One of CGIAR’s core commitments is to collaborate effectively with our partners. Stakeholders and partners are one of the pillars of CGIAR, because without effective partnerships even the most ground-breaking science won’t get into the hands of those who need it most: smallholder farmers and the people they work to feed. Therefore at CGIAR, we are constantly striving to strengthen our relationships with partners to drive more effective demand-led research, and downstream impact.
To help us understand where we are starting from and what we need to improve, we commissioned an independent assessment of the perceptions of CGIAR Stakeholders in 2012. The full report, prepared by GlobeScan is now available, following up on our commitment as part of the release of the summary of the report highlights in April 2013.
We take the results of this survey seriously – our strengths as well as where we need to improve. We commissioned this survey so that we could learn where we need to focus our energies to maximize the effectiveness of our collaboration efforts, and understand where we need to build capacity. And in response to these findings, we have drawn up an Action Plan on Partnerships. The contents of the report, as well as the Action Plan document have been discussed and revised by the CGIAR Research Centers, CGIAR Research Programs and CGIAR stakeholders themselves. The plan, due to be implemented over the next two years, seeks to address the most important areas for improvement as identified by CGIAR stakeholders: accessibility, collaboration and transparency.
Good, but could do better
The survey was sent to approximately 4,000 current and potential partners; 1,071 responses were received from more than 115 countries. Respondents answered questions about various dimensions of CGIAR’s stakeholder engagement, awarding marks on a seven-point scale ranging from “very poor” to “excellent”.
The good news is that the results showed that stakeholders are generally positive about their partnerships with CGIAR, with an overall satisfaction rate of 75 percent expressed by current and former partners. CGIAR performed well in our core areas of expertise – research outputs and research outcomes – especially in the fields of food security and sustainability. But the survey showed that these factors have a relatively weak impact on perceptions of satisfactory partnerships.
Bearing in mind that the whole object of the exercise was to identify how to strengthen partnerships, it’s only right that I report some of the less positive findings that emerged. When it comes to what was widely perceived as the strongest drivers of quality partnerships, the overall verdict was that there is room for improvement. Areas where we need to improve the most include transparency, collaboration, accessibility, and capacity building.
Building on strong foundations
One observation from the study is that CGIAR appears to collaborate more effectively with the partners with whom it works most frequently, such as academics and research institutes, as compared to international and development organizations and NGOs. These findings suggest that CGIAR has a strong foundation for building positive stakeholder perceptions, but there is clearly work to do.
Opinions about partnerships with CGIAR Research Programs were varied. But the report notes that the new Research Program structure is still in its infancy, making assessment difficult. Recommendations from the report include actively engaging in dialogue with key partners to better understand where and why gaps exist; convening a working group of internal and external stakeholders; monitoring stakeholder perceptions via direct contact; conducting regular surveys; and prioritizing partnerships even further.
We are eager to take the survey findings on board, and the CGIAR Consortium’s Action Plan on Partnerships commits to developing a 2013-2015 Partnership Strategy, incorporating direct feedback from stakeholders. We are creating a CGIAR Partnership Committee, with broad representation from partners and CGIAR staff. We will be defining 2015 CGIAR targets for improved partnerships based on key performance indicators (KPI) for effective partnerships. And we plan to focus on capacity building by tapping into the strengths and experience of some CGIAR Centers and CGIAR Research Programs as well as partners’ expertise. In a move that I believe will make a major contribution to better working relationships, there also will be an online platform for ongoing, real-time, stakeholder input, feedback and engagement.
To assess the effectiveness of this action plan, we will be carrying out a new CGIAR Stakeholders Perception Survey in 2015. I am looking forward to an even better relationship with all our partners. By joining together and working more closely as a team, I am confident that we can contribute to greater development impact.
More information:
Listening to our stakeholders (CGIAR Consortium)
2012 CGIAR Stakeholder Perceptions Survey
Action Plan on Partnerships
Featured image: Mapping exercise in Jhalokhati, Bangladesh. Photo by Mélody Braun, 2013.