research questions would accelerate with increased access to well documented and readily accessible data, the move also puts more pressure on the gatherers, compilers, analysts and keepers of the data. Because of previous emphasis on scientific publications only, research projects usually do not budget for the extra costs that occur for publishing and long-term storage of data. While projects adequately account for the costs of conducting research, including the collection and analysis of research data, they seldom include preparing of data and metadata and curation as part of the costs of the research process led alone long-term costs for data storage and preservation beyond the immediate lifetime of a project. Even more importantly the research nature of CGIAR makes it mandatory to ensure that the contributions of those individuals and organizations are recognized, whose reputations and careers depend on that recognition. Data generators have little opportunities to gain recognition from PAGE - 3 - publishing high value datasets under a performance evaluation system that strongly emphases scientific publications. The purpose of this white paper is to provide an overview of the ongoing initiatives at center level to respond to changing public expectations and to the challenge of improving the conduct of science by making research data widely available. We also attempt to provide a framework for implementing open access for research data to maximize CGIAR’s impact on development. The remainder of this paper proceeds as follows; firstly a summary of the diversity of research data produced by the centers is given, followed by an overview of the existing infrastructure for data management for each Center. Secondly, some of the limitations and barriers faced by the centers in their process to mainstream research data publishing are addressed. The paper concludes with recommendations for how these limitations and barriers can be tackled. Types of research data In close collaboration with national research institutions almost 10,000 scientists, researchers, technicians, are collecting, analyzing and synthesizing data on smallholder agricultural systems in Asia, Africa and Latin America. While the overall mandate of the CGIAR Centers is the same, each Center has their own research emphasis resulting in a vast variety of different kinds of research data. The following section does not attempt to give an exhaustive description of the data we produce, but rather to provide an overview of the main types and their characteristics. Long term trials Centers that are focusing on breeding of food crops and livestock need multiple location trials over many years before a new genotype can be fully evaluated, so do agroforestry and forestry trials that are working with slow growing perennials. Centers working more generally on combined systems research, natural resource management and climate change also have research covering decades in order to characterize and influence changes in these systems. These kinds of data are often collected in various consecutive projects and technical and scientific staff that collect and analyze the data can change. From a scientific point of view it is not desirable or useful to make the data available before meaningful intermediate results have been collected. One-off data collections Some data are project specific and aimed at answering specific research and/or development related questions, often analyzed and published as part of the project deliverables. Publication should be written within a reasonable timeframe after which the data can be publically released together with the publication. What is a reasonable timeframe does not only vary from researcher to researcher, but by discipline. Economics publishing moves much slower than other fields. It is not uncommon for
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Report from the Cgiar Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centres to the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
    CGRFA-14/13/Inf.22 March 2013 E Organización Food and Organisation des Продовольственная и de las Agriculture Nations Unies cельскохозяйственная Naciones Unidas Organization pour организация para la of the l'alimentation Объединенных Alimentación y la et l'agriculture United Nations Наций Agricultura n COMMISSION ON GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE Item 9 of the Provisional Agenda Fourteenth Regular Session Rome, 15 - 19 April 2013 REPORT FROM THE CGIAR CONSORTIUM OF INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTRES TO THE COMMISSION ON GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE TABLE OF CONTENTS Paragraphs I. Introduction 1-2 II. The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture 3-10 III. Animal genetic resources 11-21 IV. Aquatic genetic resources 22-28 V. Forest genetic resources 29-36 VI. Micro-organisms and invertebrates 37-39 VII. Cross-sectorial matters Consideration of the need for and modalities of access and benefit- sharing arrangements for genetic resources for food and agriculture 40-47 Consideration of finalized roadmap or work programme on climate change and genetic resources for food and agriculture 48-53 Review of all relevant international targets and indicators for biodiversity for food and agriculture 54-55 Review of key issues on biodiversity and nutrition 56-59 This document is printed in limited numbers to minimize the environmental impact of FAO's processes and contribute to climate neutrality. Delegates and observers are kindly requested to bring their copies to meetings and to avoid asking for additional copies. Most FAO meeting documents are available on the Internet at www.fao.org CGRFA-14/13/Inf.22 1 I.
