The document discusses systems research in the context of the CGIAR Strategy and Results Framework and second cycle of CRPs. It outlines that systems research should be integrated at all levels of CGIAR research from site-specific to regional scales. It presents options for aggregating the three systems CRPs, including keeping them separate, partially merging some, or fully merging them. It also discusses opportunities for mixed clustering between systems and other CRPs like commodities, climate change, and nutrition. Moving forward, it recommends developing indices to measure systems performance and providing support to other CRPs to test interventions within systems. Partnership platforms between CRPs are also proposed.

1. Systems Research in the Context
of the new CGIAR SRF and 2nd
Cycle CRPs
By
Dr. Kwesi Atta-Krah
Director, Humidtropics CGIAR Research Program

2. Excerpts from SRF in relation to Systems
Research
• The ‘traditional’ mandate of CGIAR – to increase the productivity of
crops, livestock, trees and fish and to improve the management of
natural resources for the world’s poor and hungry – remains highly
relevant in the 21st century.
• The backdrop to change is finite natural resources and continuing
population growth, a combination that gives rise to increasingly
evident pressures on the land and other resources used for
productive purposes. (This supports the need for Sustainable
Intensification)
– Land, Soil degradation, Water, Unsustainable harvests of fish
and other aquatic resources, genetic resources.

3. Excerpts from SRF in relation to Systems
Research
• A major new factor affecting natural resources and their use is
climate change and the extreme weather events associated with it.
These compound the pressures on agro-ecologies that are already
struggling with the legacy of past environmental mismanagement.
(important to explore how climate change can be incorporated into
systems research)
– Foresight dimensions
• The policy and institutional dimensions of agri-food systems also
take on increased importance as markets globalize and integrate,
especially as agriculture links with the energy and water sectors.
The growing threats posed by climate change call for bold new
policy responses.

4. Excerpts from SRF in relation to Systems
Research
• The objectives of a renewed and expanded research
effort must therefore include not merely higher
yields from improved varieties and practices, but
also greater emphasis on new themes such as
climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture,
faster adoption of new technologies, higher
profitability from the small farm and food processing
sectors.
– All these elements point to the centrality of systems approaches in
CGIAR research

5. The Results Framework
• The Strategy and Results Framework (SRF) presents a
vision, mission and three strategic goals or system-
level outcomes (SLOs) for the work of CGIAR and its
partners over the 10-year period to 2025.
• SLO1 – Reduced poverty
• SLO 2 – Improved food and nutrition security
• SLO 3 – Improved natural resource systems and ecosystem services
• To accomplish the 3 SLOs, 10 Intermediate
Development Outcomes (IDOs) are identified, each
IDO having 2 – 5 sub-IDOs (32 sub-IDOs).

6. Cross-cutting issues
• Climate change. All research and development
activities need to build in resilience to climate
shocks and a focus on adaptation to and
mitigation of climate change.
• Gender and youth.
• Policies and institutions.
• Capacity development.

7. Focus on Agricultural Systems
• Research in this area will target a limited number of regions
and agro-ecologies that are home to high concentrations of
the world’s poor and that offer significant agricultural
potential in the sense that sizeable yield gaps both occur and
can be addressed.
• The focus will be on the sustainable intensification of farming
systems, including the improvement of social and ecological
resilience, ecosystem services supporting agriculture, and the
management of tradeoffs.

8. CGIAR Research and Systems
• Research will adopt a systems approach,
encompassing the full range of intervention
points from soil–plant–water relationships to
markets and value chains. It will integrate
social and biophysical sciences with the use of
both local knowledge and big data to
understand and solve the complex problems
affecting lives and livelihoods in these
systems.

