ExPost Impact Assessment at IFPRI

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Ex-Post Impact Assessment at IFPRI

• Teunis van Rheenen
• Coordinator for Partnerships Impact Assessment,
  Secretary to the Board of Trustees, IFPRI

CGIAR IAFP Group and SPIA Meeting Brasilia,
November 10, 2008
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Recent IFPRI ex-post IA studies

• Ethiopia Strategy Support Program (ESSP)
• The impacts of IFPRIs Global Research Program on
  Sustainable Development of Less-Favored Areas
  (LFAs)
• PORIA Case Study on IFPRI and Mexican PROGRESA
  Anti-poverty and Human Resource Investment CCT
  Program
• Impact Evaluation of Research by IFPRI on
  Agricultural Trade Liberalization, Developing
  Countries, and WTOs Doha Negotiations

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Ethiopia Strategy Support Program

• Generated large, steady flow of high-quality
  policy research results
• Delivered stronger and more integrated knowledge
  support system
• Increased capacity of Ethiopian research
  institutions
• Contributed to design of national monitoring and
  evaluation program
• ESSP highly effective...and on-track to make a
  much larger contribution

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Less-favored areas (LFAs)

• High quality research papers
• Influenced design of rural development projects
• Drew attention to poverty issues in LFAs
• Wide reference to IFPRI activities e.g. land
  water mgt. broader agric. development issues
• Provided international public goods e.g. input to
  regional research networks continuing favored
  vs. LFA discussions

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LFAs Challenges in translating research into
policy

• Multiple targets with different demands
• Limited on-site representation
• Difficulties in influencing policy from afar
• Shifting levels of collaborators influence
• Intellectual culture seems to favor academic
  research
• Imbalance between research outputs supplied and
  demands of policy makers

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PROGRESA evaluation Why IFPRI?

• Organizational type, function, ownership
• ? ? ? International organization
• ? ? Not involved in structural adjustment
  or direct lending
• ? Public ownership
• Research strength, reputation, credibility
• ? ? ? Reputation for objective
  policy-related research on relevant topics
• ? ? Capacity for engaging
  PROGRESA- selected leading academic researchers

? Reflects degree of importance based on the
number of respondents Draws on a
presentation of Joachim von Braun
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PROGRESA evaluation Why IFPRI? (2)

• Management characteristics
• ? ? Administrative flexibility
• ? Well-organized and capable of keeping
  to schedule
• ? Relatively low-cost
• Over 80 of respondents found IFPRI attractive
  due to its intl org. status reputation for
  objective policy-related research

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IFPRIs evaluation of PROGRESA

• Created large positive spillovers in Mexico and
  internationally on culture of policy evaluation
  esp. on CCT programs
• Contributed significantly to the short- and
  long-run sustainability and expansion of the
  program

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WTO Doha agric. Negotiations

• Interview/survey respondents chosen carefully
• for influence, relevance and standing in the
  field
• Included views of over 100
• researchers
• international organizations
• government officials (advisers and negotiators)
• think tank and development groups
• business and legal firms
• Explored their views on the quality and influence
  of IFPRIs work as well as that of competing
  providers (questions included in report)
• Draws on a presentation of Joanna Hewitt

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WTO Doha agric. Negotiations

• HIGH IMPACT CASE STUDIES
• Reform of global cotton markets and rural poverty
  in Benin
• Duty free and quota free (DFQF) market access for
  LDCs
• Influencing Pakistans trade policy
  re-positioning
• Modeling trade policy scenarios in Peru
• Draws on a presentation of Joanna Hewitt

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WTO Doha agric. Negotiations

• IFPRIs trade work is on the right track
• Research subjects are well chosen, relevant to
  the negotiations, focused on critical issues for
  low income countries and the poor and the product
  is well regarded
• IFPRI has much to contribute and should have its
  voice heard
• Draws on a presentation of Joanna Hewitt

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WTO Doha agric. negotiations

• More needs to be done to bring the material to
  the attention of governments and influential
  negotiators.
• Several recommendations were made to make IFPRIs
  work on global trade more effective
• Draws on a presentation of Joanna Hewitt

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Looking forward

• Assessing impact at IFPRI through narratives more
  effectively
• The impact of the conferences by 2020 Initiative
• The Ghana Country Strategy Support Program
  evaluation
• Global impact of IFPRIs CCT research
• Enhancing impact of IFPRIs capacity
  strengthening program
• Environment, Production and Technology Division
  evaluation