Africa RISING Ethiopian HighlandsResearch Component 1 - Characterization

Alan Duncan, Beth Cullen, Aster Grbrekristos, Stefan ShultzAfrica RISING-EH Planning meeting 13-14 Feb 20113

• ILRI (lead): Expertise in the development and application of a wide range of participatory methods (e.g. for characterisation of resource availability and utilisation and stratification of households within communities); Gender analysis (identification of gender-disaggregated constraints and opportunities and identification of gender-equitable solutions).

• CIP: Past experience of community situation analysis and action research planning.

• ICRAF: Resource mapping and formalisation of indigenous knowledge and practises.

• National Partners: Community engagement; past experience in the use of diagnostic approaches and tools.

Partners

Endogenous Driver of Innovation Exogenous

Opportunities for scaling innovation (endogenous and

exogenous)

Biophysical and socio-economic

benchmarks

Research component 2

Identified market opportunities

Characterisation of specific value chains (actors and links)

Research component 4

Functioning multi-stakeholder platforms

Review of best technology /

management options

Validate technologies / management practicesEx ante modelling /

impact assessment

Research component 5

Scaling: to be developed

Adaptation and integration of technologies /

management practices

Community knowledge exchange groups established

Research component 3

Community characterisation

and stratification

Inventory of current technologies /

practices and their sources

Participatory problem

identification and gap analysis

Research component 1

System characterisation and analysis

Community institutions and knowledge

exchange

Markets and wider stakeholders

Outputs to outcomes

“Action research”

Community characterisation

and stratification

Inventory of current technologies /

practices and their sources

Participatory problem

identification and gap analysis

Research component 1

System characterisation and analysis

• Socio-economic community characterization. • Characterisation of bio-physical environment.• Household stratification (against socio-

economic and biophysical factors)• Gender analysis.• Inventory of current practices / technologies

and their sources.• Participatory problem identification and gap

analysis.

Key deliverables

• Household typologies

Some issues

• Each household is different• For intensification strategies – one size does

not fit all• Can we find ways of characterizing households

that will lead to better tailored interventions?• What is the minimum dataset needed to do

this?

Household typologies

• Women and men play different roles in the household economy and reap different benefits

• How do we take account of this in designing sustainable intensification strategies?

Gender

• What is the minimum dataset (biophysical and socio-economic, quantitative and qualitative) required for effective household characterisation and stratification and to meet the needs of monitoring progress towards AR-EH / FtF development outcomes?

• What is the best approach to mainstreaming household gender considerations so that they inform the selection of technologies and practices for sustainable intensification?

• What is the best way of conducting gap analysis and problem identification for a household based programme of action research for SI?

Research Questions

• Different approaches to designing intervention strategies

Gap analysis/problem identification

• Participatory household characterisations.• Basic socio-economic survey of quantitative

indicators.• SLATE• AKT5 • baselines for future M&E

Approach – socioeconomic characterization

• Identification of a suite of biophysical indicators for M&E

• Household-level sampling frame across the AR-EH sites.

• GIS-based approaches for strengthening these data.

• Baselines for future M&E

Approach – biophysical envt characterization

• Livelihoods asset for household typologies• Participatory approaches to interpreting and

strengthening asset-based strata.• Needs assessment for more detailed,

household survey based stratifications.

Approach – Household stratification

• Study of gender differentiation • Identification of potential entry points based

on strengthening household management teams.

Approach – Gender analysis

• Participatory study of current practices and technologies including mapping of uptake pathways

Approach – inventory of current technologies and their source

• Livestock production and management practises including the feed resource base (FEAST / Techfit).

• Future visions, challenges and solutions.• Trade-offs analysis.• Criteria that might influence applicability,

performance and adoption of technologies and management practices.

• Feed into ex ante impact assessments conducted under RC5.

Approach – Participatory problem identification and gap analysis