Future-smart Research

Agendas Engaging and Empowering

Stakeholders through Foresight

Michael Phillips, Ranjitha Puskur, Sarah Park, Sharon Suri (AAS)

Robin Bourgeois (GFAR)

Using the Future

Meaning Actions Strategies

Passive Accept Wait Submit

Reactive Adapt React Wait

Pre-active Prepare Explore Anticipate

Pro-active + Intervene + Modify + Influence

Behavior

Forecast Foresight

Uneven Influence on Research & Policy

Agendas

• International community and organizations from advanced/emerging

countries shape agendas (absence of less developed countries,

farmers/CSOs)

• Focus on global issues

GCARD2, 2012

Grassroots Foresight Initiative

Asian Farmers’ Association (AFA)

Plateforme Régionale des Organisations Paysannes d’Afrique Centrale (PROPAC)

Confederación de Organizaciones de Productores Familiares del Mercosur

(COPROFAM)

Empowering farmers’

organizations through

foresight

Farmer-led Bottom-up Actionable

• Farmers as doers

• Capacity building

• Global dialogue

• Local initiatives

• Global priorities

• Local action plans

Grassroots Foresight Principles

• Inclusiveness: Gives a voice to marginalised groups in rural

communities

• Openness: Includes different perspectives, values and interests

• Documentation: Ensures rigor and transparency

• Bottom up: Links stakeholders across scales

• Actionable: Links scenarios with concrete actions

• Context-specific: Respects cultural and belief systems

• Mutual learning: Creates opportunities for learning from each other

Expected Outcomes

Future-smart

Future smart farmer/civil society organizations proactively engaged in dialogues with other stakeholders, locally and globally, contributing to

Future smart research agendas engaging locally and globally scientists and citizens in collaborative research and development actions, leading to

Innovative local and global approaches and solutions to increasingly complex development issues

Aquatic agricultural systems (aas)

CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic

Agricultural System (AAS)

• Engages and empowers communities and stakeholders

• Research in development agenda based on stakeholder priorities

• Focus on poor and marginalised groups (particularly women)

• Focus on enhancing capacities to innovate and adapt

Distribution of aquatic agriculture systems

AAS Geographies

• High numbers of poor people dependent on aquatic agricultural systems

• Strong government support and good operational conditions

• Potential to scale out

Mekong

The Coral Triangle GBM*

Zambezi

Niger Lakes Victoria-

Kyoga

African Inland

Asia mega deltas

AAS and Foresight

Key questions:

• What are the plausible futures for the three main aquatic

agricultural systems?

• How can decision-makers (including farmers) at all

scales use these plausible futures to shift the research

agendas?

• How can AAS research help communities shape their

futures?

• What are the implications for development investment,

policy and practice?

AAS and Foresight

2015 • Pilot participatory scenario building activities in two

flagships (Asia and Africa)

• Development of medium-long term foresight strategy

2016 • Participatory scenario building activities in Island Systems

of SE Asia and Pacific

• Capacity development for integrating grassroots foresight

in program locations

2017 • Rollout of community level foresight

Nested Scales

National Regional Global

Drivers identified at each of the levels, but connected at multiple levels

Community Hub Socio-

economic

Relevant stakeholders at these various levels engaged to develop

multiple plausible futures connected at different scales

Summary

• AAS is seeking to enable farmers and other stakeholders to shape

research agendas which can help them shape their futures

• Grassroots Foresight Initiative (GFI) aligned to the AAS RinD

approach

• AAS uses a ‘nested’ application of GFI to link stakeholders at all

scales

Thank You