Institutional Mapping for GECAFS research Some thoughts on why and how

Why is Institutional Mapping Important? Institutional structure and culture are the context for decision-making, policy setting and policy implementation Any social or policy change has to be enabled by institutions – IM is a way to identify constraints and opportunities Research produces information – IM helps to identify potential users as well as sources of resistance

What is an institution? A rule or norm that mediates interactions or transactions among people and with the environment around them –E.g. markets, customs of gender roles and interactions, land tenure regimes For policy and decision-making usually we look at organizations: government ministries, NGOs, local groups

Steps in the mapping process What is the problem we want to address? What is the historical and current policy context? Which institutions are relevant to the problem? What are the mandates of those institutions? How do those institutions interact?

Steps (part 2) Describe the governance context, including capacity and voice What information and from where do institutions use when making decisions? What are the major narratives and how do they converge or differ? What would need to change to enable a resolution to the problem?

Policy Context What are the policy objectives relevant to food systems? What are the policy objectives relevant to GEC and the environment? What important decisions have taken place in the past years (how did we get here?) Three levels: national, regional, international

Identify the “relevant” institutions Which groups make the relevant policy? Which organizations implement this policy? –Often one level of a ministry will make policy but a different branch will be responsible for implementing it So, we also want to know how the organizations are organized: –What is their structure? –How are decisions made? Actions taken? Which institutions are more/ less important?

Networks and interactions Which groups and actors communicate with one another? –When, how, how often, for what purpose? Which groups and actors do not communicate (even though we might expect them to?) –Why not? –Do some informal communications take place? E.g. expert networks, technical group meetings…..

Governance and capacity What sort of staff with what type of backgrounds work in this organization or branch? What are their priority interests and skills? –ability to implement and interpret policy What financial resources does the group have at its disposal? –How are these finances allocated, and by whom? Whose voice is most important?

Decision making processes Many different types of decisions, from POLICY to routine bureaucratic For a given issue, who makes the decisions? How often are these decisions made? Is the process routine or heavily debated? Whose opinion counts for more? What type of information is used?

Information and narratives Where does the group/ organization get technical information from (for decision making)? –How often, in what form? –Are any researchers involved? What are the major theories, story lines or philosophies that the most influential people in the organization rely on? –Any uncertainties or unknowns?

What would need to change and what would that entail? Which institutions or groups might have to make a lot of changes? –Routine practices or big “policy” decisions? –At high or low levels? –Would their narratives have to change? –Would budgets be affected? –Would their “real” priorities be diminished or threatened?