Research on institutions for agricultural water management under the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food - Water Scarcity, Livelihoods and Food Security - page 129

times, and the remainder were cited 1-10 times. These citation numbers
suggest a large impact of the CPWF on the scientific community concerned
with institutions, especially given since the average time since publication was
only 5.2 years.
The list of authors of CPWF papers on institutions shows the convening
power of the CPWF. Many of the papers were authored by scientists at
CGIAR Centers other than International Water Management Institute
(IWMI) (e.g. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT),
International Food and Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), World Agroforestry
Centre (ICRAF) and by leading scholars in their respective fields. Google
Scholar shows that Louis Lebel is widely cited in the field of resilience science
and governance of complex systems and Juan Camilo Cardenas is a leading
scholar in the field of experimental economics.
Synthesis through the lens of the IAD framework
We used the IAD framework (Figure 6.2) to synthesis the information on
publications. They fell into three main groups. The first group focused on better
understanding of action arenas . They asked questions such as, “What institutions
influence water management in a given context?” or, “What factors determine
people's ability to have influence in a given action arena?” The second group
explored how institutions affect water allocation , and what implications this has for
welfare and environmental outcomes. Questions asked were: “How do
alternative policies and institutions affect individual water-use decisions,
collective water-use outcomes, or the returns to alternative water uses?” and
“What are the welfare and environmental implications of alternative allo-
cations?” The third group looked at institutional innovation processes , asking
questions such as, “How do institutions evolve and how can research-for-
development (R4D) interventions strengthen the participation of poor or
marginalized groups in water management institutions and processes?”
Some papers fitted in more than one category, but we classified them where
they seemed to fit best. A few of the papers did not fit in any of the categories
and were removed from the analysis.
Action arenas
The concept of action arenas can be applied at different levels, for the CPWF
portfolio, ranging from the household to the transnational river basin. Lebel et
al. (2009) examined the role of aquaculture in affecting bargaining power
between men and women at the household and community levels. They found
that participation in aquaculture provided action resources that empowered
women within the household, but only contributed indirectly to women's
empowerment at the community level. Leadership in women's groups was
more likely to provide action resources that translated into authority in the
community action arenas.