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National Science Foundation in the USA and supporting important MAIZE‐relevant partnerships with US
universities, USDA, and national agricultural research systems of diverse countries.
Among the CGIAR centers listed on the title page, ICRISAT and IFPRI currently receive research funding
from MAIZE equivalent activities. There are a number of collaborative activities which are not
documented through funding flows, and funding could evolve for the other centers (CIAT, ICRAF, ILRI,
and IRRI) to be included in forthcoming MAIZE‐funded activities. As an example, advanced discussions
are now under way to fund ILRI in SI2‐related maize‐legume systems activities in eastern and southern
Africa.
Partnership interactions
Based on this strong and dynamic partnership network, MAIZE partnership approaches will initially be
structured around four sub‐regions—West and Central Africa, eastern and southern Africa, Asia and
North Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, for SI 1 through SI 7 (Figures 9 and 10). Global
strategic research is associated with SI 8 and SI 9. As MAIZE activities progress, collaborators will
prioritize and redefine their engagements through systematic web‐based interactions and annual
meetings, thereby streamlining and focusing both funded and self‐funded partnership engagements,
increasing cross‐regional collaboration, and formalizing the engagement of new partners, as well as
capitalizing on experiences in different geographic regions (crucial for activities in systems‐focused
Strategic Initiatives).
Given the high level of bilateral funding for MAIZE, the short duration of bilateral projects (average: 2
years), the role of external and MAIZE‐managed funding, and other reasons (staff and leadership
changes in partner organizations, changes in national and institutional priorities), partnerships in MAIZE
will be fluid. Partners will join or leave, modify their roles, and participate less or more in priority‐setting
and decision‐making according to their own preferences and to the way other partners perceive their
present and potential contributions.
Annual research planning and review meetings in the four sub‐regions and for the global Strategic
Initiatives will constitute fundamental tools to manage and allocate funds for partner engagement, and
do so in a participatory manner. Research planning and review meetings will focus on relevant Strategic
Initiatives by sub‐region, include research partners in a meeting agenda that is differentiated by the
extent of on‐going activities in a particular sub‐region, and include both MAIZE‐wide and SI‐specific
discussions. One effective tool to agree upon future activities and research partners is participatory
priority setting, based on impact pathways, available budgets, peer‐review, track record of fulfilling past
commitments, and existing or likely contributions of research and development partners.
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