Training and Education Strategy at ICRISAT August 2004

Training, And Now, Learning

In mid-1999, ICRISAT's venerable Training and Fellowships Program (TAFP) was transferred to the PIMD (now KMS). This reorganization provides a timely opportunity to re-examine ICRISAT's role and strategy within the area of training and education, as requested by the Governing Board in February, 2000. (Note that this document deals only with training in relation to our research agenda, and not with internal staff training at ICRISAT).

The "training" role is well illustrated by ICRISAT's historical operations. Decades ago NARS were much less developed, and there was an urgent need for mass training in basic crop research techniques such as field plot management, making crosses and selection, etc. The Center had ample financial resources and was able to fund travel to meetings, fellowships, and other student support from core. The training of about 3,500 scientists, technicians and postgraduate students from 91 countries by ICRISAT since 1974 is a major accomplishment which we should be proud of and publicize more widely.

However, we cannot rest on our laurels. NARS are now asking for help in developing higher-level skills in project planning, fundraising, research management, and impact assessment. These skills cannot be easily transferred through cookbook training courses. They are learned by doing , via joint projects addressing the shared ICRISAT/NARS agenda.

This corresponds more closely to the "education" role of ICRISAT cited by the Board. Education -- helping our partners learn how to think through and manage novel situations, to take initiative, and to lead and catalyze action to resolve national problems -- forms the major new challenge for ICRISAT, whether executed using our own resources, or through partnerships. If successful, this could help NARS gain the capabilities not only to carry out their research, but also to plan it, fund it, and demonstrate its worth to the national and donor public.

Recognizing that partner expectations now go beyond training, the "Training and Fellowships Program" has been reborn as the "Learning Systems Unit". (Through our suggestion, the CGIAR System Information Strategy is also recognizing the importance of learning systems as a concept, and specifically the important role that information systems can play in its enhancement).

Priority of training/education at ICRISAT

An additional change in the external environment to which we must adapt has been our dramatic fall in core funding. This has devastated the capacity of our ex-training unit, to an even greater extent than for the research programs and administration. There has been no full-time IRS head of this function for over a decade, nor even an SMG head during the last year. The annual operating budget for the ex-training unit was cut from $450,000 in 1995, to just $19,405 in 1999.

It is clear that this function is operating far below critical mass. Yet future core resource trends do not seem encouraging. This reality requires that the function be carried out in a very different manner than in the past.

Plan of action

ICRISAT cannot turn back the clock and restore the lush budgets and broad slate of activities of the past -- nor should we. We can use this opportunity to rebuild a new and modernized training/education capability, transitioning some historical activities into new modes, and bringing modern approaches and services onboard.

Learning to be needs-driven and resourced by development investors

In the past, core funds enabled ICRISAT to offer courses on what it felt was important. This supply-driven curriculum must by necessity now be replaced by a demand-driven one. When partners feel they need a learning experience on a certain topic, they must identify resources and/or help ICRISAT identify resources to organize the relevant event. Conversely, when ICRISAT creates a new technology that it feels is important to share, it must convince a donor to underwrite the associated learning experience. For all special projects, ICRISAT scientists must build in the priority learning events into the budget proposal.

De-emphasize mass technical training

While the need for mass training courses at the technician level will continue, national programs, technical schools and the private sector have gained the capability to carry out this training, and can do so more cost-effectively than us. In cases where we are perceived to have a comparative advantage, we can still mount such courses assuming they are fully funded by external sources.

Foster learning-by-doing within the project portfolio

Our new role in fostering "learning" can only happen by weaving the learning process into the fabric of our Institute research agenda, through hands-on joint research in the context of our agreed project portfolio. This approach clearly requires that the Learning Systems Unit stay very closely aligned with the research programs and projects and as part of IRMP, thus responding to the direction of the DDG-Research and the oversight of the RMC. This also requires that the small Learning Systems Unit not be distracted with the additional unrelated responsibility of training ICRISAT staff.

