GCP’s rationale for delivery plans

Our answers to frequently asked questions

September 2007

What is a Delivery Plan?
Why prepare a delivery plan?
Why does GCP require each project to have a delivery plan?
How are ‘products’ and ‘users’ defined in GCP?
How does a researcher prepare a project delivery plan?

What is a Delivery Plan?
GCP research is demand-driven and a delivery plan helps ensure that scientific advances and products from GCP projects are indeed ’delivered’ to intended users. A delivery plan is not just about products. In this plan, the process* behind the products, and the impacts of the product, are just as important as the product itself. This means that product delivery must be done efficiently and effectively, and the products must benefit the recipients.

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Why prepare a delivery plan?
Preparing a delivery plan clarifies the complex path a product takes in the transition from scientific discovery to a viable product for end-users.

A delivery plan provides specific guidance for mapping a realistic and credible path to ensure research findings translate into products that benefit users. The delivery plan also helps identify links between researchers, and links throughout the product–development continuum from ’upstream’ research to breeders to farmers. By helping researchers anticipate potential pitfalls that could compromise links and product delivery, preventive interventions are developed in advance, thereby overcoming obstacles and enhancing the chances of success.

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Why does GCP require each project to have a delivery plan?
The essence of GCP is research-for-development using genetic and genomic resources, tools and technologies to tackle the agricultural constraints faced by farmers in the world’s poorest countries. Critical to this approach is ensuring that GCP’s research products can and will be adopted, adapted and applied for the ultimate benefit of resource-poor farmers.

The GCP Delivery Strategy emphasises that targeted training and capacity-building are essential to avoid broken links in the delivery chain. This training and capacity-building is for project partners and intended users. Trainees learn how to access, use and apply the various research products, be they markers, methodologies, tools or techniques.

In its oversight role, GCP:
• ensures users are engaged in projects thus guaranteeing research products are relevant to user needs
• in consultation with research partners identifies and fills capacity-building gaps as needed for uptake of GCP’s research products
• strategises on how each and every research product will be delivered to primary and secondary users, so products may flow smoothly through the delivery pipeline and eventually reach farmers.
• promotes and disseminates products outside the projects

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How are ‘products’ and ‘users’ defined in GCP?
The GCP Delivery Strategy defines ‘products’ as project components that can be passed on to another researcher conducting upstream or applied research. This researcher may be within or outside the GCP. For project components to qualify as products, the researcher who receives them must be able to immediately use the components in its own research programme. GCP products come in many forms, including but not limited to, germplasm, validated molecular markers, new protocols, genomic resources and training materials.

‘User’ is defined as anyone who utilizes a product developed by GCP. Because of the wide variety of GCP products, there is a corresponding diversity of users at the multiple levels in the users–product value chain.

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How does a researcher prepare a project delivery plan?
To help prepare a project delivery plan, GCP developed the Delivery Plan Kit (DPKit). Beyond conceptualisation, the DPKit also doubles as a management and monitoring tool for implementing delivery plans. At present, the DPKit is a set of MS-Excel worksheets, which will soon be recast into a user-friendlier database format. The DPKit collects and collates the following: project identification; from objectives to products; applications and users; constraints and capacity needs; timeline; and IP considerations.

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