    [Show full text]
  • Boosting Agricultural Efficiency and Output Through Targeted Interventions
    PA R T I V Boosting Agricultural Efficiency and Output through Targeted Interventions CHAPTER 1 5 Increasing Rice Productivity and Strengthening Food Security through New Rice for Africa (NERICA) Aliou Diagne, Soul-Kifouly Gnonna Midingoyi, Marco Wopereis, and Inoussa Akintayo espite Africa’s potentially rich land and water capita rice consumption in West Africa increased from resources, its farmers are among the poorest in the 14 kilograms in the 1970s to 22 kilograms in the 1980s and world. Because the vast majority of people in more than 39 kilograms in 2009. For Africa as whole, annual DAfrica der ive their livelihoods from agriculture, the weak per capita rice consumption increased from 11 kilograms in state of the sector has profound implications for poverty.1 the 1970s to 21 kilograms in 2009 (figure 15.1). Since the Agricultural innovation in Africa needs to internalize the early 1970s rice has been the number one source of caloric region’s biophysical, institutional, and socioeconomic con- intake in West Africa and the third most important source straints and establish efficient value chains to support sus- of calories (after maize and cassava) for the continent as a tainable growth and reduce poverty. whole (figure 15.2). Agricultural research can catalyze agricultural innova- Domestic rice production grew at the rate of 6 percent a tion and the development of the value chain. A prime exam- year between 2001 and 2005.5 But production still falls far ple is the New Rice for Africa (NERICA) varieties developed short of demand. As a result, Africa imports up to 40 per- by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice2) and partners, which cent of its rice consumption.
    [Show full text]
  • W Orking Paper
    Agricultural practices and technologies to enhance food security, resilience and productivity in a sustainable manner Messages to SBSTA 44 agriculture workshops Working Paper No. 146 CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Edited by: Dhanush Dinesh r International Research Institute for Climate and Society ape P w i s a t women in global science & technology Science with a human face ing k r o W Correct citation: Dinesh D (ed). 2016. Agricultural practices and technologies to enhance food security, resilience and productivity in a sustainable manner: Messages for SBSTA 44 agriculture workshops. CCAFS Working Paper no. 146. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). Available online at: www.ccafs.cgiar.org Correct citation for individual chapters (e.g.): Cooper P, Nangia N, Sander O, Zwart S, McCartney M, Westermann O. Water Management. In: Dinesh D (ed). 2016. Agricultural practices and technologies to enhance food security, resilience and productivity in a sustainable manner: Messages for SBSTA 44 agriculture workshops. CCAFS Working Paper no. 146. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). Available online at: www.ccafs.cgiar.org Titles in this Working Paper series aim to disseminate interim climate change, agriculture and food security research and practices and stimulate feedback from the scientific community. The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food
    [Show full text]
  • Integrated Irrigation and Aquaculture in West Africa: Concepts, Practices and Potential
    CCOVEROVER [[Converted].aiConverted].ai 33-03-2006-03-2006 12:21:2012:21:20 INTEGRATED IRRIGATION AND AQUACULTURE INWESTAFRICA—Concepts,practicesandpotential ANDAQUACULTURE IRRIGATION INTEGRATED FAO This volume contains background documents and papers presented at the FAO-WARDA Workshop on Integrated Irrigation Aquaculture (IIA) held in Bamako, Mali, from 4 to 7 November 2003, as well as the findings of FAO expert missions on IIA in the West Africa region. The rationale for IIA development lies in its potential to increase productivity of scarce freshwater resources for improved livelihoods and to reduce pressure on natural resources, which is particularly important in the drought-prone countries of West Africa where water scarcity, food security and environmental degradation are priority issues for policy-makers. Irrigated systems, floodplains and inland valley bottoms are identified as C the three main target environments for IIA in West Africa. Many examples M of current practices, constraints and potential for development of IIA are Y provided. The concepts of economic analyses of IIA are reviewed, and an CM overview of regional and international research institutions and networks MY CY and their mandates as they relate to IIA is given. Key factors for successful CMY adoption of IIA – participation of stakeholders and support for local K development, an integrated, multisectoral approach to IIA and improved knowledge management and networking – indicate the way forward and are reflected in a proposal for IIA development in West Africa. INTEGRATED IRRIGATION AND AQUACULTURE IN WEST AFRICA Concepts, practices and potential ISBN 92-5-105491-6 9 7 8 9 2 5 1 0 5 4 9 1 8 TC/M/A0444E/1/3.06/2500 CCover-IIover-II [[Converted].aiConverted].ai 33-03-2006-03-2006 112:22:302:22:30 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Cover page: FAO photos by A.
