Impact Assessment Program

• Returns to ACIAR investment
• 2008-09 activities
• Outcomes from 2006-07 impact assessments
• Adoption study reports
• Impact assessment publications
• Impacts of multilateral R&D 
• Methodology for quantifying impacts

ACIAR has, from its beginning, placed significant emphasis on assessment of the impact of the research it funds, particularly focusing on quantifying the returns to research investments. It has used these assessments to account to stakeholders and to support improved decisions making and management of its funds. ACIAR has been a world leader in applying the extensive body of existing literature to this area of investment analysis and has also contributed to this literature through this process.

In ACIAR's early days' quantification of potential impacts were used to support aggregate priority setting and more effective project development, as well as enhancing the Centre's public accountability. As research efforts matured more attention has been focused on quantifying the returns on these investments by measuring impacts and adoption.

In recent years the focus has been on:

• Qualitative assessments of the adoption of research outcomes three years after project completion for all large projects;
• An annual program of detailed benefit/cost impact evaluations of projects once adoption has had time to show real trends;
• Thematic evaluations of larger numbers of projects in similar areas;
• Overviews of all past impact evaluation studies and an assessment of returns to total ACIAR funding.

In addition, the experience gained through these activities has been used to provide training courses for research groups so that eventual impact and adoption is an integrated part of research project design and management.

Most evaluations have been undertaken by independent economists with special expertise in this R&D impact evaluation area.

As part of the evaluations areas for practical methodology development have been identified and advances developed. Examples are methods for measurement of poverty alleviation and the impact of health improvements. ACIAR has also worked closely with institutions, such as IFPRI, to develop comprehensive, consistent software for undertaking these evaluations and has used these to train collaborating partners.

The Impact Assessment program currently runs two types of finished project assessments of ACIAR projects.  The first is a set of ‘adoption studies', which is undertaken on all large project 3years after completion.  The aim of the adoption studies is to determine the uptake of project results, and they involve the original Australian Project Leader revisiting the partner country.  Adoption studies are done annually and compiled into an Annual Adoption Study publication. 

The second finished project evaluation is an impact assessment study (IAS).  These studies are undertaken by external reviewers and involve extensive review of project impact and adoption in the partner country and Australia.  The impact assessments provide estimates of the returns to the research investment on a project or suite of projects.  These returns are based on estimates of the economic, social and environmental impacts as well as important scientific and capacity building impacts. In recent years we have especially focused on quantifying the benefits form capacity building impacts.