14/09 + 15/09 LEAP4FNSSA Final writeshop, General Assembly and IRC Launch – towards an AU-EU International Research Consortium on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture https://paepard.blogspot.com/2022/09/science-and-partnerships-for_15.html

1. International Research Consortium
for Food and Nutrition Security and
Sustainable agriculture:
an EU-AU partnership
Supported under the EU Horizon 2020 Instrument
Petronella Chaminuka
Strategic Statements,
Functions and Services
of the IRC
14th September 2022
Regional Universities Forum for
Capacity Building in Agriculture
(RUFORUM)
Emmanuel Okalany
Agricultural Research Council of
South Africa (ARC)

2. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Why the IRC?
Absence of coordination
structures among FNSSA
actors
Duplication of efforts and
wastage of resources
Lack of knowledge
management mechanisms
and frameworks
Reinventing wheels, low
uptake and utilization of
innovations at scale
Limited impact at scale of R&I
in FNSSA in Africa and Europe
Limited
capacities
to
develop,
manage &
utilize
outputs of
R&I in the
FNSSA
domain in
Africa and
Europe

3. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Vision and Mission of the IRC
Vision: Africa and Europe collectively achieving national, regional
and global targets in food and nutrition systems through
accelerated implementation of the High-Level Policy Dialogue
FNSSA Roadmap underpinned by coherent research and
innovation programmes
Mission: To support, convene and coordinate joint African and
European FNSSA Research and Innovation that supports global
challenges, focused on the SDGs and how they relate to specific
environments in both Africa and Europe in line with the FNSSA
Roadmap

4. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
The Functions of the IRC
• Identification of priorities, alignment of R&I programmes,
facilitate clustering of institutions & solutions for scaling
• Development of a credible data and knowledge
management system centred on user needs, enabling
effective dissemination of R&I opportunities and outputs
for impact
• Development and operationalization of a sustainable &
inclusive structure of R&I governance and funding
• Facilitate interaction between multi-stakeholders in the
FNSSA and with the HLPD and other relevant policy
bodies in AU and EU

5. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
User Value from the IRC
Policy makers
Farmers, farmer
organizations and CSOs
Researchers (junior and
senior)
Private sector
Funders
Data and Knowledge on projects,
programmes, policies and resultant
innovations from the AU-EU R&I
A coordinated platform for dialogue and
partnership among various AU-EU FNSSA
domain actors at various geographic scales
Funding mechanisms and access to funding
opportunities for R&I in the FNSSA domain
Capacity development for different actors in
the FNSSA domain

6. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
User Value from the IRC
Policy makers
Farmers, farmer
organizations and
CSOs
Researchers (junior and
senior)
Private sector
Funders
Data and Knowledge on projects,
programmes, policies and resultant
innovations from the AU-EU R&I
A coordinated platform for dialogue and
partnership among various AU-EU FNSSA
domain actors at various geographic scales
Funding mechanisms and access to
funding opportunities for R&I in the FNSSA
domain
Capacity development for different actors
in the FNSSA domain

7. Supported under the EU Horizon 2020 Instrument
Policy makers
Farmers, farmer
organizations and CSOs
Researchers (junior and
senior)
Private sector
Funders
Data and Knowledge on projects, programmes,
policies and resultant innovations from the AU-
EU R&I
A coordinated platform for dialogue and
partnership among various AU-EU FNSSA
domain actors at various geographic scales
Funding mechanisms and access to funding
opportunities for R&I in the FNSSA domain
Capacity development for different actors in the
FNSSA domain
User Value from the IRC

8. Supported under the EU Horizon 2020 Instrument
User Value from the IRC
Policy makers
Farmers, farmer
organizations and CSOs
Researchers (junior and
senior)
Private sector
Funders
Data and Knowledge on projects, programmes,
policies and resultant innovations from the AU-
EU R&I
A coordinated platform for dialogue and
partnership among various AU-EU FNSSA
domain actors at various geographic scales
Funding mechanisms and access to funding
opportunities for R&I in the FNSSA domain
Capacity development for different actors in the
FNSSA domain

9. Supported under the EU Horizon 2020 Instrument
User Value from the IRC
Policy makers
Farmers, farmer
organizations and CSOs
Researchers (junior and
senior)
Private sector
Funders
Data and Knowledge on projects, programmes,
policies and resultant innovations from the AU-
EU R&I
A coordinated platform for dialogue and
partnership among various AU-EU FNSSA
domain actors at various geographic scales
Funding mechanisms and access to funding
opportunities for R&I in the FNSSA domain
Capacity development for different actors in the
FNSSA domain

10. Supported under the EU Horizon 2020 Instrument
Services of the IRC
Service Possible delivery mechanisms
Identification of R&I
priorities
• Multi-actor dialogues at all levels
• Consultation surveys
• Analytical studies involving the two continents
• Networking among diverse actors via Dgroups
Alignment of the many
R&I policies, projects,
programmes, initiatives,
and actors
• Continental/regional/national policy reviews
• Project and actor clusters and alliances
• Programme and institutional meetings for continuous
cooperation
Showcase solutions that
work
• Knowledge Extractor Pipeline System (KEOPS)
• Projects database
• Communities of Practice

11. Supported under the EU Horizon 2020 Instrument
Services of the IRC Cont…
Service Possible delivery mechanisms
Regular update on projects,
programmes, and national,
regional, and continental
policies
• Cluster networks for coordination
• Clustered dissemination events targeting different
stakeholders
• Policy/innovation briefs; brochures; social media updates
Successive growing of an
AU-EU Knowledge
Management and
Communication Framework
• Enhance the existing Knowledge Management and
Communication Unit
• Create interfaces to link KMSs of various stakeholders to
the IRC KMS
• Facilitate utilization of the IRC’s KMS
• Facilitate collaboration among actors engaged in
knowledge management through events, joint projects

12. Supported under the EU Horizon 2020 Instrument
Services of the IRC Cont…
Service Possible delivery mechanisms
A sustainable and
inclusive
structure of
governance and
funding
• Establish a Secretariat to coordinate different services of the IRC
• Develop co-funded AU-EU projects for R&I in FNSSA with new funders
alliances/consortia
• Regularly convene funding actor dialogues to discuss modalities for co-
funding R&I in FNSSA
• Profiling, widely disseminating, and facilitating access to funding
Support the
functioning of the
AU-EU HLPD and
other FNSSA
policy processes
in AU & EU
• Organise annual regional & continental policy engagement events
• Conduct foresight and analytical studies of policies that guide R&I in FNSSA
• Develop knowledge products that inform policy processes in AU & EU
• Focused dissemination and knowledge sharing events for policy makers

13. Supported under the EU Horizon 2020 Instrument
Services of the IRC Cont…
Service Possible delivery mechanisms
Strengthen capacity of
various actors in the FNSSA
domain to develop and/or
utilize outputs of AU-EU R&I
in the FNSSA domain
• Commission biennial capacity audits in the
FNSSA domain across Africa and Europe
• Targeted trainings and mentorship of various
actors in the FNSSA domain to utilize platform
services
• Strengthen capacity of various actors in the
FNSSA domain based on their mandate to
develop and/or utilize R&I in FNSSA products

14. EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on
Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA Partnership)
Questions for Discussion
• Is the list of services exhaustive enough based on
stakeholder expectations?
• How best should the proposed and additional services
be delivered to the satisfaction of various stakeholders
in the FNSSA domain in Africa and Europe?

15. Supported under the EU Horizon 2020 Instrument
Merci Beaucoup
Thank you
Asante Sana
Shukran ً‫ﺍ‬‫ُﻜﺮ‬‫ﺷ‬