RUFORUM Quarterly Report for the Period January-March 2018

This report presents key highlights of progress and achievements made in the period 1 January-31 March 2018. During the period: 1. RUFORUM finalized the costed Operational Plan 2018-2022 for implementation of the RUFORUM Vision 2030 Strategy. 2. Following the recommendations of the Board of Trustees in October 2017, RUFORUM commissioned a Functional Analysis of the existing structure to align and refocus the Secretariat’s functions to deliver on the organisation Vision 2030 Strategy. 3. Following the development and subsequent implementation of the strategy for scaling-out the expanded Community Action Research Programme (CARP+), the Secretariat awarded five CARP+ to Makerere University (Uganda); University of Abomey Calavi (Benin); University of Nairobi (Kenya); Bindura University of Science Education (Zimbabwe); and Gulu University (Uganda). http://www.ruforum.org/MCF/call-proposal. 4. The Secretariat further awarded nine RUFORUM Entrepreneurship Challenge Programme (RECAP) grants to strengthen Agri-entrepreneurship training, support faculty and students to test innovative business ideas and meaningfully engage industry/ Private sector to take viable business models to scale. 5. RUFORUM also awarded 10 community Field Attachment Programme Awards (CFAPA) with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. 6. RUFORUM together with the African Capacity Building Foundation, other partners and the Government of Malawi, organised the fourth planning meeting for the First Extra-Ordinary Summit of the Committee of Ten African Heads of State championing Education, Science and Technology (C10) development; this was in preparation for the C10 Summit to be held in Malawi. 7. In the effort to bolster the Secretariat’s function to effectively service the network, RUFORUM recruited three new staff: Manager Information and Technology (IT), Systems Administrator, and Programme Officer Corporate Communication and Advocacy