REGIONALIZATION : A CRITICAL STEP TOWARDS GLOBALIZATION *

Transcription

1 GLOBAL FORUM ON AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FORUM MONDIAL DE LA RECHERCHE AGRICOLE FORO GLOBAL DE INVESTIGACION AGROPECUARIA Document No: GFAR/00/21 Distribution: Session 3 Date: May 15, 2000 GFAR May Dresden, Germany Strengthening Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development in the Context of Globalization REGIONALIZATION : A CRITICAL STEP TOWARDS GLOBALIZATION * Christian Hoste NARS Secretariat of GFAR This paper has been prepared at the request of the GFAR Secretariat as a technical background document. It is solely the responsibility of the author (s), and does not necessarily represent the views of GFAR, nor of any of its stakeholders. NARS Secretariat of GFAR Mailing Address: Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, Roma, Italy Tel: (39-06) Web: Fax: (39-06) NARS-Secretariat@fao.org

2 GLOBAL FORUM ON AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FORUM MONDIAL DE LA RECHERCHE AGRICOLE FORO GLOBAL DE INVESTIGACION AGROPECUARIA REGIONALIZATION : A CRITICAL STEP TOWARDS GLOBALIZATION by Christian Hoste, NARS Secretariat of GFAR 1. INTRODUCTION The ultimate goal of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research is to develop an efficient, effective and coherent global agricultural research system (Declaration for Global Partnership in Agricultural Research, October 1996). At the same time, the signatories of this declaration recognized that the national agricultural research systems (NARS) are essential building blocks of the emerging global research system. This paper aims at illustrating that, in between the national and the global dimensions, a regional 1 approach is indispensable and significantly add value to the process of globalization of agricultural research for development. It also highlights the proposed agenda and the activities launched by GFAR to develop and strengthen regional and subregional organizations, in particular in developing countries. 2. THE NARS: A NECESSARY BUT NOT A SUFFICIENT STEP Over the last ten years, the concept of NARS has been developed and is now commonly used. It is based on the principle that agricultural research is much more effective, efficient and sustainable when all actors are involved at all stages of the process, from planning to evaluation through implementation. In spite of this consensus, in the great majority of both developed and developing countries, the main challenge remains to identify ways and means to make this NARS concept operational. In order to do so, each country has first to define the entities that are the core of its NARS and those which are part of its environment. A second step is then to identify and put in place mechanisms and policies that allow all the NARS components to both efficiently work together and express themselves as a coordinated identity. In most countries, the NARS are composed of representatives of the national agricultural research organizations (NARO) and of universities as well as of the different ministries involved (including the ministries of planning and finance), the extension services, the private sector, the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO), the farmers organizations and the farmers. In developing a NARS, there is a delicate balance to be found between 1 Region is an ambiguous term as it can mean both sub-national units and supra-national units. In this paper, region or sub-region and regionalization refer to a group of countries that share common characteristics, objectives, rules or institutions. 2

3 representativeness (participation of all significant actors), effectiveness (manageable number of representatives) and efficiency (minimum operational costs). GFAR strongly supports the development and the strengthening of NARS but has no comparative advantage to work at the country level. GFAR has therefore oriented its actions into two main directions: a) organization of a NARS Forum, an electronic platform under EGFAR, the electronic global forum on agricultural research; b) sensitization and promotion of national fora as an effective and efficient means to launch and operationalize a NARS Organization of a NARS Forum The general objective of the NARS Forum is to use Internet and modern information management techniques to create a cumulative knowledge pool on strategic issues of NARS development and management, and to allow research managers around the world to tap into this knowledge pool, enriching it through its continuous and dynamic use. The most interesting and innovative dimension of this Forum is the direct involvement of NARS in creating, through their joint efforts, a stakeholder-lead and user-driven knowledge marketplace. The NARS Forum is being organized around a nine-point agenda of strategic issues of interest to NARS (see For each issue a Lead NARS is identified, that will coordinate the forum discussion on that particular point. Secondly, a "core group" of persons located in different institutions such as NARS, universities, international organizations and/or centres, etc., are being identified, to assure a "critical mass" of participants in each specialized forum. Thirdly, the Forum is totally opened to anyone interested in the topic Sensitization and Promotion of National Fora The experience of some developing countries clearly demonstrates the interest of organizing a national forum to launch the process of establishing a NARS. GFAR will therefore continue to document these experiences as part of the NARS Forum mentioned above and will encourage the countries which have not yet a fully operational NARS to organize a national forum. Three main objectives may be assigned to a national forum: To have all actors involved in or with a vested interest in agricultural research to agree on the NARS concept and on what should be the different components of the NARS. To identify, based on an in-depth analysis of the national situation, cost-effective mechanisms to strengthen the linkages among the different NARS components in order to provide a solid basis for the NARS and to agree on a realistic time frame to put them in place. To decide on the role and functions of an apex body which could be considered as a true reflection of the NARS. The main expected results of a national forum are: sensitization of policy-makers; mobilization of all actors; information exchange; identification of a policy framework which favors agriculture and agricultural research; organizational structure of agricultural research; consensus on a national research agenda; resource allocation between NARS components; nomination of a NARS representative. 3

