Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative for Africa and Asia Governance Activities 2012-2013 Activités de gouvernance de l'Initiative de recherche concertée sur l'adaptation en Afrique et en Asie en 2012-2013 The Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative for Africa and Asia (CARIAA) is a new seven-year donor partnership between the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and IDRC, which will run until 2019. The program supports collaborative research on three 'hot spots' selected for their combination of significant biophysical climate change impacts and high risks due to inhabitation by a large population whose adaptive capacities are limited by poverty. CARIAA aims to inform adaptation policy and practice by providing evidence on how to increase the resilience of vulnerable populations in these hot spots in Africa and South Asia. 

The program will support three consortia, one per hot spot, to conduct the research. Consortia will be selected through a competitive, global, multistep approach, as reviewed and implemented by the CARIAA governance. The selection process is also expected to require reviews by technical experts. This research support project includes all activities of the CARIAA governance bodies until the selection of the consortia has been completed, and honoraria for outside peer reviews.  

The governance structure for CARIAA has three components: the Advisory Committee on Science and Outreach (AC); the Executive Committee (EC), consisting of donor representatives and responsible for overseeing the program; and the CARIAA Team, consisting of IDRC staff responsible for designing and implementing the program strategy and providing support to consortia members. The AC will serve a consultative role only (no approval function), providing independent guidance and scientific advice as well as guidance on strategic outreach to the Executive Committee and the CARIAA Team. More specifically, the AC members roles will be:
a) Providing scientific and policy advice: This will include reviewing both scientific content and policy engagement strategies of key background documents for the program and the consortia.
b) Representing CARIAA: Committee members will also act as ambassadors for the program to help ensure its impact on policy and practice. They will use their networks with policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders to raise awareness of the program and its results.

Methodology 
1) Provision by AC of  scientific and policy advice
 - Reviewing the results of background studies on the hot spots and other key research results, as requested;
 - Reviewing the eligibility and proposal selection criteria for consortia developed by the CARIAA Team, with attention to both scientific and policy engagement strategies;
 - Reviewing proposals for consortia and making recommendations for funding to the Executive Committee;
 - Identifying strategic entry points in the policy community prior to the commencement of consortia's research programs and for the duration of the program; 
 - Providing guidance to the CARIAA Team in the development and implementation of an overarching analytical framework to extract aggregate level evidence; 
 - Proposing eligibility and selection criteria for, and advising on outcomes of, any further calls for proposals as required; and
 - Responding to queries and requests from the Executive Committee as required on an ongoing basis. 
2) Travel by AC members to Meetings/Events  
 - Acting as ambassadors for CARIAA by facilitating relationships with partners and stakeholders, including policy makers at all levels-local, national, regional, and international; 
 - Using professional networks as channels for the dissemination of key messages from CARIAA programming and results; and
 - Representing CARIAA at key strategic events as required throughout the program.
3) Peer Reviews of proposals
 - Experts will be identified and hired to conduct a review, as required, at different stages of the consortia selection process.   Reviews can be conducted at the concept note stage, or at the full proposal stage.   

Calendar of Activities for 2012/2013
Date: January 2013, London, UK				
Key Activities: 
 - AC inception and governance strategy
 - Review of documents for the call for consortia 
 - Review general progress e.g. Doha background studies meeting, Montreal consultations etc 
 - EC deliberation of AC recommendations 								
Date: May 2013, London, UK
Key Activities:	
 - Review of concept notes  
 - EC deliberation of AC recommendations 
Date: Fall 2013, London, UK                                       
Key Activities:
 - Review of full proposals
 - EC deliberation of AC recommendations
Date: Open
 - AC members represent CARIAA at key regional and global events L'Initiative de recherche concertée sur l'adaptation en Afrique et en Asie (IRCAAA) est un programme de recherche d'une durée sept années, financé par le CRDI et par le Department for International Development (DFID) du Royaume-Uni. Elle prendra fin en 2019. L'IRCAAA soutient des travaux de recherche concertée sur trois " zones cruciales " choisies parce que les changements climatiques y ont des répercussions biophysiques importantes et qu'elles présentent en même temps des risques élevés : les régions semi-arides, les deltas et les bassins hydrographiques alimentés par l'eau des glaciers et des manteaux neigeux. L'IRCAAA vise à renforcer la résilience des populations vulnérables et à améliorer leurs moyens de subsistance dans ces zones cruciales en soutenant la recherche concertée en vue d'éclairer les politiques et les pratiques d'adaptation en Afrique et en Asie du Sud. 

Le programme fournira un appui à trois consortiums, un par zone cruciale, qui réaliseront des travaux de recherche. Les consortiums seront choisis au moyen d'un concours mondial en plusieurs étapes. Ce projet de soutien à la recherche prévoit le financement des activités des organes de gouvernance de l'IRCAAA jusqu'à la sélection des consortiums.

La structure de gouvernance de l'IRCAAA comporte trois éléments : 
- un comité consultatif d'examen scientifique et de rayonnement; 
- un comité de direction, formé de représentants des bailleurs de fonds et responsable de la supervision du programme; 
- l'équipe de l'IRCAAA, composée de membres du personnel du CRDI, qui s'occupe de la conception et de la mise en oeuvre de la stratégie en plus d'offrir du soutien aux membres des consortiums. 

Comme son nom l'indique, le comité consultatif jouera uniquement un rôle de consultation : il offrira au comité de direction et à l'équipe de l'IRCAAA des conseils scientifiques et des conseils sur le plan des politiques, ainsi qu'une orientation au sujet du rayonnement stratégique. Son rôle englobera les activités suivantes :
- examen des résultats de recherche, y compris les études préliminaires sur les zones cruciales; 
- examen des critères d'admissibilité et de sélection des propositions des consortiums; 
- examen des propositions des consortiums et formulation de recommandations au comité de direction au sujet des consortiums à financer; 
- détermination des points d'entrée stratégiques dans la sphère des politiques;  
- établissement de lignes directrices pour l'élaboration et la mise en place, par l'équipe de l'IRCAAA, d'un cadre d'analyse global; 
- fourniture de conseils susceptibles d'améliorer le processus d'appel à propositions;  
- réponse aux demandes de renseignements et autres demandes du comité de direction.

Le financement fourni par ce projet sera destiné aux activités du comité de direction et du comité consultatif, y compris les déplacements pour les réunions et le rayonnement. Il permettra aussi de commander des examens scientifiques des propositions, au besoin.