29maynotes3

Strategy Discussion 29 May 2012 Group 3 discussion notes Notes by : 

Partcipants:


 * What ?
 * Why ?


 * Create a strategy** that is simple and clear and represents ILRI, as a guide on a daily basis so that people connect what they do with what the Institute wants to achieve.

The framework used is:

What is ILRI trying to achieve in the next 10 years? What does it want to focus on? How are you going to get there?

//What should ILRI concentrate on?//

//What changes to be more effective?//


 * Timeline (S.Tarawali)**

Next strategy until 2022, internal and external consultations, Today, listen to discussions as input into thinking

Response to discussions:
 * Find benchmarks related to bigger objectives such as poverty alleviation, food security
 * How can we measure success? Success means achieving something. Difficult to assess.
 * Use the technologies, BecA, vaccines, diseases, etc specific to ILRI to show more impacts
 * ILRI has to be on the map when it comes to markets, policies, technologies, and research linked to livestock and ILRI should provide answers. ILRI has to be a key player (but do we need to grow? to play that role ? how ?) meaning known as a key institute providing directions, more connected to policies.
 * ILRI should be seen as a global player, where livestock is an issue, Asia, West Africa, South Africa, etc not only East Africa
 * Address a vision, involving smallholders as producers, ILRI should not be the sole provider, it is a process
 * More outputs, such as scientific publications to show ILRI research
 * The development sector should come to us, more partnerships with development groups coming to ILRI, not ILRI going to them, so they can impact the ground
 * Livestock is too low on the political agenda; ILRI has to be an actor of change to improve this.

Major item is really seeing ILRI as a key player related to livestock issues.

What would you keep at ILRI? What would you change?


 * **Workplace** ||  **Research**  ||
 * //Keep:// || //Keep:// ||
 * * Working relationships are good, not much hierarchy
 * Informal way researchers deal with services, short linkages between services and research staff (transport, IT etc)
 * The interaction with units, ex: in security coordinates with transport, housing etc to facilitate the work || * Different disciplines working together ||
 * //Change:// || //Change:// ||
 * * To improve: informal services yes but can also hide bigger problems so maybe mixing more formal/informal


 * More transparency in terms of loss/gains in Addis campus (cost recovery= some competition between units). How to be more cost effective? || * Position in terms of being a bigger key player, putting ourselves on the agenda (individually and as a group), expose ourselves more


 * Communication should be more connected to research. How can we put our research in the picture? Make research integrated in the communication strategy?


 * We need some key experts in terms of research (better salaries? how to be more competitive?)/ How to get qualified expertise in ILRI? (postdocs, links) ; Can we collaborate with them if they are not based at ILRI ? And how? ||