Genetics+team+meeting+notes,+July+2012

Meeting Outputs


 * Genetics team meeting blog post:** [|Where livestock and fish genetics intertwine: Results of the first genetics team meeting]


 * Genetics team meeting report:** [|Report of the Genetics Team Meeting of the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish, Nairobi, Kenya, 30-31 July 2012]

Agenda and participants

**__ MEETING FLOW __**
 * Day 1 **
 * Introduction and expectations **

 presented by Tom Randolph

__Meeting expectations __
 * Common understanding of the component’s objectives, outputs and expected outcomes
 * For the team to know each other
 * Define and outline a clear work plans
 * A coherent and clearly focused agenda for the next 3 years
 * Clarity on the roles of team members
 * An idea on how integration of work between ILRI and WorldFish will develop
 * Commitment of partner institutions Openness of discussions
 * Find out opportunities for impact

What does the proposal describe? The CRP approach has stimulated and challenged the team to investigate more their breeding / genetics programs. Some key items to note; Improved appropriate technology, capacity building How can we best support development of a value chain and the value chain teams? What are the main constrains/opportunities for transforming a value chain that genetics can address Role for partners Links to other components? > How to evaluate importance of incremental improvement vs new material Contradictions between focus and GPGs? Links to other CRPs (Policies; Ag Nutrition Health)
 * Walk through key issues by Tom Randolph **
 * Help them to start linking and contextualizing their genetics work
 * Institutional framework that allows the team to achieve their deliverables to scale
 * Adaptation to consumer needs
 * Using the value chains to get more information, get the phenotypes and then work on the genomics value chains give the opportunities to collect data that would be useful in the future, in some areas we can get targeted and more focused data.
 * Putting things to scale
 * Addressing quality issues
 * making everybody see the benefits of genetics
 * Does the production environment express and support the technology?
 * Synchronise / align R+D partners
 * Build strategic partnership with institutions that can see where our comparative advantage it, the CRP (livestock genetics)
 * Collective VCD conversation / challenges elevate to group
 * How do we know if we are improving VCD? Do we have a ‘yeild gap’ enalysis equivalent in diary/livestock/fishbreeding?


 * Livestock and Fish: how do they merge / what are the differences **

 WorldFish conceptualization at what point do we work together and at what point do we work differently by Steve Hall. The conceptualization above helps to depict what the genetics components looks likes from the fish side, it was recommended that a similar tool be used to help conceptualize the genetics components from the livestock side

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Where the team would be in 10 years
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Vision for the component **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Value chains to be fully integrated and taking advantage of what genetics has to offer, establishing self-sustaining institutions for continuity to do this, through capacity building, building tools and adopting to future needs
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Proud of the impact that genetics work has had on people’s lives and the compelling evidence base that shows this
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Recognized for our coherence and people coming to learn from us
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Understanding of the criteria of the best bets / tool box that matches what different actors can take up
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Excited about where we can take our work next and build on our past successes
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Development of tools and methods of delivering improved genetics for the market, stakeholder and institution needs
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Breakthroughs visible and new methods to enable leaps into the next level genetics improvement in place

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The team outlined their various experiences, skills and values. Need to further improve on program management.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Team experience, skills, values **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Looking for commonalities between livestock and fish (vision, steps in breeding), appreciating inherent difference and language <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Layers of conceptualization: vision, 2/3 pillars/outputs <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Organizational contexts, current realities <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What kind team/coordination will best fit?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Key issues from day 1 **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Objectives, outcome, output
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Day 2 **
 * = **WHERE TO GO/ WHERE MIGHT WE GO** ||
 * **TOOLS** || **PROCESS** ||
 * Better breeds || Better breeding ||
 * Animals || Methods and approaches ||
 * Tools to measure whats better || Institutional capacity ||
 * How do I preserve my options || Reduction to practice ||
 * Breeding objectives || Improving whats already there ||
 * || Blue sky-innovation ||

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 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Critiquing log frame against map **

