CIAT
Research Themes. Policy research themes focus on sustainability issues; socioeconomic themes on production systems and participatory research methods. Collaborators, Clients, Services. The centre's principal collaborators are a large variety of NARSs, particularly for socioeconomic research. IFPRI is a current collaborator. CIAT considers NARSs and natural resource management organizations to be its main clients for policy research; and scientists in NARSs and other CGIAR centres the principal audiences for its socioeconomic research. The centre perceives its role as one of providing policy relevant information and methodologies to clients rather than advice. The vehicles for this work are primarily publications and workshops. Training to help build NARSs policy/management capacity is undertaken jointly with ISNAR. Comparative Advantage. CIAT's believes its comparative advantage in policy/management research is that of a convening centre for such research in tropical America, with particular expertise in conducting policy-relevant microeconomic field research. This view is premised on the unique breadth of interest/expertise which the centre has developed on the spectrum of research in tropical America ranging from agricultural technology to land use policy. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. CIAT plans to strengthen both its own capacity for policy/management research and to continue also to collaborate with other suppliers. It perceives no differences between its own research priorities and those of others in the short term.
CIFOR
Research Themes. Policy research themes focus on formulation and implementation of forest sector policies as well as extra-sectoral policy influences. Particular attention is paid to the effects of policies on livelihoods of people living in forest margins and degraded lands. Management research looks at impediments to the application of forestry research results as well as assessment of research manpower in the forest sector. Socioeconomic research is primarily concerned with household economics, income generation, food security, and population issues in the context of forest use, management, and conservation. Collaborators, Clients, Services. The centre's principal collaborators are NARSs and forestry research organizations/units in the public sector of developing countries and two CGIAR Centres, including IFPRI. CIFOR considers its primary clientele for policy research to be forest and inter-sectoral planning bodies concerned with the sector and its products; for management research, public and private sector research institutions/policy units concerned with capacity building and policy implementation; for socioeconomic research, field-level practitioners in the private sector plus those identified for policy research. CIFOR has had minor experience in providing policy/management advice. It intends to provide information outputs for improved decision-making and testing of current policy models and assumptions. The modalities have yet to be determined. Capacity building is accomplished through informal collaborative research activities with NARSs and individual researchers. Comparative Advantage. CIFOR believes it has a distinct role in interdisciplinary research on forest policy; the social dimensions of forest use, especially property rights and sustainability issues; global issues related to forests such as biodiversity and climate change; and the well-being and management role of forest dwellers. Its comparative advantage in these areas is said to stem from its location in a developing country and its close links to NARSs, and the uniqueness of its focus on natural resource management together with resource protection and sustainable use. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. CIFOR plans to strengthen both its own capacity for policy/management research and its external collaboration in this area. As a new Centre it does not yet envisage changes in its current priorities. Nor has it conducted impact assessments, although it is now designing methods to assess the impact of all of its programmes.
CIMMYT
Research Themes. Policy work is conducted as a component of other, primarily resource management-related, research rather than as policy-focused projects. Socioeconomic research, in contrast, is projectized and focuses on issues affecting the development and diffusion of technology for mandated crops as well as resource management issues. Topics range from diagnostic studies of NRM problems to construction of commodity-related databases on production, consumption, trade, and prices for wheat and maize. Collaborators, Clients, Services. The Centre's principal collaborators are NARSs, IARCs, AROs, and private sector firms. IFPRI currently collaborates in one-third of CIMMYT's policy/management-related projects. The Centre's main clients are policymakers and NARSs. Like other centres, CIMMYT prefers an indirect approach to policy advice, through provision of information on policy issues related to germplasm and associated technology development. This is done primarily through policy workshops targeted to NARSs social scientists and policymakers. These consultations, in turn, lead to policy recommendations.
