2023X237UNDS
THE SCOPE OF THIS COLLABORATION IS DESIGNED TO SUPPORT A COLLECTION OF EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS THAT FOCUS ON INNOVATION ACROSS LATIN AMERICA. AVANZAR2030 THROUGH IFPRI AND ITS PARTNERS WILL LEAD THE RESEARCH COLLABORATION, INCLUDING ORGANIZATIONAL AND AUTHOR ENGAGEMENT AND TOPIC SELECTION. THEY WILL ALSO LEAD TO IDENTIFICATION OF SOME OF THE KEY MESSAGES COMING FROM THE RESEARCH. THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME TEAM LED BY JARON PORCIELLO WILL SERVE AS A TECHNICAL BACKSTOP TO THE AVANZAR2030 TEAM FOR EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS WORK. PORCIELLO WAS THE LEAD FOR CERES2030 AND IS AN EXPERT IN EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS, INCLUDING RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES, MACHINE-LEARNING SUPPORT, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROCESSES AND POLICY FRAMING WITHIN A BROADER FOOD SYSTEMS CONTEXT. THE AIM OF THIS WORK IS TO USE EXISTING FEATURE ENGINEERING AS PART OF MACHINE-LEARNING MODELS TO EXTRACT CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS, FEATURES AND DETAILS OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND GRAY LITERATURE TO SUPPORT THE EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS PROCESS. THIS WILL HELP TO ELABORATE CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS OF OUTPUTS AND ACTIVITIES THAT ARE BURIED WITHIN HUNDREDS OF SCIENTIFIC PAPERS. THIS APPROACH WILL INFORM THE EXTENT TO WHICH INTERVENTIONS AND APPROACHES EITHER INDIVIDUALLY AND JOINTLY, ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE AVANZAR2030 EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS. IN ADDITION, DATA SCIENCE SUPPORT WILL SUPPORT TRAINING THE EXISTING MODELS TO SUPPORT SPANISH-LANGUAGE MATERIALS. THESE SERVICES POINT TO THE VALUE OF PAIRING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART COMPUTATIONAL MODELING PROCESSES AND ESPECIALLY LARGE-LANGUAGE MODELS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO SUPPORT ANALYSIS OF Â SMALL AND WIDE DATAÂ TO DELIVER MULTI-DIMENSIONAL AND NEAR-TIME INTEGRATED REPORTING AND ASSESSMENT (PORCIELLO ET AL., 2023). THIS FREES RESEARCHERS UP TO SPEND LESS TIME ON THE PRE-PROCESSING AND PROCESSING OF DATA AND INSTEAD FOCUS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOLUTIONS THAT CAN DRIVE FORWARD SIGNIFICANT GROWTH.
University Of Notre Dame DU Lac
Project Grant 720RFS22IO00003
$125.0k 11/27/23 2023X214KCLS
THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT IS TO CREATE A LOCAL ECONOMY-WIDE IMPACT EVALUATION (LEWIE) FOR THREE GROWTH POLES, BASED ON PRIMARY DATA FROM SURVEYS OF BUSINESSES AND HOUSEHOLDS IN ORDER TO: 1. TO DESCRIBE QUALITATIVELY AND QUANTIFY THE LIKELY MULTIPLIER EFFECTS OF ANCHOR FIRMS ON NEARBY LOCAL ECONOMIES, INCLUDING PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES, EMPLOYMENT, AND HOUSEHOLD INCOMES. SUFFICIENT ATTENTION WILL BE GIVEN TO ALSO IDENTIFYING ACTIVITIES THAT ARE HARMFUL TO THE ENVIRONMENT, FOR EXAMPLE THOSE THAT CONTRIBUTE TO DEFORESTATION. 2. IDENTIFY POSSIBLE PROGRAMMATIC OR POLICY INTERVENTIONS THAT MIGHT ENHANCE THE POSITIVE PRODUCTION, EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME LINKAGES AT THE THREE GROWTH POLES (WHILE REDUCING ANY NEGATIVE ONES) 3. TO USE THE LEWIE MODEL TO PROVIDE EX POST ESTIMATES OF THE IMPACT OF EXISTING GROWTH POLES ON THE MULTIPLIER EFFECTS ON PRODUCTION, EMPLOYMENT, AND HOUSEHOLD INCOMES IN THE LOCAL ECONOMIES OF WHICH THE ANCHOR FIRM IS PART. 4. TO USE LEWIE SIMULATIONS TO OBTAIN EX-ANTE ESTIMATES OF IMPACTS, FOR EXAMPLE, OF COMPLEMENTARY INTERVENTIONS UNDER CONSIDERATION TO OVERLAY WITH GROWTH POLES, BUT NOT YET IMPLEMENTED. THE THREE GROWTH POLES WILL BE SELECTED JOINTLY BY THE CONSULTANTS, IFPRI AND USAID PERSONNEL, AND THE GOVERNMENT OF MALAWI (GOM) DURING AN