The Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Program (SSA CP) shows how the principles of institutional learning and change (ILAC) can be applied. This Brief outlines the basic components of the SSA CP and highlights various ILAC features of the Program. These include an innovation systems orientation; an...

Preparing an ‘innovation history’ is a method for recording and reflecting on an innovation process. People who have been involved in the innovation jointly construct a detailed written account (sometimes referred to as a ‘learning history’) based on their recollections and on available...

Participatory Impact Pathways Analysis (PIPA) is a practical planning, and monitoring and evaluation approach developed for use with complex projects in the water and food sectors . PIPA begins with a participatory workshop where stakeholders make explicit their assumptions about how their...

A weak evaluative culture undermines many attempts at building an effective evaluation and results management regime. This brief outlines practical actions that an organization can take to build and support an evaluative culture, where information on performance is deliberately sought in order...

Globalization, technical change and migration are changing the dynamics of poverty and food production. These factors, combined with a better understanding of the nature of complex processes, are also changing the nature of scientific research, the roles researchers can play in poverty...

The ILAC Initiative consists of an evolving community of individuals committed to increasing the contributions of agricultural research to sustainable poverty reduction around the world. ILAC promotes research, methodology development and capacity development to increase understanding of...

This paper presents six key issues from the Rethinking Impact: Understanding the complexity of poverty and change Workshop (RIW) held in Cali, Colombia, March 26–28, 2008. The workshop discussed how agricultural and natural-resources research can be more effective in generating solutions for...

Summary of workshop on Rethinking Impact: Understanding the complexity of poverty and change. March 26–28, 2008, Cali, Colombia

This report summarizes the papers presented and the discussions that took place at the workshop on Institutional Learning and Change in the CGIAR held at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, D.C. from February 4–6, 2003. The workshop brought to together...