Comparative Advantage. CIMMYT sees its comparative advantage in policy work in terms of identifying crucial policy issues affecting development and diffusion of improved technology, from both price and institutional perspectives. Its social science advantage is tied directly to the germplasm and associated technology of its mandate crops. It also has an advantage in medium-term forecasting of supply shifts of these crops. CIMMYT's knowledge of its mandate crops and close contacts with scientists having similar interests in producing countries are seen as key aspects of its work that could not be assumed by other centres. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. CIMMYT's modest investment in capacity for policy/management research is likely to remain unchanged; any growth in this area will likely be reflected in more reliance on external collaborators. An important priority for future research for CIMMYT is the relationship between internal management/research organization and the process of allocating research resources. The Centre has not yet undertaken an impact assessment of its policy/management research.
CIP
Research Themes. CIP's policy, management, and socioeconomic research is conducted in the context of larger, multidisciplinary projects; there is considerable variation in the magnitude of these components in relation to biophysical aspects. Most such projects deal with the characterization of constraints and opportunities for production of CIP's mandate crops, as well as product development and post-harvest management of these commodities. Collaborators, Clients, Services. The centre's principal collaborators are the national programs; it also has substantial cooperation with other CGIAR centres. The main clients for its policy, management, and socioeconomic research are the national root and tuber programs, NARSs more generally, and the donor community. For socioeconomic research, social scientists in developing/developed countries and biological scientists in developing countries with some social science training are also serviced. CIP's advisory role occurs in the context of preparing and executing collaborative research, diffusing research results, participating in reviews of national programs, networking, and preparing research training materials on topics with a strong policy emphasis and offering courses that include a policy/management component. Comparative Advantage. CIP's view of its role in an optimal division of labour within the CGIAR would be to address policy issues related to production research/impact, especially for roots and tubers; policy/management issues related to networks and small vs. large national programs and their interaction; and policy/management issues related to natural resources in the tropical highland ecoregion. CIP's comparative advantage in such research is said to stem from its commodity specialization, geographic location, multidisciplinary approach, decentralized structure, extensive networks, and relationships with NARSs. The centre regards its post-harvest/marketing programme as perhaps unique in the CG System, and its recently started programme on natural resource management in the tropical highlands as nearly so. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. CIP has begun strengthening its capacity for natural resource management research and through collaboration is expanding its work in postharvest technology research, future prospects/policies for root and tuber crops, and marketing methods. Collaborators will comprise six CGIAR Centres including IFPRI. As noted, CIP places future priority on public/private sector interaction in agricultural research in developing countries. Its impact assessment experience with policy/management research has been limited to one project.
ICARDA
Research Themes. ICARDA does not make a hard distinction between its policy, management, and socioeconomic research. Research themes fall into three categories: (1) socioeconomics of natural resource management, looking at the social and economic factors underlying mismanagement of natural resources; (2) economics of production systems, technology adoption and impact, with particular emphasis on socioeconomic analysis of land use practices and, increasingly, water; and (3) policy and public management focusing on issues of land tenure and public management of common property. Clients, Collaborators, Services. The principal collaborators in policy/management research are NARSs of the WANA region, advanced research organizations, and IFPRI. ICARDA considers its main clients for this research to be national governments/decision-makers as well as national, regional, or other institutions conducting similar research in WANA. This work is done in partnership with NARSs who are simultaneously considered clientele. Policy research aims to develop policy and public management options for national policymakers. Direct advice to national governments is minimal, the preferred channel being indirect influence via dissemination to NARSs. Direct advice is provided to NARSs on matters of organization, structure, strategy, and related elements of research programmes. Training to develop clients' capacity for policy/management research has been minimal, but is planned to increase primarily through collaboration. Comparative Advantage. The centre defines its comparative advantage in terms of its regional location, commodity mandate, and expertise on the interplay between technical and policy solutions in its agroecological zone. Ideally, it would call upon other centres of excellence such as IFPRI/ISNAR to identify opportunities to improve ICARDA's research at the regional and national levels. It would also seek policy/management expertise from other centres on certain issues such as common property, and would strengthen its own work with national policymakers and NARSs and try to link them with advanced institutions working in this field. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. ICARDA plans to rely on restricted core or complementary resources to strengthen its future capacity for policy/management research. It also plans continued collaboration with IFPRI to initiate programmes in this area, and partnerships with NARSs and others to implement them. Future priorities for such research must address commodity and natural resource issues within ICARDA's domain (e.g., crop/livestock production, rangelands management, sustainable biodiversity, and, especially, water resource management). The centre has undertaken no formal assessment of its policy/management work, but has anecdotal evidence of impact.
