Steering Committee Meeting Highlights and Challenges in WA Project

Steering Committee Meeting WA Project 25 March 2015, Accra, Ghana I. Hoeschle-Zeledon Coordinator, ESA and WA projects

Management issues Late submission of work plans for timely submission to SC despite deadline of 15 March Respecting reporting deadlines Poor quality reports Lack of regular team meetings; sharing of minutes of meetings

Implementation challenges Summary report on baseline survey findings in Ghana and Mali expected by scientists; no IFPRI regional M&E specialist Change of partner staff (IWMI, AVRDC) Opportunities for exchange visits to Tanzania and Ghana missed Identification of a PhD student for studies at Wageningen University and research in WA

Key partners not present in action countries; implementation by remote control Lack of integration of research sites and scientists in Mali Platforms not yet operational Capacity/commitment of SARI Alignment with other USAID initiatives not yet operational, e.g. with ATT and ADVANCE in Ghana, Innovation Labs (Sust. Intensification, Mechanization, Irrigation, Post-harvest)

ESA Steering Committee, 10 Sept. 2014 Visualization of SI: Program Comms team to come up with a suggestion Data Management: to become part of new partner contracts Teams need to conduct monthly meetings and disseminate minutes IFPRI to provide gender disaggregated data for further analysis to strengthen gender research in AR Partners not responding to reminders to submit reports ports will be contacted by J. Glover

Program Coordination Team 2 physical meetings held (July, November 2014): Use of AR communication tools needs to be improved Exploring opportunities to work with USAID mission funded projects; find ways to better present specific deliverables Revision of WA project doc and logframe by Dec. 2014, annual revisions of all logframes Ease access of docs on the website Organize workshop on sustainability indicators (few specific, measurable indicators)

Organize program-wide scientific symposium (Oct/Nov 2015) Attend learning visit to CSISA project in India and Bangladesh Hold phase 2 planning meeting Shared approach and learning across the regions on gender Data sharing plan approved and binding for all sub-contractors

Science Advisory Group Reports to and advises the PCT on the overall strategy and direction of the program, program coherence and opportunities for partnerships Two meetings (July, November 2014), field trip in Tanzania: focus of the research: supply-driven technologies who can be effective in scaling up? lack of social and economic analyses of technologies to help farmers make decisions on risks and implications of technologies revision of research hypothesis for testability and linkage to objectives

more social science partners, capacity building of partners beyond formal degrees, partner with policy makers to facilitate change agric. intensification with market orientation a viable option for resource poor farmers with no incentives given? how can they be supported to reduce their risks? use of identified farm typologies in our research more efforts to get private entrepreneurs on the platforms female farmer involvement in trials

Steering Committee membership New Comms officer AVRDC s term ending in September 2015 CSIR CORAF IFPRI

Next activities and events Technical reports to donor (April) Regional log frame and project doc need revision Finalization of 2015/16 work plans by Approval by Steering Committee by New partner contracts by PCT meetings April and June SAG meeting ??? Exchange visit to Ethiopia on watershed/ landscape management (April)

Program learning event (Oct.) Program scientific symposium (Oct.) Program retreat (May) Contract reviews (Chief Scientist, Coordinator) USAID commissioned Program Evaluation

Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation africa-rising.net