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Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification

Research Output Dissemination Study (RODS)

Lead Institution: University of California, Davis
Award Amount: $499,409

 /whatwedo/currentprojects/rods/index.pcf Image

Principal Investigator: Nancy J. Allen - njallen@ucdavis.edu 

Summary: The creation of the 24 Feed the Future Innovation Labs (ILs) drew on the expertise of leading universities to channel research to innovations that address priority challenges of global hunger, poverty and under-nutrition. There is a need across ILs for improved understanding and systematic tracking of outcomes and impacts of IL research investments. Decades of technology adoption studies and impact assessments has produced an abundant literature that documents the complexity of the adoption process and underscores the range of independent variables known to accelerate as well as impede adoption and scaling of innovation. A singular challenge for the Research Output Dissemination Study (RODS) is to simultaneously integrate and advance understanding of this multi- dimensional complexity and simplify it enough to allow evaluation of a broad range of innovations classified in the study as biological, management-cultural, and mechanical-physical.

Project Objectives:

  1. Determine if and how dissemination, use and adoption of a subset of transferred innovations identified in the Research Uptake Study is occurring
  2. Observe how entities working on dissemination, use, and adoption are working through commercial, public and partnership pathways, and engaging with entities ineach of these spheres including the ILs during the dissemination process
  3. Evaluate the design and implementation of the dissemination plans and relevant enabling environment factors for the innovations according to market analysis techniques as well as scaling theory and practice
  4. Provide analysis of the current and potential outcomes and impacts of the innovations on the target groups

For more information on the Research Output Dissemination Study, visit their project's webpage!

2019 Project Updates - Project Completed

  • Completed and submitted the “Research Output Dissemination Study: Examination of Dissemination Pathways in the Use, Adoption, and Scaling of Research Outputs of Feed the Future Innovation Labs” final report of the findings from the field evaluations.

  • Eight cases included in the study have generated innovations that confer both private economic benefits and public environmental benefits, some with good prospects for continued scaling and impact. The selected innovations included in the study were: Conservation Agricultural Practices to Reduce Global Land Degradation (Kenya and Nepal); Breeding Cowpea Varieties for Improved Insect Resistance (Senegal); Drying Beads for Post-Harvest Drying and Storage (Bangladesh); Index-Based Livestock Insurance (Kenya); High-Efficiency Multi-Purpose Solar Dryer to Decrease Post-Harvest Loss and Increase Crop Quality (Senegal); Low-Cost Hermetic Storage Bags for Long-Term Grain Storage (Bangladesh); Tomato Grafting for Resistance to Soil Borne Diseases (Bangladesh); and Trichoderma as Biocontrol for Soil Borne Pathogens (Nepal).

RODS Final Report

Feed the Future RODS Research Infographic