    [Show full text]
  • Effective Targeting of Research for Development
    CGIAR Rice C a en c t ri e f r A More effective targeting of C e e n u t q r i e r d f u l’A riz pour research for development Afr caR ce Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) – Annual Report 2017 AfricaRice Headquarters, Côte d’Ivoire © Copyright Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) 2018 01 BP 4029, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire AfricaRice encourages fair use of this material. Proper Telephone: (225) 22 48 09 10 citation is required. The designation used in the presentation Fax: (225) 22 44 26 29 of materials in this publication do not imply the expression Email: [email protected] of any opinion whatsoever by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) concerning the legal status of any country, AfricaRice M’bé Research Station territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning 01 BP 2551, Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. Telephone: (225) 22 48 09 20 Citation: Fax: (225) 31 63 25 78 Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice). 2018. Africa Rice Center Email: [email protected] (AfricaRice) Annual Report 2017: More effective targeting of research for development. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire: 40 pp. AfricaRice Regional Station for the Sahel, Senegal BP 96, Saint-Louis, Senegal ISBN: Telephone: (221) 33 962 64 41, 33 962 64 93 Print 978-92-9113-394-9 Fax: (221) 33 962 64 91 PDF 978-92-9113-395-6 Email: [email protected] Writing and editing: AfricaRice Nigeria Country Office c/o IITA, PMB 5320, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria Green Ink (www.greenink.co.uk) Telephone: (234) 80 55 05 59 51, 80 34 03 52 81 Fax: (44) 20 87 11 37 86 Photo credits: Email: [email protected] Romaric Biaou, page 22; Mirian Hendriks, page 29.
    [Show full text]
  • Importance of Pesticides for Growing Rice in Sub-Saharan Africa Leonard P
    International Pesticide Benefit Case Study 101 July, 2014 Importance of Pesticides for Growing Rice in Sub-Saharan Africa Leonard P. Gianessi ice is the most rapidly growing food commodity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Traditionally, rice was grown as a subsistence crop by R smallholders and largely consumed on the farm. In recent years, demand from urban consumers for rice as a storable and easily prepared food has increased tremendously. Greater use of pesticides on farms in Sub-Saharan Africa has great potential for increasing rice production. INTRODUCTION Portions of the grain head are white in contrast to the In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) total rice consumption over green or tan color of healthy grain. This “blasted” the period 2000-2012 increased from 12MT to 24MT. appearance is caused by sterile or blank grain. In SSA, a African rice production has not been able to keep up blast disease outbreak can cause the loss of about 35- with demand and nearly 37% of the rice consumed in 50% of rice yield, and in serious outbreaks, 100% rice 2 SSA is imported at a cost of US$5 billion per year yield losses have been recorded. Rice farmers have draining foreign currency reserves. This reliance on food abandoned imports is a very risky, expensive and unsustainable some inland strategy and it may lead to severe food insecurity and valleys in civil instability.1 The risks became clear in 2008 during SSA because food riots in major African capitals in protest against of high blast 3 high rice prices caused by rice-exporting countries pressure.
