Harnessing research for development to tackle wicked problems - Water Scarcity, Livelihoods and Food Security - page 45

3 Harnessing research for

development to tackle
wicked problems

Michael Victor, a* Boru Douthwaite, b Tonya Schuetz, c
Amanda Harding, d Larry W. Harrington e and
Olufunke Cofie f

a CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems WLE,
Vientiane, Lao PDR; b WorldFish Center, Penang, Malaysia; c CGIAR
Challenge Program on Water and Food CPWF, Munich, Germany;
d CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food CPWF, Paris, France;
e CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food CPWF, Ithaca, NY, USA;
f International Water Management Institute IWMI, Accra, Ghana;
* Corresponding author, [e-mail].

Introduction: From a linear model to an iterative approach
The CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) saw water
management as an entry point for addressing broader development objectives,
which, although complex, are usually closely linked. The primary objective
was to produce more food while maintaining the sustainability and resilience
of the agroecosystems. This meant using technical, institutional and policy
change to improve water management to reduce poverty, ensure equitable
resource use, preserve ecosystems services and adapt to climate change.
These are wicked problems (Rittel and Webber, 1973), which are difficult to
solve because their requirements are contradictory, changing, hard to reconcile
and often not well understood. Solutions typically require many people to
change mindsets and behavior. Wicked problems require an integrated social
approach to consult and negotiate common understanding as a problem
unfolds so that responses to it are acceptable to different social groups whose
interests may conflict (Carlile et al., 2013).
Wicked problems are not amenable to traditional linear model approaches
where innovations are primarily technical, such as new technologies to
improve productivity. In the linear model research results and technologies flow
from research stations into farmers' fields.
The CPWF underwent a process of learning how to carry out research on
wicked problems that is relevant and related to users' needs, including farmers,
development agencies and policy-makers. In its Phase 2 (2009-2013) the
CPWF adopted a research-for-development (R4D) approach, which evolved
with experience (Hall, 2013).