Impact Assessment in Aquatic Agriculture Systems CRP

1. Impact Assessment in Aquatic Agriculture Systems CRP NRM Impact Assessment Workshop Penang Charles Crissman Feb 14-15 2012

2. What are AAS? Aquatic Agriculture Systems • “those farming, fishing and herding systems where the annual production dynamics of natural freshwater and/or coastal ecosystems contribute significantly to household livelihood, including income and food security. • These include major wetlands, floodplains and deltas, and most coastal systems.”

3. Aquatic Agricultural Systems Asia mega deltas African Inland GBM* The Coral Triangle Mekong Niger Lakes Victoria-Kyoga Zambezi South Pacific Community (where learning from Coral Triangle will be scaled out) Population living on <$1.25/day, per grid cell (resolution : 9 km at the equator) *GBM: Ganges-Brahmaputra-Megna delta Source of poverty map: CGIAR SRF Domain Analysis Spatial Team (2009)

4. AAS Hubs Place based – targeting concept, multiple criteria for selection

5. Hub Development Challenges • Bangladesh (Khulna Hub in SW) • increasing salinization of production systems and resource management • Cambodia (Tonle Sap floodplain Hub) • poor governance and over exploitation of natural resources • Philippines (Zamboanga del Norte Hub) • vulnerability to natural disasters • Solomon Islands (Western and Isabel Provinces Hub) • declining fisheries resources, limited market access • Zambia (Western Province Hub) • climate variability and floodplain system management, isolation from services and markets

6. Engage communities through Research in Development (RinD) • Meaningful participation by local women and men in the research • Change from being subjects and beneficiaries – to active participants in learning (PAR) • Shift focus from understanding to learning how to achieve practical outcomes and local change – limit conceptual analysis • Get M&E and IA right – pursue change through cycles of action and reflection – flexibility to adjust as we learn • Recognize the need for long-term site-based fieldwork and engagement • Interdisciplinary approach to research

7. Research in Development • RinD with emphasis on Participatory Action Research at core of major CGIAR program • Applying it in – and learning across – a coherent set of agricultural systems • If we show it works – make it central to what the CGIAR does in agricultural systems • Explicit intent to learn from this and scale out by working with partners • Major investment in M&E and impact assessment

8. Theory of Change Theory of Change – the causal logic that links research activities to the desired changes in the actors targeted in a program

9. Formulae are critical and necessary Sending one rocket increases assurance that next will be ok High level of expertise in many specialized fields + coordination Rockets similar in critical ways High degree of certainty of outcome Formulae have only a limited application Raising one child gives no assurance of success with the next Expertise can help but is not sufficient; relationships are key Every child is unique Uncertainty of outcome remains Following a Recipe A Rocket to the Moon Raising a Child Simple Complicated Complex • The recipe is essential • Recipes are tested to assure replicability of later efforts • No particular expertise; knowing how to cook increases success • Recipes produce standard products • Certainty of same results every time (Diagram from Zimmerman 2003)

10. Selecting paradigms for implementation AR4D (Diagram from Douthwaite et al 2003)

11. Research framework Classic CG research areas in first three Cross cutting work on gender, governance and knowledge management in second three

12. What should be monitored?

13. Types of interventions

14. Challenges for impact assessment

15. Evaluations and the R4D Results Chain Unit ofImpact Analysis Scale Outcome evaluation that measures the scale of output adoption/ uptake Ex post Impact Assessment as a function of (effect size * scale) System Global Program Program M&E, Impact pathway analysis, Adoption constraints analysis Pilot / Small Outcome evaluation studies that measure the effect size Project Time Input Output Outcome Impact Source: taken from a presentation by M. Maredia Research Objectives Goals

16. Ex-post Impact AssessmentMeasuring ‘the change in the problem’ Increase food and nutrition security through fisheries and aquaculture. Reduce poverty and vulnerability through fisheries and aquaculture.