INITIAL SCOPING MISSION. THE CONSULTANTS, IFPRI, USAID, AND GOM ALSO WILL JOINTLY DECIDE WHAT CONSTITUTES THE Â LOCAL ECONOMYÂ FOR PURPOSES OF THIS STUDYÂ THAT IS, THE GEOGRAPHIC SPACE OVER WHICH MULTIPLIER EFFECTS OF ANCHOR FIRMS, INTERVENTIONS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES WILL BE ESTIMATED. THE CONSULTANTS WILL BE PRIMARILY IN CHARGE OF DESIGNING THE GROWTH POLE LEWIE MODELS, USING DATA FROM ANCHOR FIRMS AND NEW HOUSEHOLD AND BUSINESS SURVEYS TO CONSTRUCT THE THREE MODELS, AND EMPLOYING THE MODELS TO ACCOMPLISH OVERALL OBJECTIVES (1)-(4) LISTED ABOVE, AS WELL AS THE SPECIFIC LEARNING QUESTIONS (1)- (6) LISTED BELOW. THEY WILL DESIGN THE SURVEY INSTRUMENTS TO COLLECT THE REQUIRED DATA, ASSIST IN SURVEY SAMPLE DESIGN, ASSIST IFPRI PERSONNEL IN WRITING UP THE DOCUMENTATION NEEDED FOR IRB APPROVAL, TRAIN ENUMERATORS, SUPERVISE DATA COLLECTION, CONDUCT DAILY QUALITY ASSURANCE CHECKS ON INCOMING DATA, PERFORM DATA ANALYSIS, WRITE UP THE RESULTS, DISSEMINATE THEM, AND PERFORM ANY OTHER TASKS NEEDED FOR THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE DELIVERABLES UNDER THIS ASSIGNMENT. IFPRI WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ADMINISTERING THE IRB APPROVAL PROCESS, RECRUITING ENUMERATORS AND ORGANIZING THE LOGISTICS OF THE FIELDWORK AND ORGANIZING THE DISSEMINATION EVENT. FINDINGS FROM THE THREE GROWTH POLES WILL BE WRITTEN UP IN A FINAL REPORT, AND AT LEAST ONE POLICY BRIEF. FINDINGS FROM THE GROWTH POLE CASE STUDIES WILL BE PRESENTED AT VARIOUS DISSEMINATION EVENTS.
Kagin's Consulting, LLC
Project Grant 720RFS22IO00003
$52.0k 10/26/23 2023X157IICS
THIS INITIATIVE SEEKS TO SUPPORT THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT WILL ACHIEVE THE COMMITMENTS UNDER THE PARIS AGREEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HAS FOUR COMPONENTS: I. CLARIFY AMBITIONS AND SET POLICY AGENDAS. II. STRENGTHEN HUMAN CAPACITY AND IMPROVE INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE. III. FACILITATE IMPLEMENTATION AND PROGRESS TOWARD NET ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS. IV. TRACK PROGRESS, REPORT AND MONITOR THE RESOURCES OF THE INITIATIVE ARE US$1,800,000.00 AND WILL BE EXECUTED IN A PERIOD OF 16 MONTHS IN SIX (6) COUNTRIES OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (LAC) INITIALLY. OBJETIVES OF THE INITIATIVE A. GENERAL Â ¢ SUPPORT THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT WILL ACHIEVE THE COMMITMENTS UNDER THE PARIS AGREEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE. B. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES Â ¢ PREPARE COUNTRY LEVEL RESOURCE STOCKTAKING AND POLICY MAPPING Â ¢ FORMULATING NAPS, REVIEW MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION INDICATORS AND METRICS, AND EX ANTE ANALYSIS OF ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION IMPACTS AND OUTCOMES. Â ¢ STRENGTHENING POLICY, INSTITUTIONAL, AND INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AT LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND REGIONAL LEVEL TO FULFILL NDC AND IMPLEMENT THE NAPS. DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPONENTS: I. CLARIFY AMBITIONS AND SET POLICY AGENDAS: ESTABLISH A BASELINE AND CONDUCTING STATUS ASSESSMENTS SETS A KNOWLEDGE BASE AND POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT. THE CONSTRUCTION OF A COMPREHENSIVE DATASET IN EACH COUNTRY TO ENABLE TRACKING OF IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS Â DONE BY WORKING WITH LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS TO DRAW ON EXISTING DATA AND PUT IN PLACE MECHANISMS TO SUSTAINABLY GENERATE NEEDED NEW DATA. II. STRENGTHEN HUMAN CAPACITY AND IMPROVE INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE: THE GOAL IS TO BUILD THE SKILLS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND EXPERTISE OF NATIONAL ACTORS SO