4 A national forum should not be a one-off event as it will miss one of its main objective which is to have a mechanism to plan, monitor and evaluate an agreed national research agenda. Institutionalization of national fora is also critical for the nominated NARS representative to report on his/her activities at the sub-regional, regional and global levels and for either the renewal of his/her mandate or for the appointment of a new representative. When deciding on the frequency of national fora, a balance has to be found between the need to keep a certain dynamics between the NARS components and the costs (direct and indirect) in organizing them. The optimum frequency seems to be one every second year Limitations of the NARS approach A NARS approach is definitely a significant step forward as it pulls together all resources available at the national level to address research priorities identified by the main end-users. However, considering the broadening of the national research agenda, the complexity and costs involved to access some new technologies, the increasing institutional diversification of the agricultural research sector and the fast growing process of trade liberalization, not a single country can work in isolation and have the resources to develop centers of excellence in all agricultural sub-sectors and research disciplines. Sub-regional and regional cooperation and collaboration is therefore becoming a necessity. It will achieve economies of scale and scope, avoid duplication of efforts and add value to the efforts of the individual NARS. 3. REGIONAL MECHANISMS IN ARD Sub-regional and regional cooperation and collaboration in ARD can take different forms from a simple exchange of information to an active participation to joint research programmes or networks, the creation of regional research institutions and can go up to full regional integration of the NARS. Almost all regions of the world have put in place some light mechanisms for facilitating/coordinating ARD. The current situation is as follows: Both the Latin America & Caribbean (LAC) Region and the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) Region have established and strengthened sub-regional organizations (SROs): the four PROCIs and recently SICTA for LAC and ASARECA, CORAF and SACCAR for SSA. It is only recently, that they have considered the establishment of a regional forum as an apex mechanism: FORAGRO in LAC and FARA in SSA. These LAC and SSA regional fora are still in the process of development. In addition to FORAGRO, the LAC countries have put in place a regional funding mechanism called FONTAGRO. In the case of the Asia-Pacific (A-P) Region and of the West Asia & North Africa (WANA) Region, regional associations of national agricultural research institutions (NARIs) have been in existence for more than ten years: APAARI for A-P and AARINENA for WANA. It is only recently that AARINENA has decided to promote a sub-regional approach (Maghreb, Nile Valley & Red Sea, Mashreq, Arabian Peninsula and Western Asia) and that APAARI is considering taking the same route (South East Asia, East Asia, South Asia and Pacific). 4

