activity |
detailed set of tasks to produce the outputs that are specified in the research and related themes |
alternative suppliers or research providers |
other institutions that have the capabilities and mandates to undertake the research and related themes identified as candidates for priority assessment |
area |
major disciplinary and multidisciplinary aggregations established by the institute to address problems and constraints and identify candidate or indicative themes; a focus group addresses each area |
biosafety |
safety from biological materials such as pathogens (bacteria, viruses, parasites) and genetically modified organisms |
camelids |
camels, llamas, alpacas |
candidate themes or topics |
see indicative or candidate themes or topics |
capacity building |
enhancing the capabilities of institutions to undertake their assigned responsibilities in a more effective manner |
center-commissioned external review |
evaluation of research and related activities of the institute undertaken external review by a panel with no current affiliation with the institute at the request of the institute |
comparative advantage |
the improvement in overall cost-effectiveness of outcomes when parties specialise in components in which they have lower opportunity costs; new comparative advantages can be developed over time and are not immutable |
complementary advantage |
a niche where a technical input by the institute to balance an input by partners leads to a multiplier effect or spillover resulting in an outcome much greater than the sum of the individual contributions |
composite index |
using agreed criteria, a measure of how well an indicative or candidate theme contributes to attaining the goals of the institute |
critical mass |
the minimum complement of scientists needed to provide leadership and generate impact in a scientific field of endeavour |
crop–livestock system |
a livestock system in which animals are integrated with the production of crops in such a way that they complement each other |
Decision-support system |
a formal method or mechanism, often but not always computer based, for generating and collating information in an interactive fashion and providing it to end users; it is designed to assist in making management and other decisions |
delivery pathways |
the mechanisms by which research leads to technology options that are adopted by livestock keepers |
Delphi approach |
an approach where initial estimates are shared among respondents, who are then given the opportunity to change or revalidate their original estimates, based upon what the rest of the group provide as their estimates |
discovery-to- delivery-to-impact |
the continuum from more basic research aimed at new understanding and knowledge through to the design of new technology options and their packaging to facilitate adoption and the subsequent generation of new income streams |
ex-ante impact assessment |
evaluation of the likely consequences of investments in R&D before investment is made; this may include effects on the environment, the poor, biodiversity and capacity building of NARS |
experiment |
smallest unit of activity or task with detailed protocol setting out hypotheses, background and work plans |
ex-post impact assessment |
evaluation of the actual consequences of investments in R&D after investment has been made; this may include effects on the environment, the poor, biodiversity and capacity building of NARS |
external influence |
trends and developments in the global ecological, social, cultural and socio-economic environments that will have a bearing on the future strategies and priorities for livestock R&D |
feed grains |
grains fed to animals, as differentiated from grains fed directly to humans (food grains) |
focus group |
A number of external and internal participants in a team established at ILRI to undertake a review of a particular area of livestock research and related activities, to identify indicative or candidate themes for further consideration and to prepare theme briefs describing their expected inputs, outputs and impacts |
food grains |
grains eaten directly by humans, as differentiated from feed grains fed to animals |
genetically modified organism |
organism that has been altered through recombinant DNA technology |
Genome |
the total complement of genetic material (DNA) in a cell or an organism |
geographic information system |
a computer-based system used to store and manipulate digital geographic information |
goals |
the aims and objectives of strategic options and candidate or indicative themes |
grassland livestock system |
see grazing livestock system |
grazing livestock system |
a livestock system in which the animals primarily depend on pasture for their feed requirements, on an ad libitum rotational basis on either private or communal land; also referred to as pastoral, rangeland or grassland systems |
indicative or candidate themes or topics |
research and related topics that address the identified major problems facing poor livestock keepers in developing countries, which will be addressed in the priority assessment framework proposed |
industrial livestock system |
a livestock system in which large numbers of animals are kept in a system confined, capital-intensive environment with controlled management of feeds and diseases; also referred to as landless or intensive systems |
intensive livestock system |
see industrial livestock system |
international public goods |
public goods that are available to all countries (see also public goods) |
Key research area |
research into a particular area of problems or constraints that inhibit improvements in the welfare of poor people, including food and nutritional security and endowment of the environmental resources on which they depend |
knowledge products |
publications, from conventional paper products through computer based multimedia and expert systems, that combine and link information, from ILRI and other sources, with information and knowledge generated by ILRI research. These products go far beyond the traditional concept of information products such as databases and bibliographies and add value to the outputs of ILRI's research |
landless livestock system |
see industrial livestock system |
livestock production system |
the type of agroclimatic and socio-economic environments within which livestock are managed to produce animal products and livelihoods |
Livestock Revolution |
the term used by Delgado and others (1999) to describe the substantial growth in livestock consumption and production projected to occur in developing countries to 2020 |
log frame |
objectives and outputs of the organisation, programme or project to be appreciated through a table. The specific milestones that serve as markers towards achieving the objectives leading to the overall goal are presented in a simple matrix format |
marker-assisted introgression |
