Outcomes Thinking*Christine Jost

Linking Knowledge with Action Research Theme KMC4CRP2 workshop, Addis Ababa, 4 December 2013

* Drawing from the presentation “Outcomes Thinking” by Sophie Alvarez at CIAT. Downloaded 11 June 2013

Outcomes Thinking

• A new approach to research• Outcomes >>> impact

– 6 million climate resilient smallholder farmers in Kenya• End-users

– Changes in boundary actor knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices so that 6 million farmers can become climate resilient• Next-users

• Taking responsibility for outcomes to get to impact• Planning backwards from impacts

– Shifting the focus from research outputs to how they will be used and who will use them

– Make sure we are doing the right research

Impact Pathway

• Describe results chains, showing the linkages between the sequence of results in getting to impact

Activities Research Outputs

Outcomes: KAS changes

Outcomes: Practice changes Impact

Implementers Next users End users

Generic Impact Pathway and Actors in Research for Agricultural Development

Theory of Change

• Complements impact pathways by describing the causal linkages through which it is expected that an intervention will bring about the desired results– A causal model or hypothesis of how the

intervention worked or is expected to work

A theory of change supports an impact pathway

Activities Research Outputs

Outcomes: KAS changes

Outcomes: Practice changes Impact

Set of activities WHY Output WHY Outcome

1° WHY Outcome 2° WHY Impact

Impact Pathway Components• Impact: What change do we wish to see for end-users in the

long-term (20, 50, 100 years)• Outcome: What changes in next-users need to happen so that

an enabling environment is created and the impact target can occur? – KAS changes >>> practice changes >>> impact

• Output: What will we produce so that next-users can achieve the outcome? – Milestones: Major outputs from research, usually involving several

project activities• Activities: What research, training, advocacy and other things

do we need to do in order to create this output?

Actors• End-user: The beneficiary population

– Usually quite massive, making it unfeasible for a project or program to work with them directly to achieve an impact

• Next-user: Boundary partners that can create an environment that enables the target impact for end-users – Decision-makers that we want to influence to achieve

outcomes• Partners: Individuals and organizations that we work with

– Expertise, network and influence with next-users– Implementers

CGIAR ‘Speak’

• IMPACT:– Strategic level outcomes (SLOs)– Intermediate development outcomes (IDOs)

• Outcome?– Who is doing what…differently?– MoA, MoE and MoT in CCAFS EA countries seek and use

evidence to inform their position in national, regional and international processes (WTO, UNFCCC, CAADP), because the IARC system becomes demand driven and provides evidence on climate change adaptation and how to manage emissions intensity in agriculture

The CCAFS Impact Pathway

The CCAFS Impact Pathway

The CCAFS TOC• Assumptions

– Decision-makers need evidence: data and real-life examples – CCAFS can be a leading scientific voice – Emerging economies are most vulnerable; their voice must drive global processes

• Strategies– Social learning, gender mainstreaming, partnerships, capacity building, communication

and M+E – Research priorities

• Climate smart agricultural practices• Enhanced climate information services and safety nets• Policies and practices for low-emissions agriculture• Policies and institutions for climate-resilient food systems

– Action research in five highly vulnerable regions– Prioritizing outcomes through knowledge to action approaches

• Innovations in research and communications• Gender and social differentiation• Climate and agriculture strategies and policies

CCAFS Regional Focus

Leading to…• M+E plan

– Evidence of progress – Outcomes and impact– Iterative learning– Attribution vs. contribution

• Information management• Communications plan

– Outcome targets– Communications objective– Key audiences– Key messages

and then:• Tools: publications, briefs, presentations, blogs, videos,

advocacy, events, extension, etc.

scientist – next-user – end-users

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