ICLARM
Research Themes. Policy research themes focus on ecological and sustainability issues as they affect small-scale enterprise farming systems, as well as work on the development of fisheries co-management models for application at the regional and global levels. Fisheries policy research is planned to begin in 1996. Socioeconomic research addresses socioeconomic performance and environmental impacts of improved genetic strains, development of bio-economic models, and marketing strategies. Collaborators, Clients, Services. ICLARM's main collaborators in this work are national research institutions in developing countries. Its clients for policy/management research are national systems, development banks, NGOs, donor agencies, other researchers, fishers, and farmers. The centre advises on resource management policies but has not been involved in institutional management issues. It provides its services through networks and collaborative research with government agencies involved in policy formulation. It also provides national systems with methodologies for resource management, primarily through workshops and training courses. Comparative Advantage. The centre sees its comparative advantage in working on sectoral issues (fisheries, aquaculture, aquatic biodiversity). Inter-centre research themes might address issues of common property. ICLARM plans to strengthen its collaboration with IFPRI and non-CGIAR research agencies. Its particular expertise in the management field relates not to institutional issues or national resource management concerns, but to developing an array of management tools to help resource managers in decision-making. ICLARM's policy research deals specifically with the fisheries/aquaculture sector. The Centre feels it has a special edge in such research through its collaborative relationships with developing country institutions which are often excluded from traditional agricultural networks. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. ICLARM plans to strengthen its capacity for policy research by increasing in-house staffing and through external collaboration. It will enhance its collaboration by relating to both researchers and policymakers. Its future priorities include work on public policies on coastal resource use, aquatic resource use and the links to markets and trade, and policy toward and management of common property resources. Impact assessment methods for policy/management research are currently under study.
ICRAF
Research Themes. Policy research themes address policy constraints to adoption of agroforestry technologies with a view to developing alternative policies to facilitate adoption. Policy advice based on the results of this research is provided to governments and relevant institutions in collaboration with national partners. Socioeconomic research themes address, inter alia, the social, economic, and ecological factors influencing adoption of improved agroforestry technologies and the performance and impact of those technologies measured with biophysical, economic, and social indicators. Collaborators, Clients, Services. ICRAF's main collaborators are national and regional NARSs, NGOs, IARCs, advanced institutions, and donor organizations. Its clients for both policy and socioeconomic research are policymakers at the local, regional and national levels, and national agricultural research organizations. Among the services it provides are advising NARSs and educational institutions in priority setting for agroforestry research and in the design of agroforestry programmes. This is done through collaborative research, networking, and participation in regional planning fora, workshops, and consultive meetings with senior government officials. Comparative Advantage. ICRAF sees its comparative advantage as lying in the conduct of policy research on natural resource management because it works in numerous established research sites and employs multidisciplinary research teams to ensure the integration of policy, socioeconomic, and biophysical components of NRM research. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. ICRAF plans to strengthen both its in-house capacity and external collaboration in policy/management research. It has not yet assessed its policy work.