The purposes of the Learning Systems Unit within this fabric will be to pay explicit attention to how learning takes place within our research partnerships, and to apply that knowledge enhance it. This includes:

i) monitoring successes and failures;

ii) measuring impacts;

iii) identifying needs and opportunities to fill gaps in learning experiences so we can convert failures to successes;

iv) developing innovative new learning systems (e.g. online tutorials, interactive systems to gain partner feedback, systems to share indigenous knowledge, etc); and

v) seeking supplementary funding to carry out these enhancements.

Revitalize advanced skills training

ICRISAT will continue to have a responsibility for developing training courses in cutting-edge areas linked to its research agenda such as biotechnology, agro-immunology, GIS, etc. The Learning Systems Unit should catalyze and assist ICRISAT's research programs to develop an annual curriculum of high-priority advanced-skill training courses at least a year in advance, giving both us and our clients sufficient lead time to seek resources to cover the course expenses.

Tailor the approach to regional needs and opportunities

Another issue for careful consideration is the geographic area of emphasis and approach to enhancing learning. In South Asia, NARS are stronger and larger, with a broader range of skills than in Africa. The need for focused capacity-building intervention from ICRISAT is therefore greater in Africa, while our role in Asia can be more of a supportive or consultative one, providing opportunities for individual development (e.g. studentships in our Patancheru laboratories). We should exploit the fortuitous opportunity of our headquarters location for training Africans in India. Good training institutions are available in India, and costs are much lower than in the developed world. Training in the Hyderabad area allows students to carry out their thesis work using ICRISAT facilities, complementing their coursework at a local university. Many Francophone scientists prefer to study in an Anglophone environment, so they can gain English speaking and writing skills in addition to their technical training.

Modernize and utilize precious learning resources

ICRISAT's comparative advantage within the broad area of learning systems is delineated not only by its research expertise, but also by its information/knowledge resources and skills.

ICRISAT's Library facility at Patancheru is the CGIAR's richest access point for delving into SAT agricultural research, including much ‘grey’ literature not available elsewhere. It is a valuable portal for Indian agricultural publications, and has links to Indian libraries that can be tapped to help researchers access that vast resource. Importantly, the Library also functions as a training resource for NARS in library and information sciences.

Our Library should take all practical steps to improve direct electronic access to bibliographies, abstracts, and source documents by our African locations. Many of these services can be distributed on CD-ROMs sent through courier services, if bandwidth constraints preclude online access. This "Electronic Library" is now under active development.

Information technology holds many exciting opportunities for enhancing learning systems. We should build an online learning center where courses within our circle of expertise can be taught using a rich, interactive multimedia format on CD media, or on the internet for better-"connected" NARS. The internet also provides us the opportunity to develop systems for gathering instant feedback from our partners and clients. Together with improved communication systems ranging from email to videoconferencing, these new tools can bring our global partnerships and joint project teams much closer together across vast, previously-insurmountable distances.

To progress in this area, the synergy created by integrating the Learning Systems Unit within the IRMP, which also contains the Information Systems Unit, will be pivotal. Learning Systems staff will have to gain skills, assisted importantly by their colleagues within IRMP as well as by outsourcing agencies (e.g. multimedia development enterprises, etc.) within the Hyderabad area.

In many ways these new products are evolutions, albeit dramatic ones, from longstanding products and services offered via the print medium. ICRISAT has been co-publishing information bulletins with NARS covering practical subjects such new technologies for managing crops, and pest/disease identification and control, for many years. Local NARS agencies have translated ICRISAT's generic texts into predominant languages in different target areas. ICRISAT also co-publishes newsletters and workshop/conference proceedings. These are much appreciated by NARS as avenues for the publication of fresh and useful research results at little or no cost to them -- a valuable service to enhance south-south learning exchanges.

These types of practical learning tools and services are in high demand from the local agricultural community, but in the future must be resourced through special project support, because of shortfalls in core funds. A revitalized Learning Systems Unit will be able to proactively seek funding through joint appeals with NARS to interested donors. Given the strong interest of donors in national capacity-building, combined with our own scientific and training credibility, we expect strong support for from the development investor community for these appeals.