Ana María Loboguerrero

Regional Program Leader for CCAFS Latin America

From Science to Practice: The Missing Link

Understanding impact delivery from agricultural research breakout session

How can science influence decision making processes?

Formula for change

Tools Information

Farmers

Private

sector

Producers

associations

Government

Decision makers Better decisions

Poverty Unemployment Climate Impacts

Sustainable Development Environment International Agreements

Economic Growth

+ + =

But it’s not that simple…

Science, Policy, Decisions: Information Chains

Knowledge

generation

Knowledge “Translation”

(Tailoring)

Knowledge

Application

New research

questions

Research centers,

Academia, NARSDecisions, policyBoundary organizations

New knowledge

demands

Here are the main challenges:

Need a “new type” of Scientist

(Translator, Integrator)

From Walter Baethgen (IRI)

Example: Information Chain in Disaster Risk Management

Climate

Science

Climate

Information

Products

Climate Information

and Outputs

for Disasters

National

Emergency

System

Local

Implementation

Photo: World Bank

• When the links are not present:

Create them

• Solution is not to “skip links”, but

to create/strengthen them

The example of Colombia

Crop Modelers

Weather Scientists

Producers Organizations

Farmers

Millions of raw data

Relationships

between weather

and production

Make forecasts for

the next crop season

Inform what can

be expected

Key partners in the

success of the process

Why do partnerships

often fail?

In this context…

What is the role of

partnerships?

Are partnerships

essential to reach

scale?

My hypothesis

And are the “missing

link” when science

doesn’t translate into

practice

PARTNERSHIPS are

in the heart of the

information chains

But partnerships need:

Communication

(translation)Trust Incentives

Sets of partners

• Research partners

• Public sector, inter-governmental and policy partners

• Non-governmental development partners

• Private sector partners

Principles for AR4D

• Allocate resources in

three thirds – needs,

research, capacity

• Join in external

processes

• Sustain co-learning

• Invest in, and monitor,

capacity enhancement

• Use research products to

build scientific credibility

Financial institutions, the corporate world and civil society -all must uphold high standards of

probity in their working. Only a genuine partnership between the

Government and its people can bring about positive change to

create a just society.

Extracted from: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/pratibhapa506705.html

Pratibha Patil

• What are the different ways of achieving impact at scale and how do we engage major change makers? (policy changes? Extension approaches? Big data approaches?)

• What ways and models of working with partners are successful? (Trust? Going beyond lip service? Joint commitment? Communication?)

• What are the incentives for coordinated action and what are the lessons learnt?

Questions