9. Our Declarations
1. Systems research is the bedrock within which the expected
changes in productivity, livelihoods and NRM can and should
take place, in line with the goals and aspirations of the SRF.
2. Systems research is not the exclusive ‘right’ of Systems CRPs.
Within the CGIAR, Systems Research must be seen as
functioning at varying levels throughout the entire CGIAR
chain, with built-in inter-connections.
– This would require massive mindset change, competency
enhancement, as well as strengthened strategic partnerships, related
to areas of systems research and analysis along the impact pathway –
Research to Development and Scaling:

10. Systems thinking at all levels
Core functioning,
Place-based research:
Systems CRPs
Broader integration -
Systems Approaches:
Other CRPs
Across the Board Mindset
Alignment - Systems Thinking
Entire System

11. CRP
X
CRP
C
Other CRPs
Systems CRPs
Communities
of Practice will
function within
this context
Primary Collaboration
– Linking systems
research components
of CRPs to the central
systems-CRP
Systems
components of
other CRPs
Inter CRP
meetings will
function within
this context
Secondary Collaboration –
Aggregation of entire CRPs
(systems, Commodity, NRM,
Policy) research within a
defined AEZ
How would the systems research entities across CRPs work
together to ensure synergy?

12. Levels of Integration and Aggregation
This can play out at 3 different levels or scales in
relation to SRF and GCARD
– Site Integration Plans (Systems research; total research
activity)
– Regional (AEZ) Integration Plan (on Systems Research)
– Regional Aggregation (including mapping) Plan
 GCARD Process Alignment

13. Systems Research in context of 2nd Cycle
Portfolio of CRPs
• Within-Cluster aggregation options
• Inter-Cluster Aggregation Options
Within-Cluster Aggregation
Four Option Scenarios produced
– Status quo: 3 separate CRPs
– Medium level of integration: Clustering with Efficiencies
– Medium level of integration: Land based Systems, and Aquatic (Water-
based) System CRP
– High Aggregation: Merge all 3 S-CRPs into one ‘giant’ CRP

14. Status quo
Clustering with
efficiencies
Full Merger
One Systems CRP
Partial Merger – 2 systems CRPs
Systems CRPs Aggregation Options

15. Mixed Cluster Aggregation Possibilities
• Commodities: Integration of commodity value chains in
system focal areas wherever possible (as per Research
Capability – Agricultural Systems)
• Policy Institutions and Markets: Systems work needs to look
at institutions and governance and therefore could
incorporate some of micro-economic dimensions of PIM.
Currently most social scientists in many Centers seem to
aggregate into PIM, with less available for the systems-CRPs.
• Climate Smart Agriculture: Integration of climate smart
agriculture research into systems research, to provide basis
for foresight considerations.

16. Mixed Cluster Aggregation possibilities
• Nutrition / Nutrition Sensitive Landscapes: Dietary
diversification element cuts across all Systems CRPs and
A4NH.
• Dryland Cereals and Grain Legumes: Specific integration with
dryland systems CRP to create a crop and production systems
CRP for drylands.
• Roots, Tubers and Bananas: Humidtropics and RTB
Integration as possible model. RTB commodities grow in the
humid tropics AEZ. Strong need for some integration. The
commodities are often grown within a systems context.

17. Mixed Cluster Aggregation possibilities
• Livestock and Fish: Fish value chains and technology
dimensions could be integrated into AAS, and livestock
integration and value chain dimensions into Humidtropics and
Drylands.
• Research for Development Platforms and Innovation
Platforms of Systems CRPs could be used in a wider context
across CRPs as Mechanism for Collaboration and/or
Integration. This could also be the basis upon which targeted
research interventions are developed for particular sites or
zones.

18. R4D Platforms Mechanism for
Linking CRPs
Experimentation
•Technical
•Institutional
•Modeling
A B C D
• Synthesis
• Learning
• Scaling
• Situation Analysis
• Tools and Methods
• Climate Smart
Agriculture
• Foresight
• Research for
Development (R4D)
Platforms
• Joint CRP Intvn.
R4D/Innovation platforms
Scaling out Scaling out Scaling out
CRP
Interventions
and Joint
research

19. Conclusion: Looking Forward
Three key domains of work are highlighted below as part of the next
step actions:
1. We need to develop indices that demonstrate changes in systems
performance of dominant systems:
– Systems Productivity Index ($ and/or Food)
– Systems Innovation Index (% knowledge gain)
– Systems Resilience Index (%)
2. Providing a basis and support to other research initiatives such as
commodity CRPs that test and experiment with social and
technical interventions in relation to the SRF and related targets.
3. Developing partnership development and engagement platforms
together with other CRPs.