Evaluating the impact of the Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship Programme

The Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship Programme  [1] awards two fellowships annually to young scientists from developing countries, to enable them to carry out innovative research on the conservation and use of plant genetic resources. Since 1994, 39 scientists from 24 countries have taken part in the Programme.

Kirkpatrick’s Learning and Training Evaluation Theory  [2] was used to evaluate the Programme. The Programme’s inputs and outputs were evaluated at the reaction and learning level of the Fellows while the Programme’s identified outcomes and expected impacts were evaluated at the behavioral and result level. The conclusions were drawn on methodological lessons learned and the improvements that can be applied to evaluate similar capacity building activities.

Past fellows, the fellows' home institute supervisors, the host institute supervisors and the Bioversity International scientific advisers were asked:

• To what extent are the Fellows able to apply the knowledge gained through the Fellowship Programme?
• To what extent has the Fellowship contributed to the professional development of the Fellow?
• What is the impact of the Fellowship research on plant genetic resources at the national, regional and international level?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Fellowship Programme?

This Impact Assessment Brief reveals that the Programme has met its goals of contributing to the scientific capacity of the Fellows and their home institutes, and of fostering the conservation and use of plant genetic resources; a primary risk factor for the Programme remains its continued availability of funding.