ICRISAT
Research Themes. The Centre's programme tends to integrate policy and socioeconomic parameters in themes dealing with supply/demand analyses for mandate crops, input/output markets, natural resources characterization of production environments, and technology adoption/constraints (the latter including gender, institutional, and human resource issues). The management dimension is incorporated in studies dealing with adoption assessment/impact evaluation, research resource allocation, and institutional and human resource development. Collaborators, Clients, Services. ICRISAT's main collaborators are NARSs in Asia and Africa, advanced research organizations, IFPRI, bilateral and multilateral development agencies, regional development banks, NGO's, and private sector firms. ICRISAT's main clients for policy research are NARSs' policy makers at the government level, for management research are the NARSs, and for socioeconomic research government, NARSs and farmers. ICRISAT sees its role in providing policy/management advice through research studies or participation in policy-level meetings, or through workshops and training programmes. Training programmes are developed to enhance local capacity in management research. Comparative Advantage. ICRISAT's comparative advantage in policy/management research is said to be based on two attributes: (1) its expertise in characterizing farming systems/farmer behaviour in the SAT which positions it to contribute to improved understanding of farmer objectives, preferences and perceptions with respect to natural resources management, providing a firm foundation for policy development; and (2) its commodity-related policy research which is grounded in an understanding of both socioeconomic and biophysical opportunities/constraints at the farm and village levels, permitting a sharper focus on priority objectives and adoptable technologies. Also noteworthy is the Centre's in-house capacity on research evaluation and impact assessment, which provides feedback to scientists and research management for improved research targeting and impact. Finally, ICRISAT's its multidisciplinary focus on and comprehensive understanding of production systems in the SAT is said to provide a unique basis for conducting policy research relative to this region. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. The Centre plans to strengthen both its in-house capacity and external collaboration in policy/management research. Its future priorities will be in the areas of institutions, environment, and biodiversity. While it has made no formal assessment of the impact of its policy/management research, such is part of the Centre's future research agenda.
IFPRI
Research Themes. IFPRI's policy research falls into four thematic areas: (1) food production and productivity growth, enhanced input and output market efficiency, and transformation of the agricultural and rural sectors for improved food security and poverty alleviation; (2) management of natural resources while reducing poverty, increasing agricultural productivity, and identifying the most appropriate technological changes and policies for sustainability; (3) macroeconomic and trade reforms and regional integration and their roles in assuring poverty alleviation and improving food security; and (4) household food security and nutrition. While it does not undertake public management research per se, it treats institutional issues from a policy perspective to illuminate political processes and institutional arrangements related to the design and implementation of food policies. Similarly, its work on research performing institutions, done in collaboration with ISNAR, examines public policies rather than management structures or procedures to strengthen national agricultural research systems. The above themes are addressed in the context of multi-country research programmes focusing on strategic issues; extrapolation of research results through comparative analyses yields lessons for policy design and implementation of broader application. Collaborators, Clients, Services. Although headquartered in Washington, DC, much of IFPRI's research programme is conducted in the field in collaboration with national research organizations (centres, institutes, universities, government departments) which are often not part of the formal national agricultural research system, as well as with other CGIAR Centres. Such collaboration serves to build national research capacity and, in this sense, the Centre's collaborators are also its clients. While IFPRI's primary clientele are policymakers in both developing countries and the donor community, it does not provide direct advice or technical assistance on policy decisions. Rather, the results and policy implications of the Centre's research are made accessible to decision-makers through policy workshops and other forms of consultation. Comparative Advantage. IFPRI's comparative advantage lies in a combination of factors, some of which it shares with other CGIAR Centres: an established tradition of food policy research taking into account the full range of relevant micro- and macro-policy considerations; a proven record of identifying and pursuing research on issues of direct relevance to developing countries, applying modern theoretical constructs and techniques of research; and experience and credibility in conducting collaborative research with both individuals and institutions in developing countries. IFPRI distinguishes its role from that of other centres in terms of the breadth and internationality of the policy issues with which it is concerned, in contrast to research on a single commodity or group of commodities, a production system, or an agro-ecological zone. The latter issues may require policy analyses beyond the mandates of commodity centres. In such cases, IFPRI sees its role as a complementary and collaborative one when the issues to be studied fall sufficiently within the Institute's budgeted priorities. For centres whose mandates include some policy analysis, IFPRI is also prepared to play a collaborative role but does not see itself as a substitute for the in-house socioeconomic research capacity that such analysis requires. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. Evolving inter-centre programmes have created significant interest in food policy research which does not fit IFPRI's present research agenda and exceeds the Institute's capacity to respond. The Institute's 1996 funding request therefore proposed to TAC an increase in resources to facilitate IFPRI's role in inter-centre activities. TAC's decision on this request has been held in abeyance pending the outcome of the stripe review of policy/management research. IFPRI's future priorities for policy research remain those indicated in its Medium-Term Plan. However, within that context the Institute places particular importance on natural resource management issues, including: the role and impact of government policies on economic incentives for sustainable resource use; the role of institutional options for households and communities to manage resources in sustainable ways; and the impact of improved technologies and resource management practices on the poor. IFPRI is currently developing approaches to monitoring and evaluation of its research and outreach activities. A comprehensive qualitative assessment will be completed in 1995; quantification of impact will be attempted to the extent possible.
