The challenges of outscaling participatory methods in agricultural R

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The challenges of out-scaling participatory
methods in agricultural RD
ICARDA
Aden A. Aw-Hassan

• PRGA/CIMMYT
• Impact Assessment Workshop
• Mexico City
• 19-21 October, 2005

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Sources of information

• Consultants reports of PR training workshops (7
  events in 2003-2004)
• Own experience in supporting projects in PR
  aspects
• ICARDA survey (by Ann Braun) on capacity needs in
  PR
• Quick literature review
• Scope applies generally but draws on experiences
  in CWANA

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Definition

• Out-scaling
• large scale replication adaptation of
  successful or promising experiences of the
  learning process that PR involves in the wider
  RD community (at local, district, national and
  international levels)
• Large-scale impact on rural poor

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State of the art

• Significant developments achieved
• Advanced methods are developed
• Websites provide easy access to literature and
  tools
• System-wide program has been established,
  increased awareness and advanced several ideas
• Information on impacts of specific projects
  measured
• A major mobilizing factor for funding

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Important Question Remains

• How much has the PR movement been successful in
  shaping the organization of RD?
• Why this is important?
• Still a long way to go!!
• Why?

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1. Clarity of research purpose?

• Two main objectives
• Functional -increasing efficiency
• Empowerment - capacity building -social
  activism
• Issues
• These objectives are not mutually exclusive
• They require different intensity of participation
  and capacities
• The clarity of these objectives determines
  expected outcomes- unclear outcomes make impact
  assessment difficult (Lilja et al 2004)
• Fuzziness or lack of clarity of these objectives
  may discourage research administrators to support
  PR
• Loading additional objectives along the way
  dilutes program focus

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2. Clarity of expected outcomes

• When transforming existing research program PR
  needs additional resources for
• Executing farmer participation in the research
  cycle (joint planning? diagnosis ? joint
  evaluation). Is it a costly affair?
• Cost-benefit analysis is essential
• Issues on impact assessment
• Location specificity and number of beneficiaries
• Empowerment in terms of local capacity building
  faces the issue of cost effectiveness
• With certain conditions and through proper use of
  recommendation domain concept the potential
  number of beneficiary resource-poor households
  could be large. Conroy, Czech and Alistair
  Sutherland (2004).
• Out-scaling should be part of the research plan

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3. Human capacity

• The knowledge on field application of PR methods
  increased (PRA, PTE, PTD, FGD, Scoring, PPA, etc)
• Trainers remain few
• Many skills are lacking facilitation,
  stakeholder analysis, process management,
  participatory priority setting, impact assessment
  and gender-focussed analysis
• Capacity building often not sufficiently
  considered in project design

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Capacity building strategy

• Include suffiencet resources in the project
• Formal training as well as on-the-job training
• Informal mentoring with in project implementation
• Follow-up crucial
• Organize experience sharing workshops across
  different projects

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4. Organizational framework

• Organizational learning defined as a learning
  process at all levels of the organization
  (individual, group or system level) that allows
  a continuous transformation of the organisation
  in a direction that is increasingly satisfying to
  its stakeholders N.M. Dixon (1994).
• OL at the institute level is a pre-requisite for
  scaling out participatory research
• Top-down research management style is dominant
• There are cases where OL is recognized and
  experimented for example in Uganda LEARNING
  TOGETHER FOR CHANGE IN INTEGRATED AGRICULTURAL
  RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT (IAR4D). Facilitation
  by R. Hawkins, J. Hagmann, P. Kibwika, M.G.
  Nassuna-Musoke and R. Miiro.
• But still it is a matter largely avoided
• The SSA CP recognized its importance but
  considered a secondary, not a main, output of
  the program

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ICARDA workshop participants and survey on
capacity needs for institutionalizing PR
highlights

• Management support was cited as the most
  important factor in institutionalizing PR
• Recognized PR innovators have emerged both at
  ICARDA and National Systems
• These innovators have no time to mentor and
  support other projects
• Institutional innovations (Participatory research
  interest group, e-circulation for information
  exchange, PPB facilitation is hosted at ICARDA)
• Out-scaling cases PBB in Syria, Karkheh basin CP
  using INRM approach

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ICARDA survey on capacity needs for
institutionalizing PR Constraints

• the top-down culture in the region
• a transfer-of-technology culture
• compartmentalized organizational structures
• disinterest or resistance among researchers and
  research assistants
• limited knowledge about participatory approaches
  among managers, researchers and extension staff
• lack of or weak NGO and civil societies.

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5. Extension civil society organizations

• Two critical points
• Impact on the resource-poor farmers
• Location specific, resource-intensive -gt Cost
  effectiveness?
• Out-scaling is essential for cost effectiveness
• Out-scaling PR can not be achieved by research
  alone
• Extension is without exception weak and lack
  motivation
• CSO are less developed in CWANA
• Weak extension and lack of CSOs can limit the
  multiplier effect needed

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6. Coordination

• Coordination is essential because modern PR calls
  for alliances with different stakeholders to
  address multiple dimensions of RD in
  resource-poor farmers
• Coordination of multi-institutional cooperation
  can be problematic
• Effective ways of coordination among different
  stakeholders should be part of project design

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7. Rural infrastructure and services

• Positive side
• PR can reach out resource-poor farmers, mobilize
  their knowledge, adapt/develop innovations and
  initiate learning process
• Constraint
• Lack of essential services and infrastructure
  hampers out-scaling results of successful PR
• Question
• How can PR effectively mobilize local development
  to improve rural infrastructure and services?
  Value-chain approach is an attempt towards that.
  Is this research or development?

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8. Funding

• Funding constraints means leaner and meaner
  projects
• Projects should include significant capacity
  building component
• Donors should not expect more for less, the
  complexity of PR requires sustained funding for a
  medium term

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Conclusion

• Advances are made in
• involving resource-poor farmers in research
• Development of methods and knowledge
• Institutionalization and out-scaling of this
  approach requires
• New funding strategy
• Capacity building
• Organizational learning
• Greater farmer-control of research agenda!
• Greater interaction with local administration
• Learning from on-going successful cases
• Impact assessment (wider context) for
  demonstrating evidence