The research continuum involves IRRI and NARES partners at all steps of the process, including problem definition, methodology development, conducting experiments, data analysis, technology validation and extension. The distinction in roles is that IRRI develops enabling technologies, while NARES works toward their impact.

Collaboration comes to bear in the fund raising process and in the research outputs in various ways. It provides evidence to donors of the joint working relationship. There has to be clear allocation of responsibilities, clear plans for scaling up the results and developing publications, and willingness for data sharing among partners.

As adopted from Dr. K.L. Heong, there is need to use project work sheets to identify the institutes and donors, and to determine financial resources needed to carry out the project.

It is important to dedicate staff to the project at hand by assigning a “go-to” person devoted almost entirely to project goals, and around whom the team is built. It might require additional funding, but it helps to fill in gaps and expertise.

Another lesson as adopted from Dr. Heong is the emphasis to re-engineer the project as the ongoing experience determines the information gaps that need to be worked out and what will be the real outputs.

Basic principles of methodology for social scientists for doing socioeconomic characterization and impact assessment

This progress is the result of collective leadership and very good backstopping of core scientists at IRRI, who come forward with their own projects and own funding.

CURE will continue to function on its own because of its strength in working together - IRRI and NARES - and due to the mutual trust and will to solve these problems.

Capacity building aspects of NARES should be of high priority;

Project progress and final reports should be better summarized and synthesized both at country level and project levels. Much closer collaboration between project team and country team should be done before the meeting to prepare a good report; and

The site-specific and project-wide research plan should be further improved to show the final expected output, results, detailed research budgets (showing NARES, IRRI and ADB contributions).

Bangladesh is chosen as the site for the Fifth Annual Meeting of the CURE Steering Committee in 2006; the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) will host the meeting; Dr. Mahiul Haque, Director General of BRRI, will coordinate the meeting.