Introduction to the CoP Concept

1. Introduction to the CoP concept
Antonio Rota
STA Livestock and Farming Systems
Technical Advisory Division (PT)
12-13 January 2009

2. Who are we?
An International Financial Institution and a specialised
UN agency dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger
in rural areas

3. Goal
To empower poor rural women and men in developing
countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food
security

4. Operations
• One of the largest sources of development financing for
agriculture and rural development
• Since inception (1978) has provided more than USD
10.6 billion in loans (788) and grants (2057)
• Investment programme growing at 10 percent per year
• 200 ongoing programmes and projects for a total of
USD 3.2 billion
• Operating in 115 countries

5. Activities supported in IFAD's projects
Amount Irrigation/w ater
Activities (USD Fisheries/aquac. m gt
Lvst prod/range
million) 2% 10%
m gt/intgr crop-lvst
Financial services & markets 2034 8%
Research/extens/
Rural dev/infrastr. 1087
Rural dev/infrastr
capacity bldg
Research/extension/loc. cap. bldg 1012 13%
12%
Agricultural development 962
NRM
Irrigation/water management 832
5%
Hum an & social
Project mgt/M &E 699
assets
Livestock & rangeland 657
6%
systems/intgr crop-lvst systems Agr dev
11%
Human & social assets (comm. dev., 529 Proj m g/M&E
education, etc.) 8%
Natural Resource Management 407
Others
Fisheries/aquaculture 132
1%
Fin services &
Others (land reform, etc.) 125
m arkets
TOTAL INVESTMENT (actual) 8476 24%

6. New IFAD Operating Model
• IFAD is determined to increase its development
effectiveness, efficiency and relevance in helping its
member countries to reduce rural poverty (Strategic
Framework)
• Action Plan targeting more than 40 deliverables in the
three broad areas of:
- Strategic planning and guidance
- Project quality and impact
- Knowledge management and innovation

7. Main driving changes
• Results-based Country Strategy Opportunity
Programme (COSOP)
• Quality Enhancement/Quality Assurance for Project
Design
• Country Project Management Team (CPMT) for project
design – implementation
• Direct Supervision and Implementation Support
• Country Presence
• Innovating Sharing Knowledge and Learning (KM
Strategy, Innovative Mainstreaming Initiative)

8. Need for Partnership
To work with partners to identify/develop innovative
solutions
To compensate IFAD’s relatively limited expertise and
human resources in specific areas (such as fisheries
and aquaculture)
To address the complexity of “development”
We need an innovative business model for working
together within and outside IFAD

9. Is this a common need?
“We need to learn how to connect all the dots—how to
integrate the work of science groups with that of the
many other players in developing-country agriculture in
ways that deliver all the given specific pieces needed to
support, improve and sustain African farming in specific
circumstances.”
“This will require all research institutions to start talking
to development institutions, to start building new kinds
of partnerships, and to start taking on some radical new
ways of doing business. It’s bound to be a messy
process. But a necessary one.”
Carlos Sere, Director of ILRI – received three days ago

10. Concept of Community of Practice (CoP)
The concept of “CoP” has emerged within development
communities as a way of strengthening the connections
among like-minded persons who seek to improve,
through joint actions and collaborations, both
knowledge and practice for improving the
effectiveness of rural development and poverty
reduction programs

11. Scope
To identify key problems and opportunities to develop
collective strategies and priorities
HOW
• To promote livestock, fisheries and aquaculture as tools
for poverty reduction
• To empower poor farmers/livestock keepers/fisherfolk to
actively participate in decision-making processes and in
the management of their livelihoods.

12. Key Features
• Continuous interaction
• Multi-stakeholder approach
• Convergence towards common objectives

13. Value of the proposed CoPs
Three BEs:
• Be innovative, effective, and demand-driven
• Be proactive supporter of partnerships, dialogue and
efficient collaborations
• Be people and poverty focussed

14. IFAD Comparative Advantage
• Relevant cross-sectoral knowledge on a wide variety of rural
development issues (e.g. microfinance, gender, institution development)
• Catalyst role: test innovations and replicate and scale up successful
innovative approaches.
• Advocating role: make sure that poverty eradication issues are included
into international agendas of governments, donors and funding institutions
• Work directly with poor rural communities and grassroot organizations
to enhance their access to assets, services and opportunities they need to
overcome poverty.
• International Financial Institution (i.e. support to research programmes
and technology transfer)

15. Expected outputs
• A common ground for building new partnerships and
establishing new strategic working relationships among
development partners to promote livestock, fisheries and
aquaculture as tools for poverty reduction;
• Identification of national (international) expertise/ “champions”
for supporting in-country participatory process for project design,
project implementation and supervision support at country level;
• Exchange experiences/relevant knowledge, share innovative
solutions, best practices/lessons learnt, and support learning
across institutions/ countries;
• Opportunities and facilitation for the elaboration of common
strategies/policies/operations/advocacy for pro-poor
livestock/fisheries/aquaculture development;
• Access to technical backstopping/advisory services for Quality
Enhancement of project design, implementation and supervision.

16. Model

17. Conclusions
Three3 BEs:
• Be guided by precise strategic objectives which are
quantitative/qualitative and operational.
• Be developed as a well balanced system, self-
organized, with sustainable organizational,
administrative and financial support (at least to build a
solid start-up)
• Be able to combine innovations and new practices with
the specificities of each partner and with the utilization
of his specific knowledge.

18. Conclusions
• All these aspects must be arrange by the COP
members and should be in line with their
expectations and interests.
• Appropriate working modalities and organizational
arrangements need to be discussed and worked out in
detail by its members
• A sustainable multi-stakeholder knowledge
management system, with an overarching identity and
overall common purposes, need to be established to
support stakeholders’ needs, and in particular of
farmers who can benefit from more appropriate and
effective practices.

19. Conclusions
• IFAD intends giving an important contribute to all these
aspects and will continue supporting the overall
initiative.
• However without “committed” people it will not be
possible to go ahead and build a concrete and powerful
Community.