Mobilizing AR4D Partnerships
Tom Randolph
Mobilizing AR4D partnerships
to achieve national food security
Tom Randolph (ILRI)
GCARD2 Breakout session P1.1 on partnerships
to achieve national food security, Punta Del Este, Uruguay, 29 October 2012

Mobilizing AR4D Partnerships
Tom Randolph
CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish
 More meat, milk and fish by and for the poor
o Pro-poor transformation of selected value chains
o Food security with poverty reduction
o Managing the transition of structural transformation
 Accelerating AR4D to impact at scale
1. Focus in only a few selected value chains

Mobilizing AR4D Partnerships
Tom Randolph
CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish
 More meat, milk and fish by and for the poor
o Pro-poor transformation of selected value chains
o Food security with poverty reduction
o Managing the transition of structural transformation
 Accelerating AR4D to impact at scale
1. Focus in only a few selected value chains
2. Addressing the whole value chain
3. Partnering with development actors to identify solutions,
generate evidence, and attract investment
4. End target: achieve impact at scale in large development
intervention

Mobilizing AR4D Partnerships
Tom Randolph
Development partnership as a Critical Success Factor
 Livestock and Fish Program impact pathway explicitly
dependent on effective partnership with development actors
 Focus of our pre-conference meeting
 Strengths: Partnerships between research and development
actors combine complementary talents, perspectives and
resources to create sustainable solutions at scale
 Opportunities: Partnerships offer space for joint learning,
connection and synergy for many actors to coherently
stimulate change at scale
 Weaknesses and Threats: Partnerships require actors to
behave differently and adapt arrangements to foster trust,
invest in relationships, and handle power carefully.

Mobilizing AR4D Partnerships
Tom Randolph
Partnership Principles: Critical Success Factors
1. Work from a common domain of issues: jointly mapped and understood system of interest
2. Clear roles: who does what is defined and agreed
3. Work as a team: purpose expressed as a shared vision of success, working together, “your
success is my success”, invest in relationships, open communication, full transparency
4. Build culture: changing to institutional norms and practices that better enable partnerships
5. Collective results: Reward total system performance and share attribution, and secure such
space with funders
6. Learn together: Invest in joint learning
7. Regular partnership health checks: joint evaluation of performance and satisfaction

Mobilizing AR4D Partnerships
Tom Randolph
Next steps for CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish
• Articulate a partnership strategy based on unblocking value chain constraints
in 9 countries
• Consolidate methodology for whole system engagement
• Map selected value chain issues with local actors and interest groups
• Multi stakeholder platforms/alliances become local partnership base
• Define strategic objectives and measures of success for each
• Document learning and results

Mobilizing AR4D Partnerships
Tom Randolph
Suggestions for GFAR
• Develop guidelines and standards as Good Practice for partnerships between research and
development actors
– Frame within an innovation systems context of partnerships needed to achieve changes at scale in national
food systems
– Critical review of current practice, collective performance and partner satisfaction
– Working group with a mix of facilitators and implementers (avoid commissioned study)
• Promote funding arrangements that enable rather than frustrate these partnerships
– Review current arrangements and their impact on partnerships and their performance
– Formulate arrangements that mitigate potential power issues and are based on collective performance
– Create innovation funds that allow space to adapt to evolving opportunities