External evaluation team report on the Feed the Future innovation lab for collaborative research on grain legumes

The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Grain Legumes (Legume Innovation Lab; LIL), supports ten multi-disciplinary collaborative research and institutional capacity strengthening subcontracted projects working in 13 Feed the Future countries in Africa and Central America and the Caribbean involving scientists at 10 US universities, 3 USDA/ARS research centers, and 23 developing country national agriculture research systems and universities.

This evaluation, conducted February-July 2016, follows a USAID-approved evaluation plan. It involved a review of background literature and project documents; a week-long series of interviews with more than 75 project stakeholders at the 2016 Pan-African Grain Legume and World Cowpea Conference in Zambia; site visits to the Management Office (MO) and LIL projects in Guatemala and Uganda; and remote interviews with various stakeholders. The evaluation focuses on the ten projects comprising the LIL research portfolio, the performance of the MO, and USAID Mission supported Associate Awards managed by the LIL MO. Four targets of interest were identified: achievements in research; program structure and management; institutional capacity and collaborations; and the program future.