LIVES Research Framework
Berhanu Gebremedhin
LIVES Research Planning Workshop
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 26-28 March 2013

Presentation Outline
• LIVES research objective and research statement
• The research impact pathway
• LIVES action-oriented research approach and
process
• The types of research, research areas and outputs
• Research partnership and implementation
• Role of graduate students
• Promotion of R4D outputs

LIVES Research Objective
• To generate knowledge through
action-oriented research and
synthesis of results/lessons learnt
about value-chain development

LIVES Research Statement
• Research in the LIVES project will be conducted
on priority research topics for each commodity
in relation with:
– value chain stages,
– input supply and service provision support functions,
– value chain institutional environment, and
– cross cutting issues of gender, knowledge management
and capacity building, food safety and the environment
• Aimed at generating and synthesizing
knowledge to scale out and up best practices in
market oriented agricultural development.

The Research Impact Pathway
Resources
(Staff time, finance,
equipment/materials,
transportation etc.)
Activities
(Problem identification,
research design,
implementation,
evaluation)
Outputs
(technologies, institutional/
Organizational/policy
recommendations,
publications, briefs etc.)
Outcomes
(Research
outputs are taken
up/adopted by
intended users)
Impact
(economic,
social and environ-
mental changes)

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

The Types of Research
• Diagnostic
– Research conducted to identify, describe, quantify value chain
constraints and opportunities, and technological, organizational
and institutional intervention requirements
• Action Research
– Research aimed at generating qualitative and quantitative
knowledge on the development process and performance of a
single or combination of interventions, which can be used to
modify the interventions, and/or identify context specific
adoption factors that can be used to scale out/up best practices
• Impact research
– Research aimed at generating qualitative and quantitative
knowledge on the impact of interventions on economic, social
and environmental conditions of farm households.

LIVES Action-oriented research Process
• 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
• Complementing this action-oriented research will be the
RBME&L framework from which the strategic lessons will
be learnt about the processes and innovations

Research Focus
• Action-oriented research will be required:
• how to improve productivity and
• How to strengthen the functioning of value chains and
associated business development services,
• Hence both technical and socio-economics
research
• Research on the gender implications of the
different value chains, technologies, and
organizational and institutional innovations
• Research on the environmental implications
of value chain development

Research Areas
• Input supply and services
– Input supply
– Credit
• Extension
– Knowledge management
– Capacity building
– Market information and linkages
• Production
– Production technologies
– Production management
– Production systems

Research Areas (2)
• Post harvest handling, processing and
marketing
– Post harvest handling and management
– Processing
– Marketing and distribution
– Consumption and food safety
• Cross cutting issues
– Gender in market oriented development
– Environmental implications of market oriented
development

Research partnership
• Collaborative research between LIVES, IWMI,
ILRI programs, ICARDA, EIAR, RARIs, 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 policy makers, implementers, farmers and
investors.

Research Implementation- LIVES
Structure
Project Manager
Research Coordinator
Research Regional
Officer Coordinators LIVES
(Livestock & Irrigation Scientists
RBM&E Experts/Coordinators) (ILRI, IWMI)
Expert
Database
Analyst
Zonal Research
GIS Coordinators Assistants
Analyst

Research Implementation
• Research team by commodity composed of
– National coordinator(s)
– RARI Scientists
– LIVES HQ Scientists
– IWMI Scientists
– LIVES regional expert
– LIVES research assistant
– ILRI/ICARDA Scientists

Overall implementation framework
Research Partners
Role Dairy Beef Shoats Poultry Apicult Irrigated Cross-
ure ag. cutting
issues
National Methods,
Coordinat syntheses ,
ion backstopping
Impleme Implementati XX X X XX XX XX
ntation- on, analysis,
Tigray write-up
Impleme Implementati XXX XX X XX X XXX XXX
ntation- on, analysis,
Amhara write-up
Impleme Implementati XX X XX XX XX XXX XXX
ntation- on, analysis,
Oromia write-up
Impleme Implementati X X XX XX XX
ntation- on, analysis,
SNNPR write-up

Role of Graduate Students
• A key component of capacity building is the
strengthening of adaptive research through
graduate training
• 100 students fully sponsored for tuition and Theses
• 100 students supported for theses only
• Selection criteria to identify suitable
candidates
• Research topics fit into LIVES research
priorities
• Ensure Gender balance
• Joint supervision of students

Research Outputs
• Working papers- series
• Electronic publications
• Book chapters and Conference proceedings
• Case studies and syntheses papers
• Manuals and guides
• Journal articles
• Briefs and leaflets
• TV and Radio programs
• Videos

Project Committees
(that will facilitate promotion of R4D outputs)
CIDA
PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE
(PSC)
REGIONAL PROJECT
PROJECT COORDINATING TEAM
IMPLEMENTATION
(PCT)
COMMITTEES (4) (RPIC)

Promotion of Research Outputs
• Briefings to policy/decision makers
• National and Regional conferences
• Technical support to our national/regional
partners for strategy/policy/curriculum
development
• International conferences
• LIVES Website
• Ethiopian Agricultural Portal
• Published hard copy materials
• Mass media programs
• Videos

THANK YOU!!