Performance evaluation report for Feed the Future innovation lab for soybean value chain research (soybean innovation lab) (SIL)

SIL researches factors limiting adoption and sustainability of soybean production, processing, and consumption in sub-Saharan Africa. The research results are translated to key stakeholders, including development practitioners, the private sector, and government agencies. The evaluation of SIL focuses on program management; the research and training program; institutional collaboration; and the program’s future. In visits to Urbana-Champaign, Ghana, and Ethiopia, the evaluation team collected qualitative and quantitative data through 1) program document review; 2) 59 key informant interviews; 3) group discussions with Principal Investigators; 4) direct observation of two key program-related events; 5) case studies of selected R4D products; and 6) an online survey of 35 SIL staff and partners. SIL’s R4D products are largely appropriate, but dissemination should be part of the research process and guided by articulation of development pathways for R4D products. The evaluation found that SIL’s wide range of partnerships has successfully developed institutional capacity, but more networking and linkage activities—by both SIL and USAID—are recommended. SIL’s current investments in technical research areas should continue, with particular attention paid to practical ways research is undertaken to ensure technology uptake. Gaps in market linkages for input and output value chains need to be identified and addressed. In the future, extension support to development partners and feedback loops on the uptake and use of SIL’s R4D products and associated outputs will also be needed.