Livestock and Fish Genetics Component Log-Frame
 * **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Objective ** || **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Outcomes ** || **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Outputs ** || **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Activity Output ** || **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Sub-milestones 2012 ** || **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Sub- milestones 2013 ** || **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Research activities ** ||
 * To develop and promote breeding strategies and interventions that improve animal productivity in [emerging] small –scale market oriented livestock and fish production systems. || Research and development investors and practitioners actively promoting improved strains and breeding strategies that sustainably improve animal productivity in emerging small-scale market oriented livestock and fish production systems || 1. Assessment and tailored strategies for sustained genetic improvement for targeted production systems || 1.1 Tools for assessing breeding strategies and Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) use, as part of an overall VC assessment tool, developed as an IPG

1.2 Tools for assessing the socio-economic performance of different breed-types within a livestock production system, developed as an IPG

1.3. Piloted and tested genetic improvement strategies

1.4 Capacity established to sustain continued genetic improvement (key institutions and champions) ||  ||   ||   ||
 * ||  || 2. Genetically improved strains and conserved genetic resources to meet future needs || 2.1.Improved fish strains available for dissemination

2.2 improved livestock populations identified and available for breeding systems

2.3 Tools and criteria developed for identifying better strains

2.4. Tools that support genetic interventions, such as breeding guidelines, training manuals, data management and feedback systems, developed and in-use

2.5 Process developed for characterizing and strategically conserving AnGR for future use ||  ||   ||   ||
 * ||  || 3. Prototype break-through technologies for improved use of genetic resources || Technology 1

Technology 2

Technology 3 ||  ||   ||   ||

Time line for 2012-2013
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">6-18 month time line of activities **
 * Establishing needs for the described activity by August 2012
 * Get a component work plan and budget by August 2012
 * Deliverables from ILRI, ICARDA and WorldFish on the value chains reported by mid-August
 * Individual teleconference by Tom to various teams before next meeting around October/Novemeber
 * Face to face meeting for the team in October/November 2012
 * Management meetings should be more regular
 * Submission of program report in January 2013

Participants of the Montpellier meeting agreed to write a joint position paper for funding that would integrate in-situ and ex-situ research. It was recommended that the livestock and fish genetics team members forms a core group that would take part in writing this paper, that would also be part of fund raising for the program.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Revisiting the vision and way forward **
 * Summary of the Montpellier meeting by Okeyo Mwai**


 * Workshop review**
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">What worked well ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">What could have worked better ** ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Openness to change || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Inclusiveness, not all team members present in day 1 ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Good team work, excellent collegiality || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Long conversion ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Interesting debates || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Limited time to have all discussion ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Flexibility to allow science discussion/diversion with keeping to task || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Not sure we achieved enough concrete outputs in terms of outputs ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The conversation held on activities for the next couple of years || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Resource mobilization discussion lacking ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Increasingly aligned and common language due to having the right conversations || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Not completely achieved objectives – time too short ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Lively, fun and participatory process || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Day 1 conversation took long compared to the achievement ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Synthesis from objectives to outcomes to outputs and activities (clarity) || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">No time to drill on where we could begin to jointly raise more resources ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Honest, open exchange ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Concrete mid-level plan laid out through a clear process ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Well managed as planned ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Clarifying where we are and where we are going ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Good to have face to face meeting across centers ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Clearer steering from the CRP director ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Workshop facilitator, Sue Canney Davison report **

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<span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> The CRP approach has stimulated and challenged the team to investigate more their breeding / genetics programs <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> Helped them to start linking and contextualizing their genetics work <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> Institutional framework that allows the team to achieve their deliverables to scale – we have to be thinking both ways <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> The principles around it is the same <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> Breeding work <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> How do all the team work together <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> What is the team focus and effort in supporting value chains (TR discussion) <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> ** 2 main opportunities ** <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> Putting things to scale <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> Where there is an opportunity for aquaculture there is an opportunity for genetics <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> Quality issues can be addressed by genetics <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> Genetics and help to transform a value chain that could be more difficult in the whole picture <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> Adaptation to consumer needs <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> ** Constraints ** <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> Working with resource owners to pull together in one direction <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> Does the production environment express and support the technology? <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> Do others see benefits of genetics? <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1421px; width: 1px;"> If we use genetics as an entry point to the value chain, possess the challenges of farmer adoptability and community uptake – negative selection