This document is intended to serve as a resource for assessing capacity needs in a project or programme. A capacity needs assessment (CNA) is a process for identifying a project’s perceptions (through staff, partners and stakeholders) on various capacity areas that impact the work they do. The process helps identify challenges and opportunities for enhancing key skills thereby enhancing the project’s ability to achieve its objectives. The overall goal of a CNA is to determine the gap between required and existing capacities.
The presentation was given for the SEARCA Forum-workshop on Platforms, Rural Advisory Services, and Knowledge Management: Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development, Los Banos, 17-19 May 2016. It provided an overview about the process of facilitation and coordination in innovation platforms and explored the role of the innovation broker in the facilitation of innovation platforms.
This paper presents some experiences with e-learning tools in middle and low income countries, outlines opportunities for enhanced adoption of e-learning and identifies some gaps and questions that still need to be addressed to facilitate e-learning
This blended learning program for facilitators of innovation platforms was developed working with SMEs from ILRI, IITA, ICRAF and Wageningen University and drawing on materials from FARA and CIAT to sequence content and learning experiences so that learners can rapidly acquire and retain the skills and knowledge they need to fill this demanding role.
This blended learning program lead by ILRI draws on the practice briefs, the workshop experience and materials from partners including IITA, Wageningen University, ICRAF and FARA. It comprises an online component of 14 modules and a 3-day workshop. The final component of the course is a face-to-face workshop which provides learners with opportunities to apply their newly acquired knowledge to the challenges of their own platform or that of their peers. The workshop features role plays and collaborative group work based on actual scenarios.
This paper is a contribution to the establishment of a new capacity development (CD) 9 strategy, a process that the Consortium Office will facilitate, with external input, during 2013. The paper explores the lessons learned from CGIAR’s experience with CD and reflects the findings of a working group that was brought together in late 2012. The objective of the paper is to identify the roles that individual and institutional CD might play in CGIAR in order to increase CGIAR’s impact on the welfare of smallholder farmers and the sustainability of their farming systems.
This is the first chapter of the book "Innovation platforms for agricultural development: Evaluating the mature innovation platforms landscape". It introduces the background, case study competition process, case study characterization and readers’ guide, and book outline. Characterization of the case studies includes their geographical spread, age and life stage of the platforms, and specific information on the multi-stakeholder processes, the content matter, platform support functions, and outcomes and impacts.
This is a chapter of the book Innovation platforms for agricultural development edited by Iddo Dror, Jean-Joseph Cadilhon, Marc Schut, Michael Misiko and Shreya Maheshwari.
Capacity development (CapDev) is increasingly acknowledged as a crucial part of agricultural development. In the CGIAR Strategic Results Framework (SRF), CapDev is included as a ‘cross-cutting issue’ and as a strategic enabler of Research for Development (R4D) impact for CGIAR and its partners. It goes far beyond the transfer of knowledge and skills through training, and cuts across multiple levels.
Innovation Platforms (IPs) have become a popular vehicle in agricultural research for development (AR4D). The IP promise is that integrating scientific and local knowledge results in innovations that can have impact at scale. Many studies have uncovered how IPs work in various countries, value chains and themes. The conclusion is clear: IPs generate enthusiasm and can bring together stakeholders to effectively address specific problems and achieve ‘local’ impact.