IITA
Research Themes. Current policy research themes are embodied in projects focusing on factors affecting adoption of improved agricultural/natural resource management practices/systems and welfare effects of arresting resource degradation. Socioeconomic research addresses economic constraints to improving post-harvest systems, promoting sustainable production in targeted environments, and improving productivity of mandate crops. Collaborators, Clients, Services. The centre's principal collaborators are NARSs, IARCs, and a range of advanced research organizations. ITTA considers its main clients for both policy and socioeconomic research to be NARSs. Its advisory function consists of providing information to facilitate productivity improvement/technology adoption through dissemination of data in publications, semi NARSs, and participation in policy meetings of NARSs. Comparative Advantage. IITA sees its primary role as a regional centre which identifies specific areas in its domain that could benefit from policy research by other centres such as IFPRI. It feels it has no comparative advantage except in terms of knowledge of the region, its institutions and policies, and hence the ability to better define key areas of interest. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. The centre has no plans to increase its in-house capacity for policy/management research, but desires increased collaboration. Its preferred priorities are research on policies conducive to more sustainable management of natural resources, particularly in the areas of soil management and integrated pest management. It has not undertaken an impact assessment of its policy/management work.
ILRI
Research Themes. Policy research themes deal with a range of institutional, trade, macroeconomic, marketing, and input issues affecting the livestock sector. Socioeconomic work focuses on the economic/environmental impacts of livestock diseases/control measures, and economic assessment of production technologies/systems. Collaborators, Clients, Services. The centre's principal collaborators are NARSs, AROs, regional research organizations, and other IARCs including IFPRI. ILRI considers national governments of developing countries within its mandate, policymakers, government advisors, and smallholder/agropastoralists to be its main clients for policy research. For socioeconomic research, clients are NARSs and smallholders, agropastoralists, and pastoralists. Policy advice is not provided directly but through dissemination of analyses of the effects of policy choices on the livestock sector. The centre also has offered formal courses on livestock policy and has produced a training manual for livestock policy analysis. It hopes to run the course jointly with IFPRI. Comparative Advantage. ILRI seeks a leadership role within the CG System for policy research on the livestock sector in developing countries, based on it expertise on the sector and its sustainable development, experience in tropical agroecological zones, links with NARSs, and commitment to interdisciplinary/inter-institutional research. It claims unique responsibility for, inter alia, the food security, sectoral behaviour, and environmental aspects of livestock policy research. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. The centre plans to strengthen both in-house capacity and external collaboration for policy/management research. Its main future priorities are effects of structural adjustment/liberalization on livestock production, consumption, and trade; coping with variability as a result of drought and world market fluctuations; political economy of technology generation/transfer; and environmental implications of new production techniques. ILRI's impact has been maximized through various forms of outreach including workshops, dissemination, training, and partnership. No impact assessment is reported.
