Logan Cochrane

Designing the next generation of climate adaptation research for development

Adaptation research has changed significantly in recent years as funders and researchers seek to encourage greater impact, ensure value for money and promote interdisciplinarity across the natural and social sciences. While these developments are inherently positive, they also bring fresh challenges. With this in mind, this paper presents an agenda for the next generation of climate adaptation research for development. The agenda is based on insights from a dialogue session held at the 2016 Adaptation Futures conference as well as drawing on the collective experience of the authors. We propose five key areas that need to be changed in order to meet the needs of future adaptation research, namely: increasing transparency and consultation in research design; encouraging innovation in the design and delivery of adaptation research programmes; demonstrating impact on the ground; addressing incentive structures; and promoting more effective brokering, knowledge management and learning. As new international funding initiatives start to take shape, we underscore the importance of learning from past experiences and scaling-up of successful innovations in research funding models.

The Geography of Development Studies: Leaving No One Behind

Abstract Whereas the Millennium Development Goals sought reductions, the Sustainable Development Goals have set forth bold new objectives of leaving no one behind. This Commentary explores the continued geographic prioritization and exclusions within development studies research and some of the causes. The status quo is entrenching exclusion. A transformation of research, and the research community, is required to ensure that no one is left behind. Providing the evidence to support decision-making that is equitable and inclusive necessitates critical reflection of the exclusions that exist, along with innovation and creativity in how the research community can address gaps and support the more inclusive SDG agenda. Thought leadership and evidence will be the foundation that transforms our research and practice – if we, as a community of researchers, heed the call.

Average crop yield (2001–2017) in Ethiopia: Trends at national, regional and zonal levels

This article presents average agricultural yield data per hectare for key cereal, legume and root crops from 2001 until 2017. Data was obtained from the annual Agricultural Sample Surveys of the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) of Ethiopia. We present data at national, regional (SNNPRS) and zonal (Wolaita) levels. The data shows that average yields for all crops, at all levels, show increasing trends during the time period. Data for the main cereal crops is consistent and aligns with literature relatively well, however we raise questions about the root crop data in an effort to encourage greater critical reflection of components of data from the CSA.

Does diversification enhance community resilience? A critical perspective

Abstract Resilience has become a key component of how practitioners and scholars conceptualize sustainable communities. Given sustainability’s focal role in shaping international development funding, policies and programming it is imperative that we critically engage with the concepts embedded within the resilience discourse – including prescriptions for increased diversity. This article contributes to a discourse that questions this common recommendation for diversification, particularly as it relates to agricultural livelihoods and smallholder production. We provide examples from Ethiopia that demonstrate the two limitations of diversification. The first, that some forms of diversification are, in fact, maladaptive and reduce resilience. The second, that diversification is not always equal – some forms of diversification are only accessible to the most vulnerable. As the 2030 Agenda moves ahead in shaping what is considered important, and therefore funded and measured, we argue that much more context-specific nuance is required within the resilience discourse.

Book review: McGovern, M. 2017: A Socialist Peace? Explaining the Absence of War in an African Country

McGovern, M. 2017: A Socialist Peace? Explaining the Absence of War in an African Country. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 249 pp.

Book Review: Abbink, Jon. 2017: A Decade of Ethiopia: Politics, Economy and Society 2004–2016

30.00 (Paperback). ISBN: 9780226453606.

Large-scale transdisciplinary collaboration for adaptation research: Challenges and insights

Abbink, Jon. 2017: A Decade of Ethiopia: Politics, Economy and Society 2004–2016. Leiden: Brill. 253 pp.

Is the Push for Gender Sensitive Research Advancing the SDG Agenda of Leaving No One Behind

24.00. ISBN: 9789004345881.

Pathways of Legal Advocacy for Change: Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association

Abstract An increasing number of research programs seek to support adaptation to climate change through the engagement of large‐scale transdisciplinary networks that span countries and continents. While transdisciplinary research processes have been a topic of reflection, practice, and refinement for some time, these trends now mean that the global change research community needs to reflect and learn how to pursue collaborative research on a large scale. This paper shares insights from a seven‐year climate change adaptation research program that supports collaboration between more than 450 researchers and practitioners across four consortia and 17 countries. The experience confirms the importance of attention to careful design for transdisciplinary collaboration, but also highlights that this alone is not enough. The success of well‐designed transdisciplinary research processes is also strongly influenced by relational and systemic features of collaborative relationships. Relational features include interpersonal trust, mutual respect, and leadership styles, while systemic features include legal partnership agreements, power asymmetries between partners, and institutional values and cultures. In the new arena of large‐scale collaborative science efforts, enablers of transdisciplinary collaboration include dedicated project coordinators, leaders at multiple levels, and the availability of small amounts of flexible funds to enable nimble responses to opportunities and unexpected collaborations.

Applying Ostrom’s institutional analysis and development framework to soil and water conservation activities in north-western Ethiopia

Abstract Following decades of advocacy, collecting sex-disaggregated data and conducting gender analyses have become an expected aspect of research in development studies. We strongly support this shift, yet it has focused attention upon one manifestation of inequality. We explore five dimensions of inequality, as expressed in health metrics in Ethiopia, to highlight diverse manifestations of inequalities. We call for a broader approach to understanding inequalities and how the simultaneous experience of multiple, intersecting inequalities, is greater than their sum. This shift is essential to support the ‘leave no one behind’ agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals.