This activity took place within the framework of FONTAGRO’s Seed Project: “Basis for the development of an evaluation and monitoring platform for regional projects”
FONTAGRO Members in San José de Costa Rica.
Costa Rica, November 10, 2016.- On November 9 and 10, 2016 a workshop on “Outcomes Indicators and Potential Impact of Agricultural Research and Innovation Projects “ took place in San José de Costa Rica. This activity was organized within the framework of the project called “Basis for the Development of an Evaluation and Monitoring Platform for Regional Projects”, executed by INTA- Argentina (National Institute of Agricultural Technology), together with INIA Spain (National Institute of Agricultural & Food Technology and Research), INIA Chile (National Institute of Agricultural Research), INTA Costa Rica (National Institute for Agricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer), and members of IICA’s and FONTAGRO’s STA (Technical Administrative Secretariat), as well as representatives of the CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), and the IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute).
As part of the project, IICA (Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture) commissioned the “Study and Methodology to Define and Measure Impact Indicators for Agricultural Innovation and Research Projects”, conducted by Dr. Gustavo Saín, an agricultural economist with a highly-respected track record in the area.
How did this initiative emerge?
In FONTAGRO’s Board of Directors’ meeting in Almeria, Spain, several directors pointed out that it was necessary to have common and simple indicators in order to regularly measure the outcomes of the projects and communicate the progress to different target audiences, including the governments of member countries.
To that end, The Board agreed to grant a seed fund in order to develop the abovementioned indicators and their monitoring procedure. Additionally, such indicators have an added value, since they could be used extensively by member institutions in their communications and knowledge management projects to report on its outcomes. Thus it would contribute to standardize processes in the research organizations involved in FONTAGRO’s projects.
FONTAGRO’s institutional mission is to fund high quality projects -from the scientific and technological point of view- that address the demands and challenges of small and medium-size farmers in the member countries. Projects that will support human resources training and help consolidate innovation networks, and most importantly that have a positive impact from the economic, productive, environmental, social, institutional and gender perspective. It is relevant, then, to develop a platform and its respective methodology aiming to evaluate projects, taking into account their quality and their impact in the abovementioned dimensions, as well as their mechanisms to communicate their outcomes.
Workshop’s Objectives
The objective was to analyze the results of the abovementioned survey, with the participation of specialists who are members of the platform together with FONTAGRO’s STA, in order to find consensus around a methodology that can be validated in at least two FONTAGRO’s member countries, so that it can be latter submitted before FONTAGRO’s Board for approval and dissemination in other institutions (INIAs). The workshop also displayed initiatives from Latin America and the Caribbean, where indicators are being used in abovementioned projects.
Presenters in the Workshop
Below is the list of speakers and presentations included in the workshop:
Presentation by Dr. Hugo Li Pun– Executive Secretary – FONTAGRO
Presentation by Dr. Gustavo Saín – Consultant
Presentation by Dr. Hernán Trevino INTA Argentina
Presentation by INTA Costa Rica
Presentation by Dr. Carlos Covarrubias – INIA Chile
Presentation by Dr. Marian Rodríguez INIA Spain
Presentation by Dr. Federico Sancho IICA
Institutional Policies for IICA Evaluation
Presentation by Dr. Andrea Gardeazabal Monsalue – CIMMYT
Presentation by Dr. Alejandro Nin-Pratt, IFPRI (to be confirmed)
For further information, please email fontagro@iadb.org
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About FONTAGRO
FONTAGRO is a unique regional cooperation mechanism that promotes family farming innovation, competitiveness, and food security. It was established in 1998 and it includes fifteen member countries that have contributed a capital of some $100 million. FONTAGRO is sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). Its Technical Administrative Secretariat is based at IDB headquarters in Washington, D.C. FONTAGRO has co-financed more than 100 projects and initiatives in its member countries for an approximate amount of $88.7 million, including contributions from other sources of funding and executing agencies. Its member countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
| Contact Information:
Carina Carrasco Communications Phone Number: +1202 623 3038. Email: ccarrasco@iadb.org Website: www.fontagro.org |
Referencias:
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