IMPROVING PLANNING OF RESEARCH

as climate change and loss of biodiversity – to develop mutuallybeneficial solutions for their respective missions. It explored ODA (official development assistance) policies, and funding and governance challenges, including the need to engage with other development actors such as philanthropies and charities. It also addressed measurement issues as well as the role of frontier and digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and the internet of things. IFS was represented on an expert panel on achieving a common understanding between the ODA and STI communities on definitions and measurement for policy-making.

PHOTO: PRIVATE

Science Forum 2018 (SF18): Win More, Lose Less – Capturing synergies between SDGs through agricultural research, Stellenbosch, South Africa (October) SF18 was organized by CGIAR’S Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC) and was co-hosted by the South African Agricultural Research Council. The objective of SF18 was to identify substantial interactions between the Sustainable Development Goals (both positive and negative), the role of agricultural research in augmenting synergies and managing trade-offs, and the ensuing implications for the science-policy interface. IFS brought five representatives from its alumni associations to participate in several sessions and to contribute to the discussions on how to position research and build research systems to provide evidence on interactions that policy-makers can utilize. For example, how do policy-makers use evidence from agricultural research to effectively influence or inform cross-sectoral policy (with a particular focus on how to leverage synergies and address trade-offs)? How can the policy relevance of research be improved, i.e., what are the most effective means

IFS participating in the KOREA –OECD CSTP Workshop.

12 *** IFS ANNUAL REPORT 2018

for research to position itself and connect more effectively with policy processes to operationalize sustainable food and agriculture systems? How is the “best scientific evidence” interpreted by policy-makers from different sectors? How is the global political economy of food and agriculture systems transforming? Scientific Research Paper Writing Training Workshop, Nairobi (November) In partnership with Biosciences Eastern and Central AfricaInternational Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI), IFS co-organized this interactive hands-on training during which participants developed their own manuscripts with the goal of submitting to a journal for publication within three to six months of completing the workshop. Participants brought along a project report for conversion into a paper, and/or figures and tables and any other illustrative material that had been generated from data analysis. IFS-SEARCA Mentoring Workshop on Collaborative Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines (November) Twenty-seven young scientists and ten experts / mentors from eight Southeast Asian countries met in a two-day workshop to enhance ongoing collaborative research on climate change adaptation and mitigation in the agriculture sector. Held at the headquarters of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the workshop was organized by IFS and SEARCA’s Knowledge Management Department-Training Unit. The participants comprised 12 collaborative research teams from various government, research, academic and private institutions in the