Making a difference in the lives of the poor

A Place for Gender Transformative Research in the CGIAR

Making a difference in the lives of the poor

Transformative Change

“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think and act anew” Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865

Making a difference in the lives of the poor

Transformative change

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”Albert Einstein

Making a difference in the lives of the poor

CGIAR reform

Profound challenge - Success needs innovation and paradigm shifts

Making a difference in the lives of the poor

Recognizing complexity

Making a difference in the lives of the poor

Recognizing complexity

CGIAR pre-reform

CGIAR pre-reform

CRP 1sCRP 1sCRP 3sCRP 3s

Making a difference in the lives of the poor

CRPs and Gender Transformative Research

• Integrate social complexity = Innovative approaches to Gender

• Gender transformative research = understand and respond to the social causes of the

visible symptoms of gender inequality in the systems where we work

Making a difference in the lives of the poor

Some key GTR questions

• Does combining technical innovation with interventions to change gender inequality deliver better outcomes than technical innovation alone?

• What is the best way to monitor this type of transformative change – at community and household levels?

• What drives policy to support the changes in gender equity we need for combined impact?

• What are the tipping points and the key success factors?

Half the Sky (Kristof and WuDunn, 2009)

Making a difference in the lives of the poor

Making GTR a reality – culture and capacities

• How can we encourage organizational cultures where transformative practice is “our way of working”?

• What capacities are critical to achieving gender transformative outcomes in programs? How do we build them?

• What partnerships maximize synergies and spark innovation to achieve gender transformative outcomes in agricultural research?

Half the Sky (Kristof and WuDunn, 2009)

Making a difference in the lives of the poor

Moving the agenda forward

• October 2012 GTR workshop (Penang)• Engage with these questions and set a GTR agenda (AAS

– CGIAR) focused on:• Appropriate methods and tools

• Operationalizing GAD concepts in practice

• Defining success indicators

• Facilitating organizational change processes

• Developing new ways to build gender capacities and change mind sets

• Identifying ‘unusual’ partners, e.g. media groups, behavior change communications firms

• January 2013 “Dialogue on Reimagining Agricultural Research in Development”