    [Show full text]
  • Worldfish Style Guide
    Photo credit: <Name>/<Organization> credit: Photo WorldFish Style Guide Version 3 April 2020 Table of contents Contents Table of contents i Introduction 1 Editorial style 2 1. Abbreviations 2 1.1. Acronyms and initialisms 2 1.2. Abbreviations for “species” 2 1.3. American states 2 1.4. Chemical elements 2 1.5. Geographic terms 2 1.6. Latin phrases 3 1.7. Periods in abbreviations 3 1.8. Project and program titles 3 1.9. Repeating units 3 1.10. Tables and reference materials 3 1.11. Truncations 3 1.12. Units of measurement 3 2. Annex versus appendix 4 3. Avoiding discriminatory language 4 3.1. Nonsexist language 4 3.2. Nonracist language 4 3.3. Language and disabilities 4 3.4. Language and age 5 4. Branding 5 5. Capitals 5 5.1. Geographic terms 5 5.2. Government 5 5.3. Headings 5 5.4. Hyphenated compounds 5 5.5. Initial words 6 5.6. Internet 6 5.7. Project and program titles 6 5.8. Small capitals 6 5.9. Titles 6 5.10. Titles of publications 6 i 6. Compound words 6 7. Copyright 7 8. Cross-references 7 9. Dates and times 7 10. Figures and illustrations 8 10.1. Figure captions 8 10.2. Numbering figures 8 10.3. Photo captions 8 11. Endnotes 8 12. Format 9 12.1. Headings 9 12.2. Order of elements in a publication 9 12.3. Paragraphs 9 13. Front matter/Preliminaries 9 13.1. Acknowledgments 9 13.2. Contents 9 13.3. Page numbering 9 14.
    [Show full text]
  • Key Assets and Benefits of CGIAR
    Established in 1971 as part of the worldwide response to rampant hunger in many developing countries, CGIAR (formerly known as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) is today a global partnership that advances science and technology to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve health and nutrition, and ensure the sustainable management of natural resources. As the only international agricultural research body dedicated to meeting the needs of poor smallholders, CGIAR produces global public goods – including improved crop varieties, livestock vaccines, sustainable agroforestry and farming practices, and incisive policy analysis – that are freely available to all and adaptable to local needs and conditions. Despite nearly 40 years of achievements, in 2009 - 2010, CGIAR initiated far-reaching reforms to respond more effectively to a changing world and emerging challenges and opportunities, including climate change, growing water scarcity, land degradation, the growing role of the private sector, and new donor demands. The resulting business model streamlines operations for greater efficiencies, is impact-oriented, fosters stronger collaboration, and unites investors in a multi-donor trust fund – the largest public vehicle for financing the agricultural research advances needed to meet the food security challenges of the 21st century. The CGIAR Fund supports research carried out by a consortium of 15 international centers working closely with hundreds of partners, including national and regional research institutes, civil society, academia, and the private sector, through CGIAR Research Programs. Before receiving funding, programs set out their expected achievements and provide targets against which progress can be measured and monitored, giving donors better value for money and ensuring that research leads to tangible benefits for the poor.
    [Show full text]
  • Two Blades of Grass: the Role of Science in the Green Revolution Alan Mark Fletcher November 13 and 14, 2011
    Two Blades of Grass: The Role of Science in the Green Revolution Alan Mark Fletcher November 13 and 14, 2011 Alan Mark Fletcher ’50 worked for over fifty years as a science writer and editor at institutions including Cornell University, the University of Georgia, the International Rice Research Institute, and the International Service for National Agricultural Research. Whoever could make two ears of corn or two blades of grass grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together. - Jonathan Swift, in Gulliver’s Travels n 1798 the English clergyman-philosopher Thomas Malthus published “An Essay on the Principle of I Population,” in which he argued that while the population of the world would increase geometrically, the food available would increase only arithmetically. Malthus postulated that human population growth, therefore, would eventually outstrip the agricultural capacity of the Earth. At some point, he predicted, natural forces like famine and disease would reduce the human population to a sustainable level. His hypothesis has yet to be proven on any large scale with humans, but biologists have seen the Malthusian principle turn out to be correct with other animals, and there is no reason to believe that his hypothesis does not apply to humans. Back in 1968, Stanford University ecologist Paul R. Ehrlich scared us to death when he published The Population Bomb, in which he maintained that the Malthusian principle was about to overtake us. His book began with this statement: “The battle to feed all of humanity is over.
