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With research staff from more than 70 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Lilia Bliznashka

Lily Bliznashka is a Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit. Her research focuses on assessing the effectiveness of multi-input nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific interventions and the mechanisms through which they work to improve maternal and child health and nutrition globally. She has worked in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda.

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Since 1975, IFPRI’s research has been informing policies and development programs to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods around the world.

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experts

Natural Resources and Resilience

Thomas Falk

Research Fellow

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Bio

Dr. Thomas Falk is a Research Fellow in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit. An institutional economist by specialization, he has done extensive research on natural resource governance in the Global South. He has worked in the fields of economics of natural resource management, multi-level governance in social-ecological systems (SES), science–policy interaction, and trans-disciplinarity. His recent work focuses on conceptualizing and supporting behavioral change in system transformation processes. In this context, he studies the use of experiential learning games, conceptualizing and assessing their impact on institutional and behavioral change.

Google Scholar Citations

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Publications

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Journal Article

Intervening in complex food systems: How outcome mapping of multi-actor platforms traces change in central Mozambique

2026Falk, Thomas; Homann Kee Tui, Sabine; Hauser, Michael; Sixpence, Claudio P.; Quembo, Carlos João
Details

Intervening in complex food systems: How outcome mapping of multi-actor platforms traces change in central Mozambique

Purpose: Agricultural Innovation Platforms (AIPs) are increasingly applied by advisory services as approaches to facilitate learning and co-create food system solutions. However, the outcomes of such processes are rarely documented. In this study, we present an approach for capturing process outcomes and share findings from applying the approach to an AIP in central Mozambique. Design/methodology/approach: We complemented propensity score matching with regression adjustments and incorporated outcome harvesting as a participatory, retrospective evaluation method. Findings: We find that the AIP led to the formation and registration of a farmer association. This improved self-organisation and fostered ownership among participants in driving systemic change and generated spillover effects to farmers who were not directly involved in the process. Moreover, AIP members reported adopting improved agricultural practices compared with the control group. Practical implications: Our study highlights the challenges of providing evidence for outcomes and offers ways to address some of them. The proposed approach can support future AIP initiatives in embedding the documentation of process outcomes into the implementation process. Theoretical implications: Our research reaffirms that improving food systems requires integrated approaches that address multiple components of the system while accounting for trade-offs and synergies. To capture changes across these components, research designs need to be flexible and employ multiple methods. Originality/value: Strengthening this evidence base on the impacts and outcomes of AIP processes is essential for refining the approach and increasing the confidence of extension agents in applying AIPs at a larger scale.

Year published

2026

Authors

Falk, Thomas; Homann Kee Tui, Sabine; Hauser, Michael; Sixpence, Claudio P.; Quembo, Carlos João

Citation

Falk, Thomas; Homann Kee Tui, Sabine; Hauser, Michael; Sixpence, Claudio P.; and Quembo, Carlos João. Intervening in complex food systems: How outcome mapping of multi-actor platforms traces change in central Mozambique. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension. Article in Press. First online January 23, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2025.2603916

Country/Region

Mozambique

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Innovation Systems; Stakeholders; Mixed Farming; Semiarid Zones; Integrated Crop-livestock Systems; Food Systems; Multi-agent Systems; Agriculture; Social Networks

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2025.2603916 Source record

Project

Low-Emission Food Systems

Record type

Journal Article

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Brief

Assessment of the facilitation process of establishing a living lab for co-creating locally-led climate action in Caquetá/Colombia

2025Falk, Thomas; Rodríguez, Luz A.; Vanegas, Martha; Nehring, Ryan; Calle, Johana; Lopez, Maria
Details

Assessment of the facilitation process of establishing a living lab for co-creating locally-led climate action in Caquetá/Colombia

One of the key ambitions of the CGIAR Climate Action Program is to support structures that enable affected people to take ownership of food system innovation processes and to determine their goals, strategies, and modalities. To this end, the program team adopts and expands the concept of living labs, understood as social spaces – virtual or physical – where stakeholders co-develop new ways of thinking and acting to transform collaboration and practices. In the Department of Caquetá, within the Colombian Amazon, the program supports a place-based and community-led living lab focused on inclusion, environmental justice, and peacebuilding—an initiative participants have termed the “Participatory Rural Innovation Lab: Towards a Sustainable Territory” (PRIL). This paper presents the results of an assessment of the early dynamics in PRIL’s development in light of the normative principles of the living lab approach. Moreover, it examines whether significant power and agency imbalances exist and to what extent contextual factors influence the process.

