LIVES Action-oriented Research and
Capacity Development
Berhanu Gebremedhin, Azage Tegegne and Dirk Hoekstra
LIVES Project Launch Workshop
Addis Ababa, 22 January 2013

Action-Oriented Research in
LIVES

LIVES Action-oriented Research framework
Experimental Developmental
(controlled setting) (uncontrolled setting)
 Technology application
 Organizational issues
Focus  Technology generation
 Institutional issues
 Diagnostic research
Methods  Lab-based
 On farm action
 On-station
research
 On-farm
 Impact research

What does action-oriented research in LIVES
look like?
• Piloting interventions combined with careful monitoring
and evaluation of the outcomes and impacts
• Complementing this action-oriented research will be the
RBME&L framework from which the strategic lessons will
be learnt about the processes and innovations
• The learning activities will include process-monitoring and
evaluation to conduct comparative analysis and synthesis of
lessons from the value-chain level M&E

Action-oriented research in LIVES (2)
• Priority setting and targeting within target areas to best
address needs and opportunities
• Identifying and piloting technology and other interventions
to improve productivity and market performance;
• Outcome and impact assessment to evaluate the benefits
emanating from project investments
• Analysis of innovation processes to better refine and design
capacity building and scaling out of activities.
• The data and learning generated by these activities will also
support the project RBME&L.
• Hence: Diagnostic, Action and Impact research

Research partnership
• Collaborative research with EIAR, regional
research institutes and universities
• Joint supervision of graduate students
(MSc/MA).
• Collaborative research expected to contribute to
building capacity within the knowledge systems
of the regions
– strengthened capacity of Ethiopian researchers and research
institutions
– promote results to farmers, policy makers, implementers, and
investors.

Research areas
• Action-oriented research will be required on:
• how to improve productivity and
• Strengthen the functioning of value chains and associated business
development services,
• Hence, research on both technical and socio-economic
constraints are expected to be important.
• Research on the gender implications of the different value
chains, technologies and institutional innovations
• Research on the environmental implications of the market
oriented interventions

Enhancement of Impact through action-
oriented research
• Capacity development
– Trainings
– Guides
• Knowledge management/communication
– EAP
– Knowledge centers
• Promotion of research outputs
– Working papers
– Conference presentations
– Journal articles
– Other

Capacity Building in LIVES

Capacity development Strategy-LIVES

Principles of capacity building
• Working with and through partner training organizations
• Focus on the key actors along the value chain
• Integrated with related projects in the same locations,
• Bulk of the training will be aimed at District level
• Make use of relevant training materials

Key training topics- Public sector
development staff
• market oriented extension
• participatory extension approaches/tools
• gender mainstreaming
• knowledge management
• irrigation, crop and livestock technologies
• skills and knowledge on post-harvest
aspects and
• environmental management

Key training topics- Farmers
• irrigation crop and livestock technologies
and practices
• production of inputs such as seedlings
and seeds.
• marketing of outputs
• feed resources development
• Post-harvest handling

Key training Topics –Service providers and
producer organizations
• para-veterinary skills,
• agro-chemical supply and use, and
• repair of irrigation equipment.
• leadership and management,
• business planning and book-keeping
• ICT

Training Modalities
• Training-of-Trainers (ToT) as the principal approach to
achieve both scaling-out within the selected
Zones/Districts and the target regions.
• The ToT will focus on training of TVET instructors (and
NGO and private sector staff as appropriate) and
University staff, and regional agricultural experts
• LIVES project staff and specialised staff from IWMI and
ILRI, and staff from MOA and EIAR will be responsible for
training the trainers.
• The trainers streamline the fields of training in the
curricula for up-scaling to national level.

Training Modalities (2)
• In each region the zonal trainees will provide training to
the Woreda level trainers
• The woreda level trainees will train the Development
Agents (DAs) in a given Woreda.
• Support will also be given to update and strengthen the
curricula and to develop tailor-made courses for groups
of DAs.

Postgraduate training
• A key component of capacity building is the strengthening
of skills in adaptive research through MSc training.
• 100 students fully sponsored for tuition and Theses
• 100 students supported for theses only
• ILRI and IWMI will provide selection criteria to identify
suitable students for the MSc program.

Postgraduate training (2)
• will strive to ensure gender balance.
• ILRI, IWMI and EIAR staff will co-identify research
problems with partners and national
universities
• ILRI, IWMI and EIAR provide co-supervision with
national universities

THANK YOU
www.lives-ethiopia.org