    [Show full text]
  • Overview Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Platform | 2019
    Overview Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Platform www.mel.cgiar.org | 2019 Partners AUTHORS: Holly Holmes1 CONTRIBUTORS: Cristiano Rossignoli2, Enrico Bonaiuti3, Valerio Graziano3, Claudio Proietti4, Jalal Eddin Omary3 Khaled El Shamaa3, Tana Lala Pritchard2, Marthe Wens5, Bashar Ayyash, Khetam Hamad Al Tahrawi6, Moayad Al Najdawi, Mohammad Opada Al Bosh7 SUGGESTED CITATION: H.Holmes, Cultivate Communications. (2019). Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Platform: Overview. DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect the views of CGIAR. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/20.500.11766/4962 IMAGE CREDITS: ICARDA, WorldFish This document is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. To view this licence. visit http://crealivecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ Unless otherwise noted, you are free to copy, duplicate, or reproduce and distribute, display, or transmit any part of this publication or portions thereof without permission, and to make translatrons, adaptations, or other derivative works under the following conditions: ATTRIBUTION. The work must be attributed, but not in any way that suggests endorsement by he publisher or the author(s). 1 Cultivate Communications • 2 WorldFish • 3 International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) • 4 CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) • 5 CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems (DS) • 6 iMMAP • 7 CodeObia At a Glance Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) MEL is an online platform for organizations, programs and projects to plan, manage, monitor, evaluate, report and share their activities and results. By allowing all these actions to be completed in one organized space, and by semi-automating many features, it saves both time and resources while reducing the risk of error.
    [Show full text]
  • CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security
    FACTSHEET CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security About Focal Countries Climate change is an unprecedented threat to the food security of hundreds of millions of people. Climate change affects agriculture and food security, and • Bangladesh likewise, agriculture and natural resource management affect the climate system. • Burkina Faso These complex and dynamic relationships are also shaped by economic policies, • Cambodia political conflict and other factors such as the spread of infectious diseases. • Colombia • Ecuador The relationships between all these factors and how they interact are not well • El Salvador understood, nor are the advantages and disadvantages of different responses • Ethiopia to climate change. In order to develop practical solutions for agriculture in the • Ghana face of climate change, knowledge about climate change, agriculture and food • Guatemala security needs to be integrated in meaningful and innovative ways. • Honduras • India The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security • Kenya seeks to promote food security through sustainable agriculture and by exploring • Laos new ways of helping vulnerable rural communities adjust to global changes in • Mali climate while conserving natural resources. • Nepal • Nicaragua Approach • Peru • Senegal • Tanzania The CCAFS program brings together the world’s best researchers in agricultural • Uganda science, development research, climate science and earth system science to • Vietnam identify and address the most important interactions, synergies and tradeoffs between climate change, agriculture and food security. The program also involves farmers, policy makers, donors and other stakeholders and integrates their knowledge and needs into the tools and approaches that are developed. In the CCAFS program, teams of partners with complementary skills and expertise conduct research.
    [Show full text]
  • Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Frequently Asked Questions
    Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Frequently Asked Questions www.mel.cgiar.org | 2019 Partners AUTHORS: Holly Holmes1 CONTRIBUTORS: Cristiano Rossignoli2, Enrico Bonaiuti3, Valerio Graziano3, Claudio Proietti4, Jalal Eddin Omary3 Khaled El Shamaa3, Tana Lala Pritchard2, Marthe Wens5, Bashar Ayyash, Khetam Hamad Al Tahrawi6, Moayad Al Najdawi, Mohammad Opada Al Bosh7 SUGGESTED CITATION: H.Holmes, Cultivate Communications. (2019). Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Platform: Overview. DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect the views of CGIAR. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/20.500.11766/4961 IMAGE CREDITS: WorldFish This document is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. To view this licence. visit http://crealivecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ Unless otherwise noted, you are free to copy, duplicate, or reproduce and distribute, display, or transmit any part of this publication or portions thereof without permission, and to make translatrons, adaptations, or other derivative works under the following conditions: ATTRIBUTION. The work must be attributed, but not in any way that suggests endorsement by he publisher or the author(s). 1 Cultivate Communications • 2 WorldFish • 3 International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) • 4 CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) • 5 CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems (DS) • 6 iMMAP • 7 CodeObia Overview 1. What is the Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) platform? MEL (https://mel.cgiar.org/) is an online platform for organizations, programs and projects to plan, manage, monitor, evaluate, report and share their activities and results. By allowing all these actions to be completed in one organized space, and by semi-automating many features, it saves both time and resources while reducing the risk of error.
    [Show full text]