Agricultural Research Evaluation and Impact Assessment: Australian Center for International Agricultural Research

(ACIAR) and University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) organized a successful training workshop at UAF
It is widely recognised that growth in agricultural production leads to improved economic conditions in both developed and developing countries. Nevertheless, despite high returns to agricultural research, available funds are limited. As such, there is an increasing demand from stakeholders, especially donors, for national and international research organizations to show that they are wisely investing the research money that have been entrusted to them. Therefore, capacity building to imbue an impact culture in the different organizations is the need of the time. As a result of the special efforts made by Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq, Director Institute of Agricultural & Resource Economics at UAF; Dr. Deborah Templeton from ACIAR along with other resource persons from UAF jointly held a training workshop titled Concepts and Tools for Agricultural Research Evaluation and Impact Assessment at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad from November 30th December 08, 2012. The program started with a keynote address from Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Vice Chancellor UAF. the knowledge and skills necessary to undertake economic impact assessments of agricultural research. The requirements for clarity, transparency, and credible evidence in research evaluation and impact assessment were also covered effectively. The primary outputs of the training workshop were two-fold. First, the capacity of the participants to undertake quantitative impact assessment was enhanced. Second, a collaborative bond was developed between the participants themselves, and between the impact groups from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF). The training workshop was concluded with a dinner at staff club UAF which was attended by all the participants, Dr. Deborah Templeton, Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan and many other invited guests. All the participants vowed to imbue the impact culture in their own organization while returning and it was hoped that the cooperation between UAF, ACIAR and the participants institutions would continue in the future.

The professionals from different institutions of Pakistan were invited which included Planning & Evaluation Cell of Agriculture Department; Technology Transfer Unit, PARC; Planning Commission of Pakistan; Social Sciences Institute, NARC; COMSATS, Abbotabad Campus; Agriculture Department, KPK; Sindh Agriculture University, Planning Department and Agri. Research; Agriculture Research Baluchistan; Punjab Economics Research Institute; and professionals from UAF. The primary focus of the training workshop was to provide participants with