PROCESSES AND METHODS FOR RESEARCH-PROGRAM PRIORITY SETTING - THE EXPERIENCE OF THE KENYA-AGRICULTURAL-RESEARCH-INSTITUTE WHEAT PROGRAM

As funding for agricultural research in developing countries becomes i ncreasingly scarce, national research institutes must develop efficien t processes for targeting available resources to meet client needs, Th is paper presents the application of a rigorous process for setting na tional commodity programme research priorities both spatially and by m ajor research theme, The exercise is conducted in three phases with th e Kenya Agricultural Research Institute Wheat Programme, First, a work ing group of Wheat Programme scientists develops a consensus on progra mme target zones as well as the potential for the generation and adopt ion of technologies in those zones, Secondly, the working group assump tions are combined with available economic data to develop ex ante eco nomic surplus measures of programme impact, Thirdly, the results are p resented to a larger group of programme stakeholders in order to revie w the working group assumptions, establish research priorities and the n translate those priorities into guidelines for research managers on resource allocation decisions, (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.