Presentation by Mark Holderness and Harry Palmer at the 2016 annual meeting of the European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD).

1. MARK HOLDERNESS & HARRY PALMIER
THE GLOBAL FORUM ON AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
NOVEMBER 30, 2016
GFAR evolution and GCARD3:
Implications for governance

2. • Farmers & agricultural workers
• Consumers
• Women
• Youth
• Civil society
• Advisory Services
• Education
• National research
• International research
• Private enterprise
• UN agencies
• Intergovernmental bodies
• Funders
We’re shaping the future together
The Global Forum is a
unique open forum and
movement for change,
across the continuum from
farmer and consumer to
upstream research

3. The GCARD Roadmap – setting a new path
for Agric. Research & Innovation
1. Inclusive foresight defining AR4D
priorities and needs
2. Fostering equitable partnership and
accountability
3. Better investment of human,
institutional and financial resources
4. Develop human and institutional
capacities for change
5. Embed innovation in development
processes
6. Accountability: stakeholder-centred
processes with demonstrated
impacts

4. GFAR’s new Vision Statement
The Global Forum makes agri-food research
and innovation systems more effective,
responsive and equitable, towards achieving
sustainable development outcomes.

5. GFAR’s new Mission Statement
Partners in the Global Forum, at national,
regional and international levels, advocate
for, and catalyze, Collective Actions that
strengthen and transform agri-food
research and innovation systems.

6. Collective Action is our overarching
principle:
• A GFAR Collective Action is a multi-stakeholder
programme of work at national, regional or
international level
• Initiated by three or more Partners and
prioritized by the Global Forum
• Always includes producers and with a
particular focus on women and youth
• Contributes to the objectives of the Global
Forum and the GCARD Road Map

7. How does it work?
• Work towards shared demand-driven
development aims, centred on needs of the
rural poor
• The Partners in GFAR agree to commit and
generate resources together, in actions or
advocacy that strengthen and transform agri-
food research and innovation systems
• Add value through their joint actions
• Mutual accountability: actions recognized and
shared among the Partners in GFAR

8. GFAR: A Forum of Self-declared Partners, each
with their own roles
28%
1%
10%
2%
1%
13%
10%
14%
11%
3%
2% 5%
By Sector
CSOs Consumers Farmers & Ag workers Finance insts
Facilitating agencies Higher education International research National res & Regional Fora
Private sector Rural advisory services Womens groups Youth associations

9. GFAR’s new Steering Committee, a
truly multi-stakeholder governance
Global Regional/National
Farmers & Agricultural workers 1 2
Consumers 1 1
Private sector 1 1
NGO/CSO 1 1
Advisory services 1 1
Education 1 1
Women 1 1
Youth 1 1
International research 3
Regional fora & Regions 8
Facilitating Agencies & Donors 3
Chair, Vice-Chair, Exec. Sec. 3

10. What it means for GFAR’s operation
• Actions are managed, coordinated and led by the
Partners themselves
• SC represents all sectors and regions and
members are accountable to each
• Secretariat role is of facilitating, catalyzing and
learning from collective actions
• Not just thematic - can include advocacy and
institutional reform, new financing models
• Not just production – includes post harvest,
market chains, rural industries, food processing

11. Key challenges for collective action as
identified by GFAR Partners
• Mutual trust and equitability
• Governance & inclusivity
• Legitimacy & recognition
• Self-Sustainability & commitment
• Clear champions& communication
• Mobilizing resources

12. And some answers:
• Truly multi-stakeholder actions
• Bottom-up processes
• Use champions & catalysts
• Institutionalize self-commitment
• Participatory - ensure understanding and
common ownership of the aims
• Agreed operating principles and consensus
• Mutual learning, sharing progress openly
• Valuing and recognizing all partners equally
• Social media, break down institutional walls & hierarchies
• Money is important, but secondary: community, trust and real
partnership are vital
Secretariats help support the actors to meet these needs…

13. The GCARD3 process: Ensuring no one
is left behind
• Sustainable Development Goals provide new frame
• GFAR Governance reform & Collective Actions agreed
• CGIAR next phase CRPs developed & discussed
• National dialogues align
CGIAR CRPs & country
agenda and needs,
site integration
• Regional events
addressing key needs:
better investment,
community foresight,
shaping futures
Ø Global Event addressing key practical challenges

14. GCARD3, Creating new alliances for
collective action:
• Re-appropriating rural futures
• Platforms for impact from
research & innovation
• Curriculum Reform and Student
leadership
• Changing the metrics for SDG
impact
• Turning innovation into farming
enterprise
► In which of these EFARD want to
engage? Play a convening role?