17. Did we make it to happen? Source: Douthwaite et al 2003)

18. Income and asset poverty Vulnerability Marginalization Multiple dimensions of poverty Little access to means to make a decent standard of living A complex problem… People’s exposure to risks; sensitivity of livelihoods to risks; capacity to use assets and capabilities to cope and adapt Certain groups are systematically disadvantaged due to discrimination based on: gender, ethnicity, race, religion, caste, age, HIV status, migrant status

19. Income and asset poverty Vulnerability Marginalization Interventions toreduce poverty Diversification, microfinance, education & skills …requiring complex solutions Improve access to health services, secure land rights, aquatic property rights Organisational development, labour rights, migrant’s rights, gender equity

20. CRP partnership impact pathway commitments Partnerships and Impact pathways 3. Through non-program partners and IPGs 1. Through direct engagement 2. Through CRP partners • Impacts • change in problem • change in opportunities • Development Outcomes • - change in actions/behaviour of stakeholders • change in productivity • change in equity/empowerment • change in market conditions • change in investments • - change in security of assets/habitats • ResearchOutcomes • - recognition/appreciation of research knowledge • - use of knowledge by partners • - mobilisation of new capacity • extension of technology/materials • - change in policy environment RESPONSIBILITY ACCOUNTABILITY RESPONSIBILITY ACCOUNTABILITY • Outputs • change in knowledge • change in capacity • change in technology • change in materials • change in policy options • - change in awareness/understanding ACCOUNTABILITY

21. Integrate work of CGIAR centers, CRPs, Government, NGO and private sector partners • Research that adds to these existing investments • Integrate work of CGIAR centers, CRPs, Government, NGO and private sector partners • Research that adds to these existing investments Integrating CGIAR investments CSISA - CRPs 3.1; 3.3 CRP 2: Policies CPWF: CRP 5 CRP 1.3 Khulna hub CCAFS: CRP7 CRP 4: Nutrition

22. Gender equity • Transformative approach action areas • Change norms, attitudes, beliefs and practices relating to gender roles • Strengthen the role of women in decision making in different contexts • Increase women’s access to productive resources • Outputs and outcomes • Tools for mapping gender in its various contexts, training modules on gender equity, a gender action network • Gender equity awareness creation, gender sensitivity thru marketing and communication, gender involvement

23. System productivity • A platform for the entire range of CG system on-farm productivity research outputs • Focus on • component integration in systems • explicit consideration of ecological resource use • community-led adaptive research • Outputs and outcomes • Materials and methods, knowledge sharing tools • Improved availability of the materials and methods, adoption of them • Gender mainstreaming • focus on closing productivity gap between men’s and women’s tasks, engage men and women in priority setting, research, field trials, dissemination and monitoring

24. Equitable access to markets • Focus on: • value chains serving AAS households • as a platform for technological, commercial and institutional innovations • Outputs and outcomes • improved and new marketable products, value addition, post-harvest practices, information systems • new/strengthened relationships and organizations, investments, information flows • Gender mainstreaming • Focus on gender gaps along value chain, gender-responsive capacity and asset building to reduce exclusion of women

25. Resilience and adaptive capacity • Socio-cultural and environmental resilience • Improve capacity to adapt to risks, strengthen rights • Outputs and outcomes • New practices, tools, organizational models and provide dialogue, facilitation and advocacy • Improved understanding of rights, preparedness and response to changing circumstances, management of natural resources • Gender mainstreaming • Emphasis on food security, nutrition, risk reduction • Focus on differences in vulnerability and risk

26. Policies and institutions • Focus • understand how policies and institutions impact AAS communities and how they can adapt to those that cannot change and change those that they can • Outputs and outcomes • Products supporting change in knowledge , attitude and skills among policy makers, new organizational models, dialogue, facilitation and advocacy • More secure access to productive assets, better policy and regulatory environment, improved access to services, increased accountability of government agencies Gender mainstreaming -Focus on processes that exclude women, legal frameworks and organizing processes upholding rights of women and children

27. Knowledge sharing and learning • Knowledge Management is integrated with research processes throughout the program not a separate service function • Special characteristics of AAS Participatory, action-research focus of program, constant dialogue with partners, globally distributed sites and teams, frequent reflection and learning • KM is: a range of practices and processes that support learning and reflection so as to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable institutional change and the adoption of insight and technology • Components: • Communications • Information management • Monitoring and Evaluation

28. Monitoring and Evaluation • M&E- What we do to let ourselves and others know if we are doing what we said we would and if what we said is the right thing to do • Theory of Change - assisted indicator identification • Monitoring outputs and outcomes (users using an output) - frequent indicators will be knowledge, attitude and skills - community determined indicators - cooperation, especially on ‘higher level’ indicators • Special topics – monitoring challenges • Development effectiveness • Partnerships • Scaling up • Gender • Policy • Knowledge management • Communication • Capacity building