IPGRI
Research Themes. Policy research focuses on issues related to plant genetic resources management, national and international structures, intellectual property, and conservation/access. Management research focuses on the design, organization, and management of plant genetic resources activities in national agricultural research systems. Socioeconomic research integrates issues of gender, biodiversity, conservation, and indigenous knowledge into analyses of plant genetic resources. Collaborators, Clients, Services. The centre's principal collaborators are NARSs, IARCs, NGOs, and FAO. Its clients for policy research are IARCs, FAO, and NARSs; for management research, NARSs only; and for socioeconomic research, NARSs, NGOs, and donors. Pursuant to an EPR recommendation, IPGRI is expanding its research agenda to include strategic, organizational and management aspects of the conservation of plant genetic resources. Its research informs inter-governmental decision-making on conservation of and access to plant genetic resources and the technical aspects of implementation. This is accomplished through consultations, workshops, networking, and information dissemination at both the national level and in global fora. It provides limited advice to NARSs on setting up national PGR programmes; this is a future priority. Comparative Advantage. IPGRI's comparative advantage is seen in terms of research on policy and management issues relating to PGR conservation and use from a scientific and technical perspective. IPGRI is prepared to carry out this work in the context of IFPRI and ISNAR's broader work on food policy and institutional settings and of the SGRP. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. The centre will give more attention to policy/management aspects; in-house capacity may be strengthened in the legal area but external collaboration will be the principal approach. Future priority will be given to issues of germplasm access and closer integration of conservation and use of PGR for greater sustainability and effectiveness. IPGRI has an on-going impact study that may address management issues but no results have been reported yet.
IRRI
Research Themes. Policy research themes focus on long-term projections and policy implications of rice supply/demand in Asia and the role of technology and price/non-price factors in development of Asia's rice economies. The management work looks at priority setting in rice research to estimate rate of return on research investments and analysis of research capacity of Asian NARSs. Socioeconomic themes address social, economic, and cultural constraints to technology adoption, and equity effects of technological change in rice production. Clients, Collaborators, Services. The Centre's principal collaborators are NARSs, Asian research institutes/universities, individual researchers in advanced institutions, and IFPRI. Its main clients for policy research are policymakers in ministries of agriculture and planning in the Asian region, development assistance agencies, non-governmental organizations, and farmers organizations; for management research, NARSs research managers, policymakers, and development agencies; for socioeconomic research, IARC/NARSs biological scientists, development researchers in developed/developing countries, and government officials, NGOs, and farmers organizations. Policy/management advice is provided indirectly through joint research planning with NARSs, research consortia and networks, and collaborative projects in priority areas. Capacity for policy/management research is also imparted through these activities, and through occasional training in social science methods, supervision of MS and PhD theses. Comparative Advantage. IRRI sees its role in an optimal division of labour as centering on research on the determinants of knowledge intensive technologies for rice-based farming systems, collaboration with other technology development centres on economic, social, cultural, and institutional constraints to development of such systems, and studying NARSs research and priority setting capacities. It sees its comparative advantage in policy/management research as resting on (a) the primary interface between its social and biological scientists, and (b) the rapport it has with NARSs social and biological scientists trained at IRRI over the years. These factors give IRRI the edge in conducting cost-effective research on technology adoption/diffusion that outside social scientists do not have. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. Given funding constraints, IRRI plans to strengthen NARSs capacity for policy/management research primarily by training their social scientists in the context of collaborative research and post-graduate work. Its future priorities include research on determinants of technology adoption for natural resource management, scope for reallocation of land and labour from low productivity rainfed farming to non-rice crops/non-farm activities, and determinants of crop diversification and its impact on sustainable agricultural development in rice-based farming systems. IRRI finds that its impact is maximized when it participates in prioritization of rice research problems.
