Posthumus, Helena, Martin, Adrienne ORCID: 0000-0001-9305-7302 and Chancellor, Timothy ORCID: 0000-0002-4442-7001 (2013) A systematic review on the impacts of capacity strengthening of agricultural research systems for development and the conditions of success. Technical Report. Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre), Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK.

PDF (Authors of the systematic reviews on the EPPI-Centre website (http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/) hold the copyright for the text of their reviews. See Additional Information below.) Capacity_strengthening_2013Posthumus.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (3MB)

Abstract

This report reviews the evidence of impact of capacity strengthening on agricultural research for development (AR4D) in developing countries. A peer-reviewed protocol for the systematic review was followed to collect and analyse the publications (e.g. journal papers, project reports, evaluations) that provided evidence on impact of capacity strengthening interventions for AR4D.

All publications reported positive results for the immediate outputs and outcomes: researchers received training and gained new skills and knowledge, new management tools and approaches were introduced, and organisations and other actors in research and innovation systems improved their collaboration. Evidence on the impact on AR4D is less consistent. The impact pathway was easier to trace in the case of strengthening biotechnological research where new crop varieties or husbandry practices led to higher animal and crop productivity. The impact pathway of capacity strengthening of research organisations or systems is typically nonlinear, explaining why most evaluation studies only reported on outputs or outcomes and not on impact, because of the difficulty of determining causality and attribution.

The conclusions of most evaluations, however, suggest that capacity strengthening is most successful in improving research capacity when it is long-term and comprehensive, targeting multiple levels (individual researchers, research organisations and NARS). If capacity strengthening is implemented in an appropriate manner, and the researchers and organisations are able to effectively utilise the built capacity, considerable economic or social impact can be achieved, as some studies show.

Item Type:	Monograph (Technical Report)
Additional Information:	[1] First published: January 2013. [2] EPPI-Centre report reference number: 2101. [3] Copyright: Authors of the systematic reviews on the EPPI-Centre website (http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/) hold the copyright for the text of their reviews. The EPPI Centre owns the copyright for all material on the website it has developed, including the contents of the databases, manuals, and keywording and data extraction systems. The centre and authors give permission for users of the site to display and print the contents of the site for their own non-commercial use, providing that the materials are not modified, copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the materials are retained, and the source of the material is cited clearly following the citation details provided. Otherwise users are not permitted to duplicate, reproduce, re-publish, distribute, or store material from this website without express written permission. [4] Published as: Posthumus H, Martin A, Chancellor T (2012) A systematic review on the impacts of capacity strengthening of agricultural research systems for development and the conditions of success. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London. ISBN: 978-1-907345-46-3.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	systematic review, capacity strengthening, agricultural research, development
Subjects:	S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute
Related URLs:	Publisher Organisation Organisation
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2013 16:26
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/9689

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