Impact assessment of agricultural research, institutional innovation, and technology adoption: Introduction to the special section

Food Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 214-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mywish K. Maredia ◽  
Bhavani Shankar ◽  
Timothy G. Kelley ◽  
James R. Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Special Section ◽  
Institutional Innovation ◽  
Innovation And Technology

scholarly journals Understanding and evaluating the impact of integrated problem-oriented research programmes: Concepts and considerations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M Belcher ◽  
Karl Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Research Impact ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Systems Transformation ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Researchers and research organizations are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that their work contributes to positive change and helps solve pressing societal challenges. There is a simultaneous trend towards more engaged transdisciplinary research that is complexity-aware and appreciates that change happens through systems transformation, not only through technological innovation. Appropriate evaluation approaches are needed to evidence research impact and generate learning for continual improvement. This is challenging in any research field, but especially for research that crosses disciplinary boundaries and intervenes in complex systems. Moreover, evaluation challenges at the project scale are compounded at the programme scale. The Forest, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) research programme serves as an example of this evolution in research approach and the resulting evaluation challenges. FTA research is responding to the demand for greater impact with more engaged research following multiple pathways. However, research impact assessment in the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) was developed in a technology-centric context where counterfactual approaches of causal inference (experimental and quasi-experimental) predominate. Relying solely on such approaches is inappropriate for evaluating research contributions that target policy and institutional change and systems transformation. Instead, we propose a multifaceted, multi-scale, theory-based evaluation approach. This includes nested project- and programme-scale theories of change (ToCs); research quality assessment; theory-based outcome evaluations to empirically test ToCs and assess policy, institutional, and practice influence; experimental and quasi-experimental impact of FTA-informed ‘large n’ innovations; ex ante impact assessment to estimate potential impacts at scale; and logically and plausibly linking programme-level outcomes to secondary data on development and conservation status.

The adoption of customer relationship management (CRM) technology in SMEs

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 824-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
ThuyUyen H. Nguyen ◽  
Teresa S. Waring
Keyword(s):  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Employee Involvement ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Market Position ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industry Sector ◽  
Innovation And Technology ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Employee Characteristics

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to use an innovation decision process to examine CRM technology adoption in small to medium-sized enterprises and its intrinsic link to the nature of the organisation and the individuals within it. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was administered to SMEs in Southern California to measure the organisational characteristics, specifically management characteristics, employee characteristics, IT resources and firm characteristics. The perception of CRM, decision to adopt CRM, and extent of CRM implementation were also measured. Previously validated instruments were used where required. The data were analysed using multivariate and logistic regression. Findings – The results indicate that management's innovativeness affects the firm's perception of CRM systems, but age, education and gender do not. The decision to implement a CRM system is influenced by management's perception of CRM, employee involvement, the firm's size, its perceived market position, but not the industry sector. However, the number and types of CRM features implemented are affected by management's perception of CRM, employee involvement, the firm's size, the industry sector, but not its perceived market position. Research limitations/implications – This study is specific to Southern California and the sample size is relatively small, although sufficient for this analysis. The study should be replicated in more diverse geographic settings with a larger sample. Practical implications – The study provides evidence of the need for management to be supportive of innovation and technology, to evaluate the available resources (IT knowledge, skills, infrastructure) within the organisation, to recognise the importance of employees' contributions, and to be aware of the features appropriate to their company's size and industry sector before undertaking CRM technology adoption. Originality/value – The findings from this study extend the understanding of CRM adoption in SMEs and help in building a greater understanding of the factors associated with such adoption. It will be of great value to owners/managers in SMEs who are considering adopting CRM.