5 The European countries plus Norway and Switzerland and the European Commission decided in 1994 to establish EIARD, the European Initiative for ARD, to serve as the political advisory arm for ARD. In 1999, EFARD, the European Forum for ARD, was officially launched with the primary objective of promoting and developing research partnerships in ARD between Europe and the other regions of the world. Considering that the European Commission has the tools and the means to financially support regional collaboration, Europe has developed very quickly a coherent and strong mechanism to deal with all aspects of ARD. In early 2000, the eight countries of Central Asia and Caucasus (CAC) have decided to establish a CAC Agricultural Research Forum, building up on a regional collaborative mechanism established by the CGIAR. The Russian Federation is currently exploring how to participate in GFAR and discussions are on-going on pros and cons of organizing a Central and Eastern European (CEE) Forum. A comparative assessment of the modalities of establishment of these regional and subregional mechanisms, with their respective institutional and organizational strengths and weaknesses, has been recommended by the members of the NARS Steering Committee in May 1999 but has not yet been initiated. 4. THE PROPOSED GFAR STRATEGY FOR STRENGTHENING THE REGIONAL AND SUB-REGIONAL FORA In May 1999, in Beijing, a discussion paper was presented and discussed at the NARS Steering Committee meeting on "Strengthening Regional/Sub-regional Organizations of Agricultural Research for Development". This paper was based on the results of an informal meeting which took place in April 1999 between the European Initiative for Agricultural Research for Development (EIARD), the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) and the NARS Secretariat of GFAR. This paper suggests a strategy articulated around the following six main topics: 4.1. Increasing the capacity of the regional and sub-regional organizations to respond to a changing environment The objective is for the regional and sub-regional organizations (ROs/SROs) to be able to take advantage of the emerging opportunities and to be aware of and anticipate on the challenges that they are or will be facing. This implies to develop or strengthen a policy research capacity and to initiate a policy dialogue in order to develop a consensus among stakeholders around key policy issues and intervention points Strengthening the ownership by interested stakeholders The key point is to develop a stakeholder attitude/mentality towards collaboration in ARD and to increase their capacity to analyze their own interests to participate actively at all levels (national, sub-regional, regional and global). This implies to involve the different stakeholders in the national and regional fora and to associate them in the conception of the ROs/SROs, the setting of regional priorities and the design of regional programs. 5

6 4.3. Improving their governance capacity The priorities identified regarding governance are: to clarify the governance and management functions; to strengthen the strategic planning capacity of the ROs/SROs; and the establishment of an adequate management information system (MIS) Strengthening their management capacity Four domains of activities have to be looked at: the need for additional expertise at the level of the technical secretariat; a performing management information system; the e- mail connectivity with all stakeholders and relevant institutions; the network management skills of the regional research networks Strengthening impact-assessment and dissemination capacity to show results Efforts have to be made in the following three areas: refinement, simplification and application of impact assessment methodologies to ROs/SROs; improvement of the information management capacity of the ROs/SROs and strengthening the capacity to present the results according to the target groups in order to convince them and to widely disseminate these results Developing a sustainable funding strategy Successful funding obviously resulted from improvements in the different domains mentioned above. However, there is a need to develop a sustainable funding strategy with two basic principles: cost-sharing and competitive grant scheme supported by new funding sources. A program to address these key questions has already been sketched and the logical framework is presented in Annex. 5. GFAR SUPPORT TO THE REGIONAL AND SUB-REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS During the eighteen months of its operational life, GFAR has supported the regional and subregional organizations in five particular domains: 5.1. Institutional development The most obvious case of institutional development is the establishment of the CAC Agricultural Research Forum in early But GFAR is also encouraging, through local consultations or support to the formulation of projects, the development of both sub-regional mechanisms (WANA Region) and regional mechanisms (SSA and LAC Regions). 6