THEY CAN ASSESS, GATHER AND ANALYZE THE DATA TO MAKE POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE POLICY DECISIONS. THIS WILL EQUIP LOCAL INSTITUTIONS AND EXPERTS WITH THE TOOLS, TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODOLOGIES NEEDED TO SUPPORT ONGOING ANALYSIS THAT INFORMS IMPLEMENTATION FOLLOWING PROJECT COMPLETION. III. FACILITATE IMPLEMENTATION AND PROGRESS TOWARD NET ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS: CAPACITY TO MAP PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CLIMATE FINANCE CAN BE BUILT AND A PROJECT PIPELINE WILL CREATE AN ONGOING FLOW OF CHANGE. PROJECT OPTIONS LIKE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION, LAND PRESERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PROJECTS WILL MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS AND ALSO ENHANCE ADAPTATION. IV. TRACK PROGRESS, REPORT AND MONITOR: TO KNOW IF POLICY IS USEFUL, DATA NEEDS TO BE GATHERED, ASSESSED AND SHARED WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS. INDICATORS NEED TO BE MEASURED FOR EFFECTIVENESS AND CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION MUST BE OPENED AND STRENGTHENED SO GOVERNMENTS CAN USE RESEARCH AND DATA TO CONTINUE TO BUILD AND DISSEMINATE NEW POLICIES WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF NET ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS.
Inter American Institute For Cooperation On Agriculture
Project Grant 720RFS22IO00003
$1.5m 9/20/23 2023X108ABCS
IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIES, MOST HOUSEHOLDS DEPEND ON THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR FOR LIVELIHOOD SUPPORT. HOWEVER, PERSISTENT LOW AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND LIMITED TRANSFORMATION OF THE FOOD SYSTEM ARE SIGNIFICANT HURDLES TO IMPROVING WELFARE (FUGLIE ET. AL. XX, MARTEY ET. AL. 2020). SEVERAL DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS PRIORITIZE INCREASING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AS A VIABLE PATHWAY TO IMPROVING FARMERSÂ WELFARE. THESE INTERVENTIONS INCLUDE INCREASING ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS FERTILIZER, IMPROVED SEED VARIETIES (E.G., PBR COWPEA SEED, CSA COWPEA SEED), AND TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE (MARTEY ET. AL., 2020). THE BT COWPEA PROCESS EVALUATION AIMS TO UNRAVEL THE EFFECTS OF BT COWPEA VARIETY ADOPTION BY FARMER HOUSEHOLDS IN NIGERIA, AND THE DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS IN MARKETS WHERE COWPEA IS SOLD. THE PROCESS EVALUATION COMPLEMENTS THE BROADER IMPACT EVALUATION. AS THE BT COWPEA INTERVENTION HAS NOT BEEN OFFICIALLY ROLLED OUT, THIS PROCESS EVALUATION AIMS AT ESTABLISHING A BASELINE PIP AND INSIGHTS FOR GUIDING SUBSEQUENT ROLL OUT OF BT COWPEA TECHNOLOGY IN NIGERIA. A PROCESS EVALUATION IDENTIFIES THE PATHWAYS AND MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH ANY OBSERVED IMPACTS OF ADOPTING PBR COWPEA TECHNOLOGIES AND DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS IN MARKETS MAY HAVE OCCURRED. THIS BASELINE STUDY AIMS AT TRACING PATHWAYS IN WHICH ADOPTION OF BT COWPEA LIKELY IMPROVES COWPEA PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY, INCREASES INCOME, COMMERCIALIZATION, WOMENÂ S EMPOWERMENT, AND FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY OF BENEFICIARY FARMERS. THE BASELINE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NON-BENEFICIAL HOUSEHOLDS WILL BE DOCUMENTED. THE AIM OBJECTIVE FOR THIS BASELINE PROCESS EVALUATION IS TRACING OF POTENTIAL INTERVENTION PROCESSES AND EXAMINING THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE PROCESSES NEED TO BE ADAPTED TO IMPROVE OUTPUTS, OUTCOMES, AND POTENTIAL IMPACT OF BT COWPEA ADOPTION ON PRODUCTIVITY, INCOMES, WOMEN EMPOWERMENT, AND DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS IN MARKETS.
