CGIAR has launched a pilot initiative to develop Country Strategy Frameworks (CSFs), a new mechanism aimed at consolidating research, partnerships, and investments around nationally owned priorities to achieve impact at scale. These frameworks are intended to move beyond fragmented pilot projects and create coordinated, system-wide approaches that align with CGIAR’s 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy, emphasizing stronger country ownership, reduced institutional silos, and clear pathways for scaling research and innovations through national systems.
Nepal is one of three countries selected for this pilot, with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) serving as the lead agency. IWMI’s Country Representative for Nepal, Manohara Khadka, was appointed as CGIAR Country Convener, positioning the institute at the center of CGIAR’s efforts to integrate research and innovation with national priorities. CSFs focus on key thematic action areas including climate adaptation and mitigation, environmental health and biodiversity, gender equality, youth and social inclusion, nutrition, health and food security, and poverty reduction, livelihoods, and jobs.
A national workshop in Nepal marked an early step in the co-design process, bringing together government representatives, CGIAR centres, research institutions, civil society, private sector actors, and farming communities. The workshop aimed to define the CSF’s structure, content, governance, and operationalization, ensuring the framework translates CGIAR’s global systems-transformation agenda into a nationally relevant research and innovation portfolio. Nepal faces significant pressures on its agrifood and natural resource systems from climate change, migration, unsustainable farming, and supply-demand imbalances, making coordinated action between research, policy, and investment increasingly urgent.
Participants in the co-design process identified priority research areas focused on climate-resilient, inclusive, and technology-driven agriculture and water systems that integrate biodiversity, local knowledge, and socio-economic needs. Mechanisms such as payment for ecosystem services, multi-stakeholder governance models, the water-energy-food-environment (WEFE) nexus, and collective farming were proposed for inclusion. Stakeholders emphasized the importance of shared planning, clarity of roles, and engaging a broad spectrum of actors—including non-traditional partners like finance institutions, farmer cooperatives, and private sector entities—to strengthen innovation, capacity building, scaling, and outreach activities.
Funding challenges were highlighted as a major barrier to program alignment and uptake of innovations. The CSF is expected to streamline resource mobilization and procedural approvals, prioritizing innovations that are fit-for-purpose with clear cost-benefit and social impact assessments. Integrated platforms, shared governance, coordinated partnerships, and aligned research priorities were identified as central to the CSF’s development.
A government-led working group will guide the co-creation of the CSF, ensuring that the framework is implementable, country-owned, and capable of transforming Nepal’s agrifood, land, and water systems. As the CSF progresses toward institutionalization, it will provide a roadmap for coordinated research and investment, promoting sustainable, climate-resilient, and socially inclusive development in Nepal.
