A systematic review on the impacts of capacity strengthening of agricultural research systems for development and the conditions of success.

This report reviews the evidence of impact of capacity strengthening on agricultural research for development (AR4D) in developing countries. A peer-reviewed protocol for the systematic review was followed to collect and analyse the publications (e.g. journal papers, project reports, evaluations) that provided evidence on impact of capacity strengthening interventions for AR4D. All publications reported positive results for the immediate outputs and outcomes: researchers received training and gained new skills and knowledge, new management tools and approaches were introduced, and organisations and other actors in research and innovation systems improved their collaboration. Evidence on the impact on AR4D is less consistent. The impact pathway was easier to trace in the case of strengthening biotechnological research where new crop varieties or husbandry practices led to higher animal and crop productivity. The impact pathway of capacity strengthening of research organisations or systems is typically nonlinear, explaining why most evaluation studies only reported on outputs or outcomes and not on impact, because of the difficulty of determining causality and attribution. The conclusions of most evaluations, however, suggest that capacity strengthening is most successful in improving research capacity when it is long-term and comprehensive, targeting multiple levels (individual researchers, research organisations and NARS). If capacity strengthening is implemented in an appropriate manner, and the researchers and organisations are able to effectively utilise the built capacity, considerable economic or social impact can be achieved, as some studies show.

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