Centro Internacional De Agricultura Tropical
Project Grant 720RFS22IO00003
$30.0k 7/11/23 2023X089IITS
OVERVIEW. THE RECENT CONFLICT IN UKRAINE HAS RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT THE GLOBAL SUPPLY AND PRICE OF SEVERAL IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES AND INPUTS FOR WHICH BOTH UKRAINE AND RUSSIA ARE SIGNIFICANT PRODUCERS AND EXPORTERS. THIS SHOCK BUILDS ON THE PERSISTENT SUPPLY CHAIN BOTTLENECKS CAUSED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND COMMODITY MARKETS. FERTILIZER PRICES HAVE REACHED ALL-TIME HIGHS, CASTING A SERIOUS SHADOW ON FUTURE HARVESTS, AND THUS ADDING TO CONCERNS ABOUT GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY. RWANDA HAS FELT SOME OF THE EFFECTS OF THESE SHOCKS, MOST NOTABLY IN RISING FERTILIZER, FUEL, EDIBLE OIL, AND WHEAT PRICES. ALTHOUGH THE COUNTRY DID WELL IN MITIGATING MANY OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF COVID-19, THESE NEW SHOCKS PRESENT AN URGENT CHALLENGE FOR THE ECONOMY. RAPID DATA-DRIVEN, EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY SOLUTIONS ARE CRITICAL TO DESIGNING AND EXECUTING APPROPRIATE RESPONSES IN BOTH THE SHORT AND LONG TERM. WITH FUNDING FROM THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID), THE INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE (IFPRI) WILL UNDERTAKE SEVERAL ANALYTICAL ACTIVITIES VIA ITS IFPRI RWANDA STRATEGY SUPPORT PROGRAM TO ESTIMATE THE IMPACTS OF THE UKRAINE CRISIS ON RWANDA AND STRENGTHEN PRICE, MARKET, DIET QUALITY, AND FOOD SYSTEM MONITORING IN RWANDA (THE Â ACTIVITYÂ ). THE ACTIVITY ENGAGES THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR TROPICAL AGRICULTURE (IITA), A SISTER ORGANIZATION OF IFPRI AND MEMBERS OF THE CGIARÂ A GLOBAL RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP FOR A FOOD SECURE FUTURE DEDICATED TO REDUCING POVERTY, ENHANCING FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY, AND IMPROVING NATURAL RESOURCES. IITA SHALL CONDUCT THE FOLLOWING STUDY (THE Â STUDYÂ ) AS A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ACTIVITY. Â ¢A STUDY ON TRACKING DIET QUALITY AND DIET COSTING IN RWANDA. THE STUDY WILL USE ESTABLISHED RAPID AND FREQUENT MOBILE PHONE-BASED USSD SURVEYS TO ASSESS THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF DIET QUALITY INDICES AND TO EXAMINE POTENTIAL LINKAGES BETWEEN DIET QUALITY AND DIET COSTING IN THE PRESENCE OF FOOD PRICE VOLATILITY. THIS ANALYSIS EXTENDS A RECENT STUDY THAT LEVERAGES DIGITAL TOOLS AND CROWDSOURCING TO GENERATE HIGH-FREQUENCY DATA FOR DIET QUALITY MONITORING AT POPULATION SCALE IN RWANDA. THE EXTENSION OF THIS ANALYSIS CONTINUES COLLECTION EFFORTS TO TRACK METRICS, EXPAND THE ANALYSIS, AND VALIDATE RESULTS WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS. DELIVERABLES 1.A DRAFT STUDY ON DIET QUALITY AND DIET PRICE TRACKING, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE A POLICY NOTE AND WORKING PAPER. DUE OCTOBER 2023. 2.A FINAL STUDY ON DIET QUALITY AND DIET PRICE TRACKING, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE A FINAL POLICY NOTE, FINAL WORKING PAPER, AND FINAL DATASET. DUE SEPTEMBER 2024. COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH. NOTE THAT STUDY WILL BE COMPLEMENTED BY A SERIES OF VALIDATION WORKSHOPS, CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT EVENTS, AND RESEARCH SEMINARS (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS Â EVENTSÂ ) THAT WILL BE CONDUCTED DURING THE ACTIVITY WITH KEY PARTNERS. DATES AND LOCATIONS ARE TO BE DETERMINED. IT IS EXPECTED THAT IITA WILL AVAIL THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT ITS RESEARCH HYPOTHESES, METHODS, DATA, AND RESULTS AT THESE EVENTS TO THE BENEFIT OF CGIAR PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS IN RWANDA INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE GOVERNMENT OF RWANDA, IFPRI, AND USAID.
International Institute Of Tropical Agriculture
Project Grant 720RFS22IO00003
$292.8k 6/13/23