Message from Jimmy Smith

As you know, since April we have engaged you in various discussions and questions to help shape a new strategy for ILRI. I have been closely following this process and I am now fully involved and actively participating in the Strategy Task Force activities.

Many of you responded by sharing comments and joining meetings. Thank you. I very much appreciate your valuable inputs. If you did not have a chance to contribute, the comment lines are still open!

The wider questions and discussion

We have now done a first summary and synthesis of internal and external comments received on a) our proposed ‘storyline’;  and b) the three ‘tough issues’ where we posed specific questions on adopting a value chain approach in our research, increasing our research on livestock productivity and addressing the interface of animal and human health.

We have published both of these online. Please take a look, and share any further thoughts you might have!

The internal discussions

Many of you also participated in a face to face or virtual conversation where we discussed: a) What would success for ILRI look like in the future? And b) What do you think we should keep and change about our research, and our workplace? You can see a summary of the results

You can also see an initial summary of feedback on the questions posed by Delia on our animal and human health work.

All the various steps and questions in this engagement process are linked from http://ilristrategy.wikispaces.com/engagement

The next steps

The Board of Trustees has asked for a final document to be ready at its November 2012 meeting. This month we are providing the Board with a progress update that includes the feedback you provided as well as our plans.  This update will set out an overall purpose and goals, and initial ‘critical success factors’ in implementing our strategy that emerged from the discussions.

Alongside the storyline and issues, we have been analyzing the 5-10 major driving forces we expect to shape livestock development in the next decade. We will post a synthesis of this assessment in the coming week or so – it may be of use to more people than just ILRI.

In July and August, we expect to continue the conversations by organizing several focused face to face meetings with key stakeholders in some of the places where we have a physical presence – Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Delhi, and in Southern and West Africa and Asia. We will share the key recommendations from these online. The internal discussions have been very valuable and we intend to organize further internal conversations on key elements of the strategy. It is so very important that this process engages as many of us as possible.

In late August the strategy task force, will hold a three-day intense retreat to pull together all that we have so far, so we should have a fairly comprehensive draft by early September.

It has been a very busy few months and I want to thank you for all for taking time to contribute your comments and feedback. It really was essential. We still welcome any views you might have on any of questions posed so far.

Jimmy