How can research partner with
development partners better?
Likawent Yehyis
Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute
Africa RISING Program Learning Event
5 – 8 February 2019
Lilongwe, Malawi

• One of the regional research institutes in Ethiopia
• Located in the northwest part of the country
• ARARI has 7 centers,7 sub-centers and 40 testing sites. It has 6 departments
• The institute has relatively good reputation in collaborative R and D activities
with CGIAR, development partners and international donors
Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI)
Responsibilities of ARARI
Technology generation
Technology promotionBasic technology
multiplication

1. Both parties need to have shared objectives
• Research partners have to follow the development strategy
• The development partners have to agree with research priorities
• Both parties need to have a negotiated priorities
 The R&D project to be developed has to consider local needs,
contexts and institutional settings
2. Clear partnership agreement
• To share responsibilities
• To solve disputes on benefit/credit sharing
• For transparency

3. Mutual respect
• There should not be power relation (collaboration of equals)
• Researcher, extension worker and farmer
• Biophysical and Socio-economics researchers
• The case of the North and South partnership
• Make sure that trust is built among partners
4. What is in it for our institution and for the individual staff?
• All partners need to benefit from the partnership
• Institutions in terms of meeting their objectives
• Individuals need to be incentivized (to motivate staff)
• Incentive in kind
• Incentive in the form of human capacity building (training)
• Incentive in the form of physical capacity building

5. Joint planning, monitoring and evaluation
• Research and development activities are continuous process
• Joint M&E is very important to get feed back and use this feedback
for another round of planning
• In this step important milestones have to be clearly indicated
• Success or progress has to be measureable

6. Sharing the output of the project
• Knowledge and skill
• Technology (Physical technology or Innovation)
 Sharing the product jointly to staff members of both partners, policy
makers, other development partners and farmers
 Documentation of the process is also important
7. Establish and agree on exit strategies
• For sustainability of the project implemented
• For sustainability of the partnership

A well planned and managed partnership is Strength
Let us unit to make poverty history
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Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation
africa-rising.net
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