Unlocking Farmers' Potential: Institutionalising Farmer Participatory Research and Extension in Southern EthiopiaIis the second publication in FARM-Africa's Project Experiences Series. It draws from work carried out by FARM-Africa and partners to incorporate Farmer Participatory Research into the activities of government organisations involved in developing and disseminating agricultural technologies. The publication presents the key elements that supported the institutionalisation process and the challenges that stemmed from working within bureaucratic procedures. With its focus on the lessons generated by the project, the booklet is essential reading for those working to institutionalise Farmer Participatory Research in Ethiopia and beyond.Authors: Ejigu Jonfa & Ann Waters-BayerISBN: 1 904029 06 XFor further information on FARM-Africa publications, please contact Lynne Slowey or Laura Greenwood on info@farmafrica.org.uk or 020 7430 0440.All publications are available to download on our website at: http://www.farmafrica.org.uk/resources.cfm

Horton, D., A. Alexaki, S. Bennett-Lartey, K.N. Brice, D. Campilan, F. Carden, J. de Souza Silva, L.T. Duong, I. Khadar, A. Maestrey Boza, I, Kayes Muniruzzaman, J. Perez, M. Somarriba Chang, R. Vernooy, and J. Watts. 2003. Developing and Evaluating Capacity in Research and Development Organization. ISSN 1021-2310. 8p. ISNAR Briefing Paper.The international aid community is placing a growing emphasis on developing the capacity of local organizations as the key to alleviating poverty and hunger in the developing world. Ensuring the effectiveness of a capacity building effort requires the appropriate use of evaluation. Yet few organizations have systematically monitored or evaluated organizational development processes. In January 2000, ISNAR began an ambitious "Evaluating Capacity Development" project, which aims to improve capacity development efforts in research and development organizations through evaluation. This Briefing Paper explains how the project used an action-learning approach, bringing together people from various countries and different types of organizations. These people conducted six evaluation studies over the course of three years, learning a great deal about capacity development and evaluation in the process. One of the key findings was the importance of involving staff and stakeholders in the evaluation process. A participatory approach fosters commitment to building the future of an organization and can speed up decision making. As people "learn by doing", they strengthen their own capacity for evaluation and are motivated to pass their knowledge on to others. When conducted in a participatory and structured way, evaluation can make a substantial contribution to improving overall organizational performance.