1. DS partnerships
WAS&DS

2. a. Which partners did we successfully engage?
How will we build on them (role in research,
leadership, management, etc.)?
• Partners = ?
• Successful engagement = ?
– RinD services (contract + invoice)?
– RinD sub-grants (sub-PPA + financial
report)?
– RinD facilitation (ability to tactically
influence / arbitrate DS research at
action sites / years)
– RinD guidance (ability to strategically
guide DS research at a regional level
and over the course of the program)
Top-down
CG-led
‘linear/cartesian’
Bottom-up
Partner-led
‘iterative/stochastic’

3. a. Which partners did we successfully engage?
How will we build on them (role in research,
leadership, management, etc.)?
Partners Research Leadership Management
NARS IER Mali, SARI
Ghana, INRAN
Niger
Academia CDA Nigeria
RROs Agrhymet
NGOs AMEDD Mali
FOs
Private sector
Policy MESSRS Burkina?
Donors USAID, BMGF,
McKnight

4. b. Are we going to change our partnership setup
(structure and budget)?
• Structure: Yes. Budget: Yes.
• Involvement through regional advisory committees
• Increase minimum budget allocated to partners (at least 50% of CRP
budget?)
• Focus on quality rather than quantity of partners (fewer partners involved
at a more strategic level) – should also be reflected in budget packaging
• Non-CGIAR action site coordinators (caution: trans-boundary action sites)
• More budgeting power in regional coordinators not only center focal
points
• Impact facilitator concept – nothing to do with research, role to facilitate
partnerships for innovation platforms, producing outcomes and impact –
in turn will relieve scientist from doing this (e.g. through ROPPA – noise
makers that can attract attention of policy easier)

5. c. Which main results are we expecting at
regional level through partnerships?
• Enhanced buy-in from partners
• Partners effectively contribute to implementation of CRP
• Improved ability to link into (regional) policy
• Improved linkages to (governmental / national, regional)
scaling-up / scaling-out mechanisms
• Improved ability to target non-traditional donors (finance law)
– example Adesina Nigeria
• Access to pass-through funding through regional
organizations (CORAF, ECOWAS)