Business Model: How IRRI delivers knowledge for impact

Knowledge as a global public good

The Green Revolution was a not-for-profit venture withminimal private sector participation. It promoted HYV technologies that spreadfast as they were public goods. They worked on the principles ofnon-excludability and non-rivalrous consumption. Fulladvantages were captured by society at large including by those who couldnot afford to use it.

In principle, while seeds were free,distribution to meet the need and demand (especially in far–flung rural fields)entailed a cost.

As pilot implementation of HYVs and related technologies proved feasible,many poor countries set up National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems(NARES) to pursue agricultural development (World Bank, 1999). These agencieswere tasked to disseminate seeds and technologies and to work directly withfarmer organizations to adapt varieties to local conditions. In effect, the NARES helped bridge the gap betweenknowledge producers and consumers.

How IRRI delivers knowledge for impact

IRRI’s value chain(Porter, 1998) utilizes the same hub–and–spoke structure fashioned during theGreen Revolution. Because of the multi -country scope of its work, IRRI’sresearch—to—delivery process will be most effective by engaging donors, NARES,advanced research institutes (ARIs), and other collaborators (as shown below. For url please click here).

 

In terms of total dollar investment, this business model has been shown to generate positive returns (Raitzer,2003). At IRRI, the formula has worked especially well in three keyareas:

• User needs assesment: Without the assistance of local partners that havea direct line to their constituents, IRRI would be unable to determine the realneeds of farmers to be able to derive the appropriate technologies and tools todevelop through research.
• Research and development: To make sure it conducts research that isrelevant, IRRI’s processes must be inclusive and consultative.
• Delivering knowledge and evaluating impact: For market efficiency, a producer should deliver its offering directlyto its users. IRRI does not have the funds, manpower, and other resourcesrequired to do so. Intermediaries such as NARES and ARIs areindispensable players in this task.

Business Model: IRRI Training Centre

Business model: Combining“training, train–the–trainer, devolution of information and technicalknowledge” in developing national systems (IRRI, 2001).

Competitive advantage: The capacity–buildingfunction, led by the IRRI Training Centre (TC), develops strong collaborativerelationships with NARES partners and makes it an indispensableresearch–to–delivery component within IRRI.

Activities undertaken: Since 2002, TC began tooffer computer–aided distance education to increase impact and reach, by way ofthe Rice Knowledge Bank (for RKB clickhere). Envisioned as a “virtual university,” the RKB is an open access (OA)facility that offers web–based decision support tools, data sheets, e–learningmodules, and other products.

Benefits:

• Promotion of partnerships between IRRI and its NARES collaborators.
• Promotion of partnerships between national systems.
• Assistancefrom country sites (for example Bangladesh)through devolution. These sites shift the more complex and resource intensive tasks tothe ultimate beneficiary - the NARES collaborators and their stakeholders(Tasks such as creating capacity, developing new content, testingtechnologies, transferring knowledge to rice farmers, and maintaining the localsite).
• Spreading of impacts across organization and countryborders through the main RKB site which serves as a portal showcasingtechniques and tools of different groups and localities. 
• Higher yields by farmer cooperators,acquiring knowledge and techniques from researchers and extension workers, ascompared to non–cooperators (Balasubramanian, et al., n.d.)

Successes: Based on site hits, RKB is a resounding success. In June 2007, it surpassed the 3.2million mark and has been viewed by almost 250,000 unique visitors. The RKBsupplements classroom–based group training with more than 13,000 learningsessions happening till date.

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An example:

Need felt
C.R. Rajendran, Directorof the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Agriculture, Environment, and NaturalResources Division for the Mekong region, admits there are advantages anddisadvantages to the use of ICT in bridging the knowledge gap in agriculture.

“ICT offers powerful new ways to capture, present, anddisseminate the wealth of knowledge available ... . However, most poor andsmall–scale farmers are unable to access such information available through ICTdue to language barriers, lack of tools, and lack of knowledge about existing information.Also, they may be overwhelmed and intimidated by ICT.” (ADB, 2004)

How was it addressed:

• Funds: In 2004, ADB approved aUSD $1 million grant from the Japan Fund for Information and Communications Technology(JFICT; clickhere) to support an ICT project targeting poor rice farmers in the Mekongregion. 
• Actions: Adoptionof materials from IRRI’s RKB site and localize them to suit local conditions andthe needs of extension workers and collaborators in Cambodia, Thailand, andVietnam. 

Potential benefits gained:

• Using country–specific, relevant, and targetedcontent, transfer of appropriate technology can be faster and wider, creatingimpact at the grassroots level.
• Localization could create “ownership” that helpsfoster sustainability.
• Wider availability of technology–based services willhelp demystify ICT, encourage farmers to use its tools,
• Perhaps even compel government to fund developmentof infrastructure in the countryside.
• It can help validate both the “virtual university”and the soundness of the proffered methods and practices.

Source: Excerpts from article on http://firstmonday.org (for url please click here)

Business Models promoted by the Clinton Global Initiative: Commitments to Action

Commitments to Action, a unique feature of Clinton Global Initiative  (CGI)  membership, translates practical goals into meaningful and measurable results. Throughout the year andat the Annual Meeting, CGI acts as a marketplace for a diverse community ofchangemakers to develop commitments that fit their core business andphilanthropic goals. Commitments to Action are new, specific, and measurableinitiatives undertaken by CGI members. 

Varying in sizeand duration, commitments can focus on diverse issues, regions, and types ofactivities. For example, members may develop a new business model that generates social, environmental, or economic value; initiate,scale up, or refocus a service or business project; or provide financialor in-kind support to an organization of their choice. Many commitments are theresult of new and diverse partnerships across sectors, with members combiningefforts to expand the impact of new ideas. After making a commitment, membersreport to CGI on progress made over time. 

Source: www.clintonglobalinitiative.org (for url please click here)

Business Model: IRRI TERI Partnership on Bio-Energy from Rice Residues

CommitmentBy: Dr. Robert S. Zeigler,Director General, The International Rice Research Institute 

Partners: The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), NewDelhi, India
Estimated Value: $2.2 million over 4 years
Area of Impact: India (Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal) and Cambodia

BriefDescription: The InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI), in partnership with the Energy and ResourceInstitute of India, is developing a new technology that will producecarbon-dioxide free energy from rice residues in India and Cambodia, helpingcreate additional income for rice farmers. Furthermore, as bio-energy from riceresidues can produce a biomass that is carbon neutral, this CGI commitment willhelp significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. IRRI will initiallyestablish a pilot plant using rice straw, and monitor four existing bio-energyplants to determine the most efficient, profitable, and practicable business model for this technology. 

Source:www.clintonglobalinitiative.org (for url, please clickhere)