Enhancing ex post impact assessment of agricultural research: the CGIAR experience

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Kelley ◽  
Jim Ryan ◽  
Hans Gregersen
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Ex Post

scholarly journals Sustainability Impact Assessment – An Overview with a Holistic and Transdisciplinary Perspective towards Agricultural Research

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Savio Barros de Mendonca ◽  
Anne-Elisabeth Laques
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Dynamic Approach ◽  
Operational Level ◽  
Research Organizations ◽  
Technological Base ◽  
Managerial System ◽  
Sustainability Impact Assessment

It is important to insert agricultural research in this paper by considering it as a strategic area for providing knowledge and a technological base for agricultural production, considering that this sector generates outcomes with respective impacts to rural zones, supply-chain, economy, society and environment, representing a key piece for reaching United Nations objectives of sustainable development to each country and to the planet. Aiming to analyze how agricultural research organizations (as for instance: INRA and CIRAD, from France and EMBRAPA, from Brazil) have driving sustainability impact assessment methodologies and their interaction with transdisciplinary and holistic principles, using as a base innovation concepts. This paper will display an overview on concepts and approaches about sustainability impact assessment, but looking from a transversal perspective, passing by an historical description on impact assessment and on concepts related to sustainable development and sustainability. We will search for unedited models of sustainability impact systems by converging holism, transdisciplinarity and sustainability. There are several methodologies but few demonstrate an integrated view with a transversal perspective. It is also imperceptible any concrete governance-managerial system for sustainability impact assessment, considering every stage of the process, from a strategic to an operational level, including, analyzing environment, economy and society dimensions as one unique perspective. Such as a complex and multidimensional sector of economy, agricultural research requires profiled sustainability impact assessment with an innovative and dynamic approach.

INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AS A SOURCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES

2007 ◽  
Vol 09 (01) ◽  
pp. 103-119
Author(s):  
MICHAEL NELSON ◽  
MYWISH K. MAREDIA
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Chain Reactions ◽  
International Agricultural Research ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
High Yielding Varieties ◽  
Global Statistics

This paper deals with conceptual and methodological issues arising in ex post environmental impact assessment of agricultural research. It presents a case study of approaches used (and not used) and challenges associated with the ex post assessment of environmental impacts of research supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The paper illustrates the difficulty of tracking the global effects of agricultural research on natural resources due to a diffused and complex set of decision variables effecting intensification and expansion of land in agriculture, primarily in developing countries. The central point in ex post impact assessment concerns costs and benefits (in terms of relevant budget constraints and time frame for decision) of in-depth empirical versus qualitative analysis. Within this context we conclude that the empirical counterfactual approach ("with" and "without" research) is not an option. As a second best alternative, it is inferred from cases and global statistics that: in specific instances the introduction of high yielding varieties did have unintended impacts on natural resources, in part due to policy distortion and in part due to unforeseen chain reactions in the ecosystems. But on net balance, increased yields attributable to international agricultural research have had positive environmental impacts in the form of net land saving.

scholarly journals Rice Farming in Central Java, Indonesia—Adoption of Sustainable Farming Practices, Impacts and Implications

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 881
Author(s):  
Melanie Connor ◽  
Annalyn H. de Guia ◽  
Arlyna Budi Pustika ◽  
Sudarmaji ◽  
Mahargono Kobarsih ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Rice Farming ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
Central Java ◽  
Farmer Decision Making

Farmer adoption of sustainable rice farming technologies and practices is critical for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Often adoption is investigated in isolation focusing on factors influencing farmer decision making and overlooking the effects of technology adoption on farmers’ livelihoods and perceptions of change. Therefore, the present study investigated technology adoption and its effects on farmers with a special focus on additional revenue allocation and perception of social, economic and environmental change. Using a digital survey platform, 153 farmers (21.6% female) were interviewed in three sub-districts of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. On average, farmers adopted two technologies or practices, adopted high-yielding rice varieties, and increased their revenue from US$105 to US$122 per hectare per season. Barriers to adoption included time constraints, unsuitability for field conditions and incompatibility with cropping systems. Farmers invested the extra income in farming business and improved diets. Furthermore, farmers perceived changes in social and human capital and also poverty reduction due to technology adoption. This study highlights the importance of including an analysis of social impact in agricultural research.

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