15. The Alliance for Re-appropriation of rural
futures by local actors
• Brings together farmers & research-innovation actors
• Create virtual and face-to-face foresight platforms
• Use desired futures to change the present, to shape & achieve
the desired future.
• Sharing knowledge and experiences
Partners:
• Farmer orgs in Africa, Asia/Pacific,
Central Asia/Caucasus, Latin America
Europe, Near East/North Africa
• Research & innovation actors
in each region

16. Multi-stakeholder platforms for
impact from research & innovation
• Platforms fostered with ethos of collective action
• Communities identify innovation needs along value chains
• Multi-stakeholder innovation & learning to address key needs
• Capacities & resources mobilized
• Embed innovation into
wider rural development
& investments
• Turn innovation into
enterprise

17. Alliance for Curriculum Reform and
Student leadership
• Reform of Undergraduate education & learning,
starting in 100 universities over 5 continents
• Link education & enterprise
• South-North & South-South
Partnership links universities
across regions for postgrad.
Education
• Links to regional
centers of excellence
• New skills for the rural leaders of tomorrow

18. Alliance for new metrics of impacts
• Share experiences and lessons learned from analytical frameworks
• Develop & agree indicators for SDGs: food security, poverty,
livelihood, social, health, resilience, environmental, etc
• Field piloting & evaluation of
indicators with communities
• Integrated determination of impacts
on well-being; comparison of results
• Build national capacity for integrated
measurements
• Use diverse impacts in advocacy for
change in agri-food value system & values

19. Alliance for turning innovation into
farming enterprise
• Empower & enable farming
families, women and youth
to turn innovation into rural
enterprise opportunities
both in production & along
agri-food value-chains
• Build farmers’ business
skills, knowledge & learning

20. Knowledge enabling change and
impact
• Collective actions of GFAR Partners
creating many open information &
knowledge management platforms,
e.g. GODAN, CGIAR Open Access,
TAPIPEDIA
• Cross-link existing platforms to
synergize and create new
applications & uses
• Capacities and codes of practice
required for equitable access and
use by the resource poor

21. Integrated Agricultural Innovation & Enterprise
Facility
International
technical
support
to overcome key
barriers, guided by
desired futures & TAP
common capacity
development
approach
National delivery
Driven by rural needs,
led by informed &
empowered local
actors & mentors,
working in multi-
stakeholder innovation
platforms
Integrated national actions: integrating
demand with Agricultural Innovation &
Enterprise ...
Integrated PPPP
Investments
New forms of
national funding
cross-leverage of
funds addressing
each component,
innovative financing

22. The Agricultural Innovation and
Enterprise Scheme: Egypt pilot
• Women’s enterprise development from agric. innovation
• Needs and challenges of poor rural women researched in 5
governorates and 24 villages of Egypt
• Aims to build entrepreneurial and ultra-small business
management capacities to increase income and well-being
• 500 women to benefit from
the initiative’s first phase
• Innovation and capacity
development supported &
mentored through local
partners

23. How the GFAR Secretariat can help
• Supporting community foresight and
identification of needs
• Integrate EFARD role in global collective actions
• Assist in Linking EFARD with experiences and
reform actions in other regions
• Help strengthen engagement of farmers, CSOs,
private sector etc. in EFARD and in changing
national institutions and systems
• Help communicate and share successes of
collective actions

24. GFAR and EFARD:
Networking our actions
Some key questions to consider:
1. What form and scope does EFARD wish to take going forwards?
2. What is EFARD’s catalytic role?
3. How will EFARD strengthen its multi-stakeholder approach? How to link with
European sectoral networks e.g. education, science, farmers, retail?
4. Is EFARD’s focus to stay as European links to developing countries or will it
come to address European issues?
5. What is the relationship of EFARD to the agri-food research & innovation
agenda within Europe?
6. What are key regional and inter-regional themes for which EFARD wishes to
develop and champion collective actions?
7. How does EFARD hold itself accountable? And to whom?

25. GFAR is open to all
Simply enter your contacts under “Become a Partner” at
http://www.gfar.net
THANK YOU