7 5.2. Information and Communications This area was considered as the first priority for GFAR as information and good communications are a prerequisite to regional collaboration. GFAR has developed a conceptual framework/guidelines for the Regional Agricultural Information Systems and is supporting the formulation of regional or sub-regional information strategies in almost all regions. Assistance was also provided by GFAR for the preparation of the Web sites of one sub-regional (SACCAR) and two regional (FORAGRO and AARINENA) organizations Regional Visions and Strategies As part of the process of developing a Global Shared Vision, GFAR has contributed to the formulation of a vision or mission statement for the LAC and WANA Regions as well as to the translation of a vision into a strategy for the SSA Region and of a strategy into a framework for action for the WANA Region Formulation of regional or sub-regional programmes and projects As part of the preparation of GFAR-2000, GFAR has assisted the different regional fora to document successful cases of research partnerships and to propose new innovative research partnerships. More than 35 proposals have been prepared by the different stakeholders, the great majority without financial assistance of GFAR, based on the principle of cost-sharing that GFAR aims to promote Inter-regional and global collaboration Three mechanisms are currently under implementation to strengthen inter-regional collaboration: favoring a dialogue between regions; formulation of global research partnerships; and direct exchange of experiences. The initiative for the former mechanism has been taken by the European Region. Two bilateral (region to region) meetings have been organized with the WANA and the SSA Regions to discuss modalities for developing research partnerships and not, as usual, to discuss the funding of projects. The role of GFAR was to assist the partners from the South to prepare the necessary background information to favor a constructive dialogue. It is worth mentioning that it is a learning process for both regions as such attempts have never been made in the past. Along the same principles, AARINENA and APAARI agreed to assist the CAC region to develop a research programme on cotton. The second mechanism to favor inter-regional collaboration is the formulation of global research partnerships, bringing together similar regional or sub-regional collaborative initiatives, for example, on cotton or coffee. Similarly, when the idea of a global programme on trypanosomosis emerged, it was amazing to note the immediate interest of the LAC and A-P Regions which, in the past, had almost no collaboration on this disease with the SSA Region. The third mechanism is the direct exchange of experiences between NARS leaders or managers. The GFAR meetings twice a year significantly contribute to this exchange of experiences but, in addition, GFAR tries to involve participants from other regions in 7

8 important regional meetings. The most recent examples are the workshop on the impact on research and development of sui generis approaches to plant variety protection of rice in developing countries organized in Asia and the workshop on sustainable funding mechanisms organized in Latin America. Fund availability is the major constraint for this type of mechanism but GFAR strongly believes that this is a very cost-effective mechanism, even if its impact is difficult to assess. In one of their meetings, the NARS leaders indicate that they consider that inter-regional exchange of information and experiences is one of the major immediate benefits of the establishment of GFAR. 6. CONCLUSION When strong NARS remain essential building blocks of the emerging global research system, it is becoming more and more evident that a regional approach and regional collaborative mechanisms are cost-effective. The existing regional and sub-regional organizations have already demonstrated the added value of this level of operation in a rapidly increasing globalization process. The main challenge is probably to change the attitude, mentality and perception of the stakeholders vis-à-vis regional collaboration. Partners have to build enough trust so that they can accept the leadership of others in certain research areas and be sure that all results will be immediately and transparently shared. The second most difficult question is then to develop a multi-actoral decision-making system that allow the participation of the various actors in the governance of the regional and sub-regional organizations. GFAR has elaborated a strategy to facilitate the development and support of the regional and sub-regional organizations and has already initiated a few activities in this respect. Much more has to be done and can be done in order for the regional and sub-regional organizations to play effectively and fully their role of hinge between the national and the global levels. 8

9 ANNEX 1 Logical Framework Strengthening Regional/Sub-Regional Organizations of Agricultural Research for Development Narrative Summary Verifiable Indicators Means of Verification Critical Assumptions Goal Purpose Outputs To improve performance of the national agricultural research systems (NARS) through the strengthening of Regional/Sub-Regional Organizations (ROs/SROs) To develop and launch a program for strengthening ROs/SROs in order to improve their effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability 1. Best practices in regional and national development policies favoring agricultural/rural development and regional ARD cooperation are identified and documented * A program document for strengthening ROs / SROs is formulated, endorsed by the NARS and supported by the international community * Development policy documents at the regional and national levels are collated and analyzed 2. The ownership of ROs/SROs by all national stakeholders in ARD is increased * New stakeholders play an active role in ROs/SROs * More countries join the ROs/SROs 3. The governance of ROs/SROs is improved * Stakeholder diversity present in the governing bodies * Terms of reference for each component of the governance are available 4. The management capacity of ROs/SROs is strengthened * Need Assessment reports are available and project proposals formulated for each RO/SRO * Communication between ROs/SROs and their NARS and between ROs/SROs have improved 5. The impact assessment capacity of ROs/SROs is developed * Impact assessment tools for regional research are available * Successful case studies are reported 6. A sustainable funding strategy for ROs/SROs is elaborated and tested * Innovative funding mechanisms and new sources of financial support are identified * A 6-month trial period implemented * A program document is produced * The Regional/Sub-Regional Fora (RF/SRF) have endorsed the document * The international community has decided to secure funds to test its implementation * A document on best practices in regional and national development policies is produced * Memberships and composition of the governing bodies * Composition of the governing bodies * Texts adopted by the General Assemblies of ROs/SROs * Documents published * Web pages and newsletters produced and regional database and MIS designed * Guidelines and training manuals produced * publications * A funding strategy for ROs/SROs published * 2-3 contracts signed with ROs/SROs * The NARS consider that strong ROs/SROs are key to improve their effectiveness and efficiency * The international community is willing to support ROs/SROs and to modify/ adjust, if necessary, their funding mechanisms in order to strengthen them * Governments are genuinely convinced that agriculture is the prime engine for boosting development * The concept of NARS is widely accepted and all components are willing to cooperate * Actors in ARD are willing to change mentality and attitude * NARIs are willing to share responsibility and leadership with the other NARS components * ROs/SROs are willing to strengthen their technical and financial management capacity in order to strengthen their constituent NARS * ROs/SROs feel the need for and are willing to build/strengthen their impact assessment capacity * ARD stakeholders are committed or willing to participate in costsharing schemes 9

