Communication strategy and impact

All change at the CGIAR

In early 2008 the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research launched a reform process to enable it to remain a key player in agricultural R&D.

Green Ink was closely involved throughout. We began by attending meetings in Washington DC, Brussels and Lima, to help working groups develop ideas and reports on the CGIAR’s vision, partnerships and funding arrangements. Next, writer Sue Parrott acted as ‘live blogger’, covering sessions and interviewing participants at three major meetings held to discuss the way forward. We were then invited to edit the draft of the new Strategic Results Framework (SRF) and develop a Powerpoint presentation on it, in time for the first Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD). Finally, we developed, designed and printed a brochure and a briefing sheet on the revised version of the SRF presented to the group’s new Fund Council in April 2011. We are pleased to report that the council approved the SRF for funding and the reformed CGIAR is now in business.
 

“I am sure that all WG1 members join me in thanking Green Ink for an excellent job.”

Jean Lebel, Chair, Working Group 1, IDRC 
 

 “Awesome blogging! People are thrilled!”

Laura Ivers, Team Leader, Information and Corporate Communications Team, CGIAR Secretariat 
 

“We have received very good comments on the SRF brochure and brief.”

Daniela Alfaro, Special Advisor, CGIAR Consortium

What’s in a new name? 

As part of the broader CGIAR reform process outlined above, the group’s Science Council has changed its name to become the Independent Science and Partnerships Council (ISPC). With the name change came shifts in the council’s mandate, which now places more emphasis on assessing research impact, exploring emerging challenges and brokering the partnerships needed to tackle them.

In 2010 the ISPC asked Green Ink to join it in re-thinking its communications activities, to improve their impact as well as to reflect the council’s new identity. We designed and conducted a survey of stakeholders, wrote up the results and presented them at an ISPC meeting in Syria. The ISPC’s new Executive Director, Peter Gardiner, then visited Green Ink’s Director Simon Chater at the company’s farmhouse headquarters for detailed discussions, after which the two co-wrote a new communication strategy. The strategy was presented at the next ISPC meeting, held in September 2010, where it was approved for implementation. 
 

“I had a splendid and constructive couple of days and we look forward to our further collaboration.”

Peter Gardiner, Executive Director, ISPC

Towards a more influential Forest Day

Since 2007, the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) has organized a Forest Day, held annually just before the negotiations of the Conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Convention (UNCCC). The idea is to raise the profile of forests and forestry in the negotiations, influencing their outcome.

In 2010, CIFOR invited Green Ink to assess the impact of Forest Day 4, held in Cancun on the eve of COP 16. We designed and implemented a survey of participants, then wrote up the results in an initial report to CIFOR.  We went on to select key respondents with potentially interesting impact stories to tell for a further in-depth interview. After this phase we wrote our final report and recommendations, which have fed into the design of Forest Day 5 in Durban. We have been invited by CIFOR to continue this work.
 

“We think you have done a great job. So we are interested to learn whether Green Ink would be interested in doing a second round of interviews for Forest Day 5 in Durban.”

John Colmey, Director of Communications, CIFOR