The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR and World Agroforestry (ICRAF) joined forces in 2019, leveraging a combined 65 years’ experience in research on the role of forests and trees in solving critical global challenges.
Strengthening science is one of the four key institutional goals of World Agroforestry
To support science quality in all our projects, World Agroforestry has invested in the Research Methods Group (RMG), in partnership with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).
This group ensures that our research is driven by clear conceptual frameworks consisting of problem definition, hypotheses, models and research questions, and is implemented with well-documented research designs and methods, and appropriate statistical analyses.
The Research Methods Group operates through an interdisciplinary team both at HQ and in the regions. The group designs, manages, monitors and provides technical support to project/programme development, research design, data management, data analysis and publication of results.
Its key mandate is to contribute to enhancing the Centre’s science quality through the development and testing of appropriate methods aimed at building a scientifically rigorous, reproducible, inclusive and robust evidence base for all aspects related to agroforestry.
The activities of the group are organized around three major clusters:
- Projects are based on appropriate research designs and apply high quality research methods to deliver their outputs
- Scientists have access to research quality systems that are helpful
- RMG staff lead or contribute to high value data products, scientific publications and other outputs that are part of project deliverables, and those that contribute to scientifically rigorous and robust evidence for all aspects related to the Centre’s strategy.
Capacity building of partners in effective research design and methodologies is also a fundamental aspect of our work.
ICRAF is also practising an “Open Data Initiative” and the Research Methods Group maintains all data in the public domain, which allows our work to be widely applied and improved.