The institutional history of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food - Water Scarcity, Livelihoods and Food Security - page 78

In the rest of the chapter, I discuss the CPWF's Phase 1, its focus on expanded
partnerships and its diverse research on water and food. We go on to describe the
role of the Basin Focal Projects (BFPs) in revisiting the CPWF's assumptions. I
then show how: (1) Phase 1 and BFP research results; (2) recommendations for
focus and coherence by an external review and the CGIAR Science Council;
and (3) participatory analysis of impact pathways, stimulated the design of Phase
2 with its emphasis on R4D. Finally, I discuss the challenges that the CPWF
faced, its achievements and what I learned about R4D.

Origins of Phase 1
In 2001, a proposal for a Challenge Program on Water and Food was submitted
to the CGIAR interim Science Council (iSC) by a consortium of partners
with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) as lead Center.
The proposal envisioned “an ambitious research, extension and capacity-
building program” with an anticipated 10-15-year timeline. The CPWF's
stated development objective was to “increase the productivity of water for
food and livelihoods, in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and
socially acceptable” (CPWF Consortium, 2002, p. 4). The immediate objec-
tives of the Program were:

1 Food security for all at the household level.

2 Poverty alleviation, through increased sustainable livelihoods in rural and

peri-urban areas.

3 Improved health through better nutrition, lower agriculture-related

pollution and reduced water-related diseases.

4 Environmental security through improved water quality as well as the

maintenance of water-related ecosystem services, including biodiversity.

The CPWF proposed to address water scarcity and related development
constraints by increasing agricultural water productivity, that is, producing
more food with less water (CPWF, 2005, p. 1). The proposal's business model
had five key elements:

1 Consortium Steering Committee: sharing decision-making on strategic

management and quality control through the CPWF Consortium of
CGIAR Centers, national agricultural research and extension systems
(NARES), advanced research institutes and NGO partners;

2 Thematic groups: setting research agendas through communities of

practice (thematic groups) in five key and interlinked research themes,
coordinated by CGIAR Centers;

3 Benchmark basins: providing geographical focus with an emphasis on

regional and local priorities and emphasis on impacts through benchmark
basins coordinated primarily by NARES partners;

4 Competitive grants: driving the research agenda forward through com-

petitive grants made from core funds of the CPWF, with grant awards