ISNAR
Research Themes. ISNAR's policy/management research and advisory activities are divided into two programmes: (1) policy and system development; (2) management. The first addresses research policy issues at the global/national levels and research system structure, organization, and linkages. The second focuses on management of organizational change, research programmes, and resources for research. Themes in programme 1 treat the policy environment within which NARSs plan and prioritize their research, focusing in particular on issues of finance, the integration of natural resource management into traditional production-related research, and the interface between public and private sector research and incentives/mechanisms to enhance the complementarity of these sectors. System development work involves assisting NARSs in agricultural master planning and in priority setting including the agroecological, natural resource, and regional dimensions. The Centre's research linkages work deals with enhancing research efficiency by improving the flow of knowledge and resources within and between organizations. Programme 2 themes focus on issues of organizational performance measured in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Methods of program formulation, planning, monitoring, and evaluation figure prominently in its agenda, as do issues of human resource development and financial management. The two programmes come together in a number of cross-programme activities where system-level and institute-level concerns are integrated. These include ISNAR's work on the policy and organizational implications of natural resource management and on research financing. Collaborators, Clients, Services. The Centre's primary clientele are national agricultural research systems throughout the developing world with which it works upon request to enhance capacity to develop and put in place appropriate research policies, structures, strategies and management approaches. In ISNAR's view NARSs are holistic systems comprising all of a country's entities (including, e.g., national agricultural research institutions, universities, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector) responsible for organizing, coordinating, or executing research that contributes explicitly to the development of agriculture and the maintenance of the natural resource base. The Centre's services consist of research, diagnostic/advisory work and training. ISNAR seeks to multiply the impact of its work through collaboration with other organizations in addition to NARSs: international centres, regional organizations, universities, development research institutes, and management institutes in developing and developed countries. Comparative Advantage. ISNAR sees its comparative advantage as lying in the provision of research-based services to the support institutional development of national agricultural research systems on a long-term basis. In the Centre's view, there is no other, similar service available to NARSs that can provide the worldwide experience and relevant methodologies and tools needed for this task. In this context, a recent restructuring has linked its advisory services more closely with its research work. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. To be filled in.
WARDA
Research Themes. WARDA's policy research focuses on the impacts of policy, market and technology factors on rice production systems in West Africa. Its socioeconomic work deals primarily with the economics of rice production from the standpoint of, e.g., adoption of new varieties, costs/profitability of production, intensification, rate of return to research, role of women. Collaborators, Clients, Services. The centre's principal collaborators are planning units within the ministries of agriculture and universities and research institutes in a number of countries in the region, as well as advanced research organizations. Its clients for policy research are policymakers in member states; for socioeconomic studies, research managers and biophysical scientists in NARSs. WARDA avoids a direct policy/management advisory role, preferring instead to work indirectly to improve the basis for policy choice by clarifying the effects of alternative policies on rice producers and consumers through dissemination of research results in publications, workshops, and bi-annual presentations to its Council of Ministers. It helps to build capacity for policy analysis in the rice sector by collaborating in short-term training programs targeted to policymakers and economists in member states, supporting training of researchers working on MS or Ph.D. theses under the direction of centre staff, and providing brief internships with centre economists. Comparative Advantage. WARDA sees its comparative advantage as lying in policy analyses of the West African rice sector and research/training methods in comparative advantage analysis using Policy Analysis Matrix applications. Its status as an association of member states gives it unique access to/influence over policymakers in the region. Given its mandate and regional identity and the pivotal importance of rice to national food security, WARDA is well placed to service the policy analysis needs of member states and to understand the implications of the policy environment for the centre's agronomic research. Future Plans, Priorities, Impact Assessment. WARDA's priority topics for future research include improved understanding of the dynamics of rice demand, role of grain quality in post-harvest systems and final consumption, cost structure and efficiency of post-harvest subsectors, and structure of supply/demand for rice and intra/extra-regional trade implications. It will also develop its capacity to conduct ex-ante and ex-post impact assessment of regional rice research, and to serve as a clearing-house for information/statistics on the rice sector. The centre has not to date attempted an impact assessment of its policy research.
Sources
1. Centre responses to Questionnaire on Strategic Study on Policy and Management Research., July 1995.
2. Centres' Medium-Term Plans, 1994-98.
3. Centres' 1996 Program Plans and Funding Requirements.
