12 August 2013: The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) released its 2013 to 2018 Partnership Strategy highlighting plans to achieve Goal 3 of the Centre’s strategy on transforming agroforestry, including through partnerships.

The Strategy highlights past achievements including the formulation of approaches, rules and monitoring systems for partnerships, the mobilization of national resources for agroforestry, the inclusion of agroforestry in a variety of fora, and the engagement of a broad range of stakeholders in the promotion and implementation of agroforestry (including the private sector). The Strategy also reports that over 1000 partners have been engaged thus far, a majority of which in the areas of research and capacity building.

In planning for the future, the Strategy sets as its goal, the engagement of stakeholder organizations for agroforestry science and practice. To achieve this, the Strategy aims to establish enduring, equal and strategic partnerships based on ensuring relevance, adding value to existing activities, developing local capacity, and promoting synergies and efficient management.

The Strategy differentiates between long-term partnerships, project-based partnerships and partnerships between scientists. All partnerships should, according to the Strategy, be guided by a number of criteria including common vision and planning, sustainability, comparative advantages, respect for intellectual property rights, and openness and transparency, among others.

ICRAF is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [Publication: Partnership Strategy 2013-2018]