10 Logical Framework - Strengthening Regional/Sub-Regional Organizations of Agricultural Research for Development (cont d) Narrative Summary Verifiable Indicators Means of Verification Critical Assumptions Activities 1.1. Review and document best practices of national and regional development policies that are conducive to agricultural and rural development and to regional ARD cooperation 1.2. Formulate public awareness programs on the importance of ARD for two different targeted groups (policy-makers; civil society) 1.3. Promote the organization of National Fora on ARD to improve public awareness, facilitate the emergence of the NARS, and build a consensus for action 1.4. Strengthen the national and regional policy research and information capacity through the establishment of networks 2.1. Organize policy-dialogues at the national and regional levels around specific topics/themes, involving all interested stakeholders, with a special attention to end-users 2.2. Facilitate/Support the organization of the different stakeholders in order to improve their representation and participation in ROs/SROs 3.1. Review and draw lessons from various experiences in developing multi-actorial decision-making systems 3.2. Define clearly the tasks, competencies and responsibilities of the various components of the governance of ROs/SROs, in particular between the Chairman (or President), the Executive Secretary (or Technical Secretariat) and the Coordination Units of the Regional/Sub-Regional networks and programs 3.3. Expose ROs/SROs to benchmarking and best practices through exchange of experiences, especially between regions 4.1. Assist the technical secretariats to develop/strengthen an analytical capacity in order to monitor the environment in which the ROs/SROs operate and to allow them to carry out strategic planning exercises 4.2. Develop/Strengthen the information and communication capacity of the technical secretariats (formulation of information strategies, connectivity, Web pages, newsletters, etc ) 4.3. Elaborate Regional Management Information Systems (MIS) based on decentralized National MIS 4.4. Increase, as an interim solution, the operational capacity of the technical secretariats through the secondment of Associate Professional Officers (APOs) under the overall responsibility of the NARS Secretariat 4.5. Assist the technical secretariats to strengthen the capacity of NARS for managing (technically and financially) regional networks and programs 5.1. Elaborate and/or adapt impact assessment methodologies to Regional/Sub-Regional networks and programs 5.2. Assist the technical secretariats to develop an impact assessment capacity in order to document successful regional research networks and programs 6.1. Review the potential financial sources of support to ROs/SROs 6.2. Study the comparative advantages of different funding mechanisms, in particular competitive grant schemes 6.3. Define the rules and procedures for accessing different funding mechanisms 6.4. Identify donor(s) and test the most promising funding mechanism * 2 Programs formulated * 1-2 National Fora/Region organized * 1 network /Region established * Regional/global electronic fora and/or regional workshops organized on 2-3 major topics/themes * 2 consultative meetings/region held * Documents produced and endorsed * Circulation of successful ROs/SROs experiences * Needs assessment done and specific projects formulated * Reg./Sub-Reg. Info. Strategies available; ROs/SROs on the Web; Interconnectivity between ROs/SROs members effective * Regional MIS formulated and endorsed * One APO in post in each RO and, possibly, in each SROs * Project documents prepared for each RO/SRO * Needs assessment done and specific projects formulated * 2-3 contracts signed 10

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