Over the last ten years, CPWF has developed a unique research for development approach. Some of our key global processes include:

Topic Working Groups

Topic Working Groups (TWGs) are being established to take advantage of the enormous opportunities for learning across basin-wide geographic and decision-making scales. For example, research in at least three basins will focus on rainwater harvesting and management, and use of small reservoirs. Key scientists from these basins will form a TWG to share experiences on rainwater management, critically appraise each other’s work, engage in cross-basin synthesis research, and receive further mentoring from world-class authorities on rainwater management. By this means, the focus and quality of research in basins will be continually improved. Learn more…

Cross-Cutting Themes

CPWF research has established a number of cross-cutting themes that span within and beyond the river basins we work in. Cross-cutting themes emerge from within our research and are also shaped by new research in the water and food research-for-development field. Learn more…

Innovation and Impact

An innovative feature of CPWF research program is its focus not only on carrying out cutting edge research but also on ensuring that the research carried out has meaning and use for development related purposes at different levels. We understand innovation as both a social and technical process driven by people engaging in experiential learning cycles, the cumulative effect of which is the emergence and evolution of new ideas, institutions and technologies. We see innovation as fundamentally complex, dynamic, adaptive, non-linear and open ended. Thus, the research cannot be carried out in isolation but users and interests groups need to be involved from the outset.

For instance, farmers make sense of their experiments and decide to continue with the novelty they are testing, adapt it, or throw it away. They interact with others while they do so, and others influence their decision-making. From the countless repetitions of this so-called ‘learning selection’, carried out by large numbers of people linked together, innovation emerges. Nobody commands the process to happen although product champions attempt to nurture and shepherd it, and they are crucially important. What emerges is critically affected by people’s motivations and ability to participate, which in turn is affected by power, culture and norms. A crucial part of championing learning selection is fostering an “open-source” ethos where knowledge and experience is shared.

Knowledge Management

Knowledge management plays an important role in bridging research and impact and innovation approaches. Knowledge management at CPWF is defined as a process to “identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences”.

Communication, information management and monitoring and evaluation are the main practices to achieve this and are designed to support the research effort through the impact pathways that have been developed for the program. In this sense, communication is not seen as just the production of materials but rather as a way to create positive change amongst the interest groups that CPWF intends to influence. Monitoring and evaluation supports the research and projects to learn as they go and be adaptive in their practices. Information management supports the two by providing the necessary information in the right format. Learn more…