Files
Abstract
This stocktaking workshop provided an opportunity for several groups with
active interest in impact assessment relating to agricultural policy research to share
experiences and views about what constitutes good practice in this field. The sponsoring
organizations have had a long-standing concern for the relevance and effectiveness of
agricultural and food policy research in general and at IFPRI in particular. That concern
has been addressed in past meetings and the time seemed right for a further stocktaking.
The focus of this 2004 meeting was on impact assessment experience at IFPRI. IFPRI
has, since the mid-1990s, carried out a variety of activities aimed at assessing the impact
of its policy research, capacity strengthening, and policy communications programs. The
workshop brought together practitioners of such impact assessment work, users of such
information, as well as researchers whose activities have been the subject of impact
assessment.
The cogency and necessity of such impact accounting work was reaffirmed in
general terms. There was constructively critical commentary on the merits of particular
approaches and instruments, such as narrative recordings and more quantitative methods
of attempting to measure effects of research investments. The perennial issue of
challenging counterfactuals was necessarily addressed, and the practicality of
experimental and quasi-experimental methods considered. The need for consistency of
assessment approaches between ex post studies (which have been the bulk of IFPRI’s
experience to date) and ex ante assessment efforts that represent an increasing share of
the assessment portfolio was also discussed. There has long been a commitment to work
towards a strong impact-orientation “culture” within IFPRI; the workshop concluded that,
while there has been progress in working toward mainstreaming such a culture, there is
still far to go, and efforts must continue in this direction.