Research Partnerships: Issues and Lessons from Collaborations of NGOs and Agricultural Research Institutions

Non-government organizations (NGOs) and agricultural research institutions (ARIs) have made important contributions toward improved agricultural productivity. NGO capabilities and comparative advantages in community organizing, service and input delivery as well as in agricultural technology testing are widely recognized. Research institutions have made significant contributions to technology development, including the development of new varieties. NGOs and ARIs have independently attempted to involve farmers in research. However, research partnerships between NGOs and ARIs are less common and certainly not well-documented. The workshop organized by IIRR chose to focus on the relatively neglected dimension of NGO-ARI partnerships.

This nine-section publication embodies all the information derived during the workshop. Part 1 provides a backgrounder to the workshop, while Part 2 focuses on the synthesis of the 12 cases presented in the workshop. Part 3 deals with reflections arising from the three thematic workshops. Discussions found in part 4 focus on the need for research collaboration, while Part 5 and 6 deal with the recommendations and overall workshop synthesis. Part 7 contains the summaries of the 12 cases presented at the workshop. Parts 8 and 9 list the participants and workshop organizers.