Using outcome trajectory evaluation to assess HarvestPlus’ contribution to the development of national biofortification breeding programs
While the key role that policy plays in sustainable development has long been recognized, rigorously documenting the influence of research on policy outcomes faces conceptual, empirical and even political challenges. Addressing these challenges is increasingly urgent since improving policies—broadly...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Artículo preliminar |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
International Food Policy Research Institute
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140851 |
| _version_ | 1855521985354792960 |
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| author | Douthwaite, Boru Johnson, Nancy L. Wyatt, Amanda |
| author_browse | Douthwaite, Boru Johnson, Nancy L. Wyatt, Amanda |
| author_facet | Douthwaite, Boru Johnson, Nancy L. Wyatt, Amanda |
| author_sort | Douthwaite, Boru |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | While the key role that policy plays in sustainable development has long been recognized, rigorously documenting the influence of research on policy outcomes faces conceptual, empirical and even political challenges. Addressing these challenges is increasingly urgent since improving policies—broadly defined—is at the heart of the structural transformation agenda. This paper describes the use of a new evaluation method—outcomes trajectory evaluation (OTE), based on both evaluation and policy process theory—to explore the influence of HarvestPlus, a large and complex research for development program focused on improving nutrition, on a specific policy outcome, namely the establishment of crop biofortification breeding programs in national agricultural research institutes in Bangladesh, India and Rwanda. The findings support claims of significant HarvestPlus contributions to the establishment of the programs while also raising issues that need to be monitored moving forward to ensure sustainability. The paper also discusses the pros and cons of the OTE approach in terms of both methodological rigor and program learning. In particular, the fact that HarvestPlus is a long-running program allows us to reflect on how a “backward looking” approach such as OTE builds on and complements the more “forward looking,” theory of change-based approaches that informed HarvestPlus programming and evaluation during its earlier, highly-successful phases. Such a long-run perspective is rare in development evaluation and it offers important lessons for how to think about and plan for evaluation over the course of a complex agriculture research for development program. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace140851 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1408512025-12-02T21:03:24Z Using outcome trajectory evaluation to assess HarvestPlus’ contribution to the development of national biofortification breeding programs Douthwaite, Boru Johnson, Nancy L. Wyatt, Amanda biofortification programmes capacity development evaluation sustainable development policy process evaluation social norms While the key role that policy plays in sustainable development has long been recognized, rigorously documenting the influence of research on policy outcomes faces conceptual, empirical and even political challenges. Addressing these challenges is increasingly urgent since improving policies—broadly defined—is at the heart of the structural transformation agenda. This paper describes the use of a new evaluation method—outcomes trajectory evaluation (OTE), based on both evaluation and policy process theory—to explore the influence of HarvestPlus, a large and complex research for development program focused on improving nutrition, on a specific policy outcome, namely the establishment of crop biofortification breeding programs in national agricultural research institutes in Bangladesh, India and Rwanda. The findings support claims of significant HarvestPlus contributions to the establishment of the programs while also raising issues that need to be monitored moving forward to ensure sustainability. The paper also discusses the pros and cons of the OTE approach in terms of both methodological rigor and program learning. In particular, the fact that HarvestPlus is a long-running program allows us to reflect on how a “backward looking” approach such as OTE builds on and complements the more “forward looking,” theory of change-based approaches that informed HarvestPlus programming and evaluation during its earlier, highly-successful phases. Such a long-run perspective is rare in development evaluation and it offers important lessons for how to think about and plan for evaluation over the course of a complex agriculture research for development program. 2022-02-02 2024-04-12T13:36:45Z 2024-04-12T13:36:45Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140851 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147243 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146399 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133959 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146224 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Douthwaite, Boru; Johnson, Nancy L.; and Wyatt, Amanda. 2022. Using outcome trajectory evaluation to assess HarvestPlus’ contribution to the development of national biofortification breeding programs. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2104. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134976. |
| spellingShingle | biofortification programmes capacity development evaluation sustainable development policy process evaluation social norms Douthwaite, Boru Johnson, Nancy L. Wyatt, Amanda Using outcome trajectory evaluation to assess HarvestPlus’ contribution to the development of national biofortification breeding programs |
| title | Using outcome trajectory evaluation to assess HarvestPlus’ contribution to the development of national biofortification breeding programs |
| title_full | Using outcome trajectory evaluation to assess HarvestPlus’ contribution to the development of national biofortification breeding programs |
| title_fullStr | Using outcome trajectory evaluation to assess HarvestPlus’ contribution to the development of national biofortification breeding programs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using outcome trajectory evaluation to assess HarvestPlus’ contribution to the development of national biofortification breeding programs |
| title_short | Using outcome trajectory evaluation to assess HarvestPlus’ contribution to the development of national biofortification breeding programs |
| title_sort | using outcome trajectory evaluation to assess harvestplus contribution to the development of national biofortification breeding programs |
| topic | biofortification programmes capacity development evaluation sustainable development policy process evaluation social norms |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140851 |
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