Poster presented at the Crop Science Society of the Philippines, Inc.'s 42nd Scientific Conference from April 16 to 20, 2012 in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines

1. Maximizing project impact:
the use of social network analysis to select project partners
Ruvicyn S. Bayot, Sophie Alvarez, Michael Victor, and Boru Douthwaite
International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines
Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, A.A. 6713, Cali, Colombia
Challenge Program on Water and Food, P.O. Box 2075, Colombo, Sri Lanka
The WorldFish Center, P.O. Box 500, GPO 10670, Penang, Malaysia
The CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) Phase II is a multi-institutional
and multidisciplinary research-for-development program that brings together partners from
both fields of research and development. The aim is to increase the resilience of social and
ecological ecosystems through better water management for food production. This
partnership is designed to:
address specific basin development challenges by supporting research collaboration
among partners;
ensure research results are used by different groups by creating multistakeholder The Ganges Basin Development Program Team: how this team was formed
platforms that ensure adequate representation of stakeholders; and
The CPWF used social network analysis to strategically select partners
build the capacity of local partners and young professionals. within a basin development program. The examples shown are the maps
used for selecting the project partners and lead institutions for the Ganges
This collaborative partnership is based on the premise that it will ensure ownership and use Basin Development Program.
of the generated outputs since stakeholders are involved from the very beginning of the
project.
Network mapping
Box 1
The program used network mapping as a diagnostic tool to help identify key institutional partners. The two key elements CGIAR: Consultative Group of International
of CPWF’s network map are the partners (shown as network nodes) and the relationships between them (shown as Agricultural Research
network ties). The partner’s position in a network determines its influence and its access to information and resources NARES: National Agricultural Research and
(Clark, 2006). The more central and the greater involvement partners have in research, the more direct is their access to Extension System
information and resources. RO: Research organization
(e.g., universities)
Partners are classified and grouped according to type of institution (Box 1) and location. These attributes are set in the
map using different node colors and shapes. GO: Government organization
NGO: Nongovernment Organization
Selecting the partners and lead institutions
Data collection
1 2 3
Database of CPWF Survey of related initiatives
partners in Phase 1 (1)
Network map of CPWF Network map of related
Phase 1 partners (2) initiatives (3)
Count the degrees of
involvement
List of institutions from Network map of partners from CPWF Phase 1 Network map of institutions from related initiatives
Count the number of times the
the survey of related
institution led an initiative
initiatives
The network map was created using NetDraw, an open source software tool used to visualize social networks
Rank institutions 4 http://www.analytictech.com/netdraw.htm
Criteria
Identify lead partners
based on criteria set (4)
1. Track record of project leadership
2. Track record of achievement in initiatives similar to the Ganges
5 Partnering expectations
•At least one in-basin organization
Basin Development Program
•At least one out-of-basin organization
3. Ability to work in partnerships
•At least one organization to scale out and scale up research outputs
Select other partners (5) 4. Ability to coordinate projects in more than one riparian country
5. Appropriate governance and financial management mechanisms
6. Relevant research expertise
Lessons learned
References
Ensure that stakeholders are consulted in identifying related initiatives. Clark, L. 2006. Network mapping as a diagnostic tool. Centro Internacional de
Develop a comprehensive database of organizations prior to the development of Agricultura Tropical, Cali, Colombia.
CPWF. 2009. 2008 Annual Report.: A year of transformation and innovation.
the network map to capture the ‘richness’ of the network. Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Ensure that the project team has partners from within the basin, which are CPWF. 2009. Medium-term Plan 2009-2012. Colombo, Sri Lanka.
influential and know the local situation. Douthwaite, B. 2010. Selecting lead organizations for the Ganges BDC Projects.
CPWF Management Document. Unpublished.
The team should involve enabling institutions that will be responsible for the
scaling out and scaling up of research results.