Discussion Papers

This paper is a case study of capacity strengthening activities carried out at the Agricultural Research Corporation in Sudan between July 2008 and March 2011. These activities were undertaken through the project ‘Strengthening Capacity for Agricultural Research and Development (SCARDA)’ which was implemented in the East and Central Africa region by the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa. The paper describes the identification of capacity needs and the design and implementation of interventions aimed at enhancing the performance of ARC and strengthening its links with partner organizations. A combination of training workshops, mentoring, short courses, long-term postgraduate training and work-based experiential learning was used to address a set of priority needs. The training was placed in an organizational change context and guided by a learning framework. The hypothesis was that the acquisition by key staff of a set of core competencies would lead to a change of mindset among staff which would begin to enhance organizational performance.

In 2005, the Forum for Agricultural Research for Africa (FARA) commissioned an assessmentof the human and institutional capacity for research management in the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in sub-Saharan Africa. The assessment identified significant weaknesses limiting relevance and responsiveness of NARS in agricultural development of Africa and recommended the need for new approaches and innovative initiatives to address these critical capacity deficiencies. The FARA review was consistent with other contemporaneous studies that identified the need for NARS to move away from a predominantly supply driven approach with minimal regard for the needs of end-users (e.g. farmers, agro-processors, traders) and to embrace approaches that fosteredwider partnerships (e.g. Mbabu and Ochieng, 2006).

This paper examines the design and implementation of a package of capacity strengthening interventions undertaken between March 2007 and March 2011, which aimed to enhance the performance of the national agricultural research system (NARS) in Lesotho. It also identifies some initial outcomes from these interventions and makes recommendations to sustain the process of organisational and institutional change and build on the results that have been achieved. The paper is the first of three case studies which investigate the application of a holistic approach to capacity strengthening developed through the project ‘Strengthening Capacity for Agricultural Research and Development (SCARDA)’ which was coordinated by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa.

The project Strengthening Capacity in Agricultural Research and Development in Africa (SCARDA) aimed to enhance the performance of selected research and educational organizations in ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Particular emphasis was placed on strengthening linkages between these organizations and their key research and development partners to help foster agricultural innovation. One of the major components of the project was strengthening the quality of science in the target organizations and support for postgraduate studentships in priority topics was the key activity in this. A total of 78 students received training in topics as diverse as plant breeding, rangeland management and agricultural information and communication management.

This paper presents findings from a review of SCARDA’s gender and diversity (G&D) mainstreaming activities. This is based on an examination of how SCARDA G&D principles were adopted and mainstreamed by sub-Regional Organisations (SROs) and Focal Institutions (FIs) both in SCARDA activities and in the institutional practices of members.