The Ethiopian Pastoral Research and Development Network (EPRDN) which is currently hosted by Haramaya University was established under the terms and conditions stated in Memorandum of Understanding which was signed by the different universities; pastoral research institutes and development partners on October 25th , 2011 at Dire Dawa University. The Network was established with the aim of building and enhancing the capacity of stakeholders adapt and respond to emerging issues; changing circumstances and challenges; mobilizing and sharing resources among member organizations for coordinated research and development in pastoral areas; facilitating exchange of knowledge, skills and information on regular basis; creating a platform for designing and implementing training programs in pastoral development and support the process of pastoral- oriented curriculum development; and facilitate dissemination of technology packages and provide consultation and evidence based advice to end users.

1. CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK ON PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS
IN RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Workshop to Establish Pastoral oriented Research Network
in Ethiopia
Daniel Temesgen
Pastoralist Forum Ethiopia

2. Introduction
This presentation is based on a review of literature
on inter-organizational partnerships
With the following purposes:
a) Highlight the current thinking on partnerships and
networks
b) Reviews key concepts and approaches of
partnership

3. Background
Over the last decades there has been an increase in the
use of new forms of organization in both the public the
private sector and CSOs
Traditional forms institutional arrangements are giving way
to new ways of linking institutions and their activities
This growth in cooperative arrangements is a global
phenomenon, fueled by advances in information
technology, and globalization pressures
The rate of alliance formation has been growing at an
annual rate of more than 25%
It has become increasingly clear that relying only on one’s
own resources and skills would not let an organization go
far.

4. Background
The shift towards increased reliance on
partnerships is most visible in development
research
Today, most of the research programs are
linked in numerous ways with collaborators in
dozens of countries
In recent estimate the number of partnerships
the 16 CGIAR centers was found to be 2,000

5. The Trend towards Research & development Networking
Research networks are becoming important features of the
research environment for the following reasons :
 to overcome the common obstacles of Limited public
resources to support research
To Coordination problems stemming from the dispersed
organizational and geographic locations of researchers,
and difficulties in designing frameworks to connect the
capabilities of researchers
(Portes and Yeo 2004, DEST 2004, O’Toole 1997).

6. To establish a more responsive innovation
systems
To ensures efficient linkage collaboration among
actors
To enable actors adapt and respond to new
requirements, changing circumstances and
challenges

7. Advantages of Research & development Networks
In principle, research networks offer a number of
advantages
It help share filter information and ideas
Bring together the expertise (scholars) at national and
international research environment frequently
characterized by fragmentation and isolation
Research networks facilitate actual cooperative research
among actors that otherwise would not occur
Enable participating scholars to be more productive in
their research endeavors

8. Terminologies/theoretical frameworks
Review of the recent literature on partnerships and
networks reveals that:
(1) there is no uniformity in the terminology used; and
(2) there is no single dominant theoretical framework
The three most widely used terms are alliances,
networks, and partnerships. Other terms used to define
similar relationships include cooperation, collaboration,
and coalition.
One common characteristic of these terms is that they all
refer to inter-institutional relationships.

9. Networks
A network is a “multi-partner cooperative arrangement
between more than one organization”
A few definitions from the literature :
Networks constitute the basic social form that permits inter-
organizational interactions of exchange, intensive and, joint
action
Networks are clusters of organizations, are non-hierarchical
collectives of separate units
Networking is the art of creating and/or maintaining a cluster
of organizations for the purpose of exchanging, acting
among the member organizations
(Alter and Hage, 1993).

10. Therefore
• Networking is an act of linking /integrating/
individuals, organizations and institutions to
promote mutual learning and generate, share,
transfer and utilize technologies, knowledge,
information and innovations

11. Partnerships
A partnership is a long-term cooperative arrangement between
two or more institutions involving exchange or sharing of
resources to attain a common objective.
Aspects of this definition:
The focus of attention is on inter-institutional relationship
long-term Cooperative arrangements
The minimum number of partners is two, but there is no upper limit
on the number of institutions that belong to a partnership
Exchange or sharing of resources

12. Partnership Types
Partnerships vary in terms of several variables--for example:
size (e.g. number of partners), geographical scope of activities
(e.g., local, national, international),type of partner (e.g., private
sector, public sector, public-private, GO_NGO)
As a rough categorization of partnerships that apply to the
research
Research partnerships (these involve cooperative
arrangements with other institutions for conducting joint
research)
Exchange partnerships (these involve formal arrangements for
exchanging information, materials, staff, intellectual property,
etc., with other institutions)
Service partnerships (these involve providing services to a
partner institution, e.g., training, consultancy, capacity building,
as part of a long-term relationship – not as a market-based)

13. Networking & Partnership Formation
Why ?
Entering in to Partnership & networking are strategic decisions
organizations make in order to fulfill their mission.
These include the following:
Mobilizing resources. helps mobilize additional resources and
enhance the potential of the organization’s own resources to generate
impact. ( Information, material, capital, technology and management)
Competencies. facilitate Pooling complementary knowledge and skills
and learning .
Increasing the scale of activities. lowering average costs and increase
outputs by exploiting the synergy generated by relying on the
comparative advantage of each partner

14. Points to consider for successful partnership &
networking
Common objectives & interests among partners
Existence of clear agenda and objective/vision
Trust between partners
Commitment to common goal
Clear MOU between partners
Clearly defined roles and responsibilities among the
partner
Respect for all opinions
Exchange knowledge/experiences
Good communication

15. Empirical studies indicated that : for successful networking
& partnership
Commitment (of partners to the partnership)
Coordination (of activities)
Trust
Quality of communication (accuracy, timeliness,
adequacy
Participation (joint planning and goal setting)
Joint problem solving