Year published

2025

Authors

Falk, Thomas; Rodríguez, Luz A.; Vanegas, Martha; Nehring, Ryan; Calle, Johana; Lopez, Maria

Citation

Falk, Thomas; Rodríguez, Luz A.; Vanegas, Martha; Nehring, Ryan; Calle, Johana; and Lopez, Maria. 2025. Assessment of the facilitation process of establishing a living lab for co-creating locally-led climate action in Caquetá/Colombia. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179912

Country/Region

Colombia

Keywords

Americas; South America; Capacity Building; Living Labs; Local Climate Action; Locally-led Action; Facilitation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Low-Emission Food Systems

Record type

Brief

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Report

Report on visioning workshop of the Banspal Bikas Mancha (Living Lab) supporting locally led climate action, Odisha, India

2025Paliya, Vaishnavi; Tripathy, Saswatik; Prusty, Kartik Chandra; Falk, Thomas; Chabay, Ilan
Details

Report on visioning workshop of the Banspal Bikas Mancha (Living Lab) supporting locally led climate action, Odisha, India

This report documents a one-day Vision to Action workshop organized by Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) with support of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), held on August 18, 2025, in Banspal village, Keonjhar, Odisha. The workshop is convened as a foundation step towards establishing a Living Lab in Banspal and situated within the broader framework of the CGIAR Climate Action Science Program.

Year published

2025

Authors

Paliya, Vaishnavi; Tripathy, Saswatik; Prusty, Kartik Chandra; Falk, Thomas; Chabay, Ilan

Citation

Paliya, Vaishnavi; Tripathy, Saswatik; Prusty, Kartik Chandra; Falk, Thomas; and Chabay, Ilan. 2025. Report on visioning workshop of the Banspal Bikas Mancha (Living Lab) supporting locally led climate action, Odisha, India. CGIAR Research Program on Climate Action Workshop Report. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179914

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Capacity Building; Living Labs; Climate Change; Stakeholders

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Report

Blogs

Women’s participation yields benefits for water management: Insights from village dams in India
Research Post
 | 
September 29, 2025

Women’s participation yields benefits for water management: Insights from village dams in India

By Thomas Falk, Ivo Steimanis, Lara Bartels, Vishwambhar Duche, Björn Vollan, and Ruth Meinzen-Dick

A pathway to improve community stewardship.

Costs and benefits of using social learning games to support Indian communities in better managing their dams
Research Post
 | 
September 26, 2025

Costs and benefits of using social learning games to support Indian communities in better managing their dams

By Thomas Falk, Ivo Steimanis, Lara Bartels, Vishwambhar Duche, Björn Vollan, and Ruth Meinzen-Dick

Fostering stewardship of a key resource.

Understanding and supporting collective action in natural resource management through experiential learning games: Examples from three continents
Event Post
 | 
July 23, 2025

Understanding and supporting collective action in natural resource management through experiential learning games: Examples from three continents

By Hagar ElDidi, Thomas Falk, Juan Felipe Ortiz-Riomalo, Franziska Auch, Wei Zhang, and Upeksha Hettiarachchi

Fostering cooperative stewardship.

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Events

IFPRI @ CGIAR Science Week
IFPRI at External Event

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April 7 to 12, 2025

IFPRI @ CGIAR Science Week

When humanity has faced its greatest challenges, science and innovation have provided solutions. Today, major and connected global challenges threaten the sustainability of food, land, and water systems, with the most vulnerable people and communities at greatest risk. Recognizing the urgency of these challenges, CGIAR and the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) are […]

Scaling Up Experiential Learning Tools for Sustainable Water Governance in India
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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October 17 to 18, 2023

Scaling Up Experiential Learning Tools for Sustainable Water Governance in India

As a common pool resource, water is easily depleted if no effective coordination exists among users to ensure provision and regulate withdrawals. The Scaling up experiential learning tools for sustainable water governance in India project aims to enhance sustainable water management at scale by improving the capacities of rural communities to manage water more sustainably. […]

From Research to Impact: Towards just and Resilient Agri-food Systems
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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October 9 to 12, 2023

From Research to Impact: Towards just and Resilient Agri-food Systems

Conference: October 09, 2023 – 9:00 AM to October 12, 2023 – 6:00 PM IST. IFPRI is participating in the 2023 annual CGIAR gender research conference will take place in New Delhi, India.

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