repeated backcrossing to introgress a specific gene into an elite genotype (for example, introducing trypotolerance genes into highly productive but non-tolerant breeds). Genetic markers are used to measure the percentage of the recurrent parent for each individual in each generation and then to choose the genotypes (individuals) having the highest percentage of the recurrent parent at each generation |
medium-term plan |
a document the CGIAR requires of each IARC, which details the research and related activities that the centre plans to undertake, along with the resource requirements over a 3-year period |
mixed crop–livestock system |
sedentary production of crops and livestock on the same farm. Animal feed is provided by crop grain and crop residues as well as grazing, and animal manures are spread on the cropland. Animals are often also used for traction, transport and home consumption |
monogastrics |
pigs, poultry, fish and companion animals, which have only a single compartmented stomach; at present, ILRI work with monogastrics emphasises pigs and poultry |
Net-based technologies |
information and knowledge that can be made freely and immediately available to a wide audience on the Internet (World Wide Web) |
non-ruminants |
see monogastrics |
opportunity costs |
the economic value of the use of resources next best to the use to which they are currently assigned |
pastoral livestock system |
see grazing livestock system |
priority Assessment Criteria Working Group |
small group of ILRI economists working to develop a set of standard criteria to use in assessing priorities among themes them |
priority assessment framework |
a procedure developed to evaluate research and related themes to rank them based on agreed criteria |
private goods |
goods and services that have a recognised market where they can be exchanged at agreed prices and where consumption of them by one prevents consumption by another |
public goods |
goods and services for which there are no formal markets or prices in a country and where consumption by one does not prevent consumption by others |
public health externalities |
activities that have as an unintended side effect the spread of disease to the community in general |
rangeland livestock system |
see grazing livestock system |
recommendation or research domain |
a relatively homogeneous crop–livestock–groforestry system with similar productivity constraints, research opportunities, agro-ecologies and resource endowments to which the same new technology or policy options are expected to be adapted or applied |
research and related themes |
set of related activities and unit of analysis within an area, aimed at addressing specified problems, and used for priority setting and resource allocations |
research efficiency outputs |
results or outputs from research that have as a major implication the improvement in the quality or timeliness of the research of others |
Research products |
the intermediate outputs from the conduct of research that are necessary to generate ultimate economic, environmental and other impacts |
research tools |
analytical techniques and methodologies required for the efficient conduct of research |
resource-poor livestock keepers |
includes households with or without access to land, who manage or own livestock for home consumption or market sale or both, and whose resources do not generate sufficient cash or non-cash income to place them above the poverty line |
restricted funding |
financial and other support that is provided with clear specifications as to where or on what the resources can be spent |
ruminants |
includes cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo and non-domesticated species such as deer and antelope. Characterised by multicompartmented stomach and the presence of anaerobic microbes in an additional stomach called the rumen |
satellite imagery |
digital raster data obtained by remotely sensing wavelengths of energy from the electromagnetic spectrum to get information about the earth's surface or atmosphere |
science and research continuum |
the range from basic, strategic, applied, adaptive, diagnostic and participatory research |
scientific critical mass |
the minimum number and disciplinary composition of a team of scientists required to have a core of competence to address the major strategic options identified in the strategy |
spatial analysis |
examination of how geographic features relate to one another over space |
Spearman rank correlations |
standard statistical measures. Instead of the cardinal values of two variables, their ordinal ranks are used to calculate the correlation coefficients between them |
stakeholders |
those who have a vested scientific or economic interest in the outcomes of the institute |
steering committee |
small group of persons constituted by ILRI representing wide knowledge and experienced in strategic plan and medium-term plan development and priority setting to oversee the process |
strategic alliances |
the forging of associations among like-minded institutions, bound by shared goals, responsibilities and resources |
strategic approach |
the type and nature of research and related activities aiming to solve the major problems and alleviate constraints and thus improve the well being and security of resource-poor livestock keepers in key research areas in developing countries |
strategic research |
research that is aimed at providing generic solutions to problems or constraints to agricultural and economic development (as distinct from either basic or applied research); its results then require applied or adaptive research before the knowledge is translated into technology or policy options for adoption |
strategy |
the approach to be taken to achieve planned outcomes |
stratified animal production system |
a combination of two or three of the following systems: grazing, mixed crop–livestock, industrial |
subunit vaccine |
a vaccine based on specific antigens of the infectious agent; they stimulate an immune response in the body of the host and so confer resistance to the disease |
systems analysis |
a branch of enquiry concerning natural or humanly induced assemblages of components that interact for a common purpose, whose task is to understand the interrelationships between the components and the operation of the system as a whole. The rationale for systems analysis is that without an understanding of the system and its components, an improvement in one component cannot be presumed to lead to overall improvement in the whole |
theme brief |
a document that details the problems, potential solutions and approach, time frame, expected poverty, economic and environmental impacts, and resource requirements, based upon which the theme can be evaluated in the priority assessment framework |
unrestricted funding |
financial and other support that is provided to the institute to use at its discretion on any aspect of its agreed priorities, rather than on specific components only |
Withdrawal period |
the time after a drug or chemical is used before its residual effect has reduced to the point that the plant or animal on which it has been used is considered safe for humans to consume |