Introduction

Working with others is essential to NRI's success. The establishment of the Institute as part of the Imperial Institute in 1894 arose from the desire to develop ways of utilizing natural products from tropical countries in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, the Caribbean and Latin America. Over the years the remit of NRI has expanded to cover most aspects of natural resource management for, and with, our partners in the South. The approach has evolved from one of technical assistance to the building of relationships that emphasize capacity building and knowledge transfer as the basis for sustainable management of renewable natural resources by local communities. NRI now plays its partnership role within a complex international web of governmental, academic, commercial and civil society organizations. Nurturing existing partnerships and exploring new ones is central to our role, both in development assistance and as a centre of excellence in the UK higher education sector. Who are our partners? Possibly the most important are the organizations that provide our working interface with the poor people, mainly - but not exclusively - in the South, who are the ultimate beneficiaries of our work. Great strides have been made in improving the livelihoods of poor people in recent decades and NRI has played a significant part in this achievement.

 

Nevertheless much remains to be done. More than 800 million people still remain food insecure or lack access to other primary commodities such as water to meet their basic needs. With this in mind, we work with others at all levels from individual farmers and local communities, through national and international research organizations, non-governmental organizations to bilateral and multilateral funding bodies and aid agencies - in order to achieve our mission.

Research partnerships

Typically, NRI's adaptive research targets specific beneficiary groups in developing country communities and is undertaken in partnership with other European and Southern scientists. These partnerships often arise from, or lead to, collaborative research activities of a more strategic nature together with the CGIAR research centres. NRI is has current active links with most of the CGIAR Centres, especially IITA and ICRISAT.

 

In recent years, better global partnerships for agricultural research for development, with common objectives, have been increasingly recognized as being necessary if international development targets are to be met. NRI plays an active part in this both within fora in the UK (UK Forum for Agricultural Research for Development) and Europe (European Forum for Agricultural Research for Development), and by working with regional research organizations in many other parts of the world, especially Africa and Asia. In East Africa for example, NRI has been working with ASARECA both on the basis of partnerships between individual scientists and through joint activities between ECART on topics such as research impact assessment.

Consortia and networks

Other examples of consortia of like minded partners in which NRI plays an important role are ECART , NATURA, IPM Europe , PhAction, etc. For several of these organizations, NRI plays a key leadership and co-ordinating role by hosting the Secretariat.

Links with development agencies

NRI works in close partnership with a large range of donors both in the UK and internationally. In financial terms the most important of these are DFID, the European Commission, the World Bank, the Regional Development Banks, and UN agencies. As well as undertaking field level activities on a contractual basis with these agencies, in most cases NRI is also working with them to assist in evolving new and more effective development policies and strategies.