IWMI East Africa

More Impact in Africa – New Uptake Specialist joins IWMI

IWMI is committed to ensuring that its research has a discernible impact on livelihoods. To meet this challenge, IWMI has been developing new strategies and mechanisms for improving the 'uptake' of research results and outputs. IWMI is identifying innovative agricultural water management solutions and technologies, and facilitating their adoption by end-users, through research, networking and knowledge sharing.

In January 2011, Dr. Claudious Chikozho was recruited as Science Uptake Coordinator to facilitate the operationalization of this agenda in Africa. Dr. Chikozho has wide-ranging experience in Community-Based Natural Resources Management as well as lecturing at the University undergraduate and post-graduate levels. He joined IWMI-Africa from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Water Resources Governance Systems Research Group in Pretoria, South Africa, where he served as Senior Researcher. Prior to his work with CSIR in South Africa, he held research and teaching positions at the University of Zimbabwe, Centre for Applied Social Sciences and the Department of Rural & Urban Planning, respectively. In these positions, he gained knowledge and skills in research uptake strategies and dissemination approaches that will further IWMI's objectives in achieving more impact on the ground. Dr. Chikozho holds a PhD in Social Studies, Masters in Public Administration and a BSc Honors in Political Science from the University of Zimbabwe. His PhD thesis focused on the challenges faced in reforming the water sector using the integrated water resources management framework in Zimbabwe.

Dr. Chikozho will also support the IWMI-Africa Science Uptake agenda through the IMAWESA network in East and Southern Africa, which is now hosted by IWMI in the South Africa office. He believes that IWMI and other research centres should move away from the traditional top-down technology transfer mode of research. Rather, they should seek to do research that is meaningful beyond the scientific community. His approach can be summed up in the following statement: "We cannot continue to treat research as something 'we' do and then communicate to 'them'.  We have to work and walk with the end-users right from the beginning for better buy-in and uptake of our research recommendations."

IWMI hosted a one-day mini Share Fair at the ILRI campus in Addis Ababa on the 3^rd of February. The Share Fair brought together related Agriculture Water Management projects and each presented their objectives, intended outcomes, products, timelines, stakeholders and geographical focus. A facilitated session supported the participants in jointly identifying areas of overlap, gaps, and varying methodological approaches. Through such knowledge sharing, participating projects sought synergies for greater collaboration and ultimately, improved impact.

Participating projects and programs:  

·         AWM Solutions project, led by IWMI, funded by BMGF

·         AWM in Challenging Contexts project, led by IWMI, funded by IFAD

·         Smart ITC project, led by IWMI, funded by IFAD

·         Spate Irrigation Network, led by Unesco-IHE/Metameta, funded by IFAD

·         IMAWESA, hosted by IWMI, funded by IFAD

·         Climate Change and Storage, led by IWMI, funded by BMZ  

·         Groundwater in sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for food security and livelihoods

·         Challenge Program on Water and Food, Nile Basin

·         Multiple User Systems

View the presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/ictkm/agriwater-share-fair-projects-presentations

View share fair report: http://www.slideshare.net/ictkm/agriwater-mini-share-fair-overall-report

USDS project meeting held in Khartoum, Sudan at UNESCO-Chair in Water Resources. Members of the USDS project and staff from UNESCO-chair attended the meeting.

The field visit was also organized by the Sudaneese team, to Sennar Dam, main canals from Sennar Dam (K57), Roseries Hydropower station and Eldiem hydro gauging station.