In the face of declining resources, national extension services need to review their priorities and modes of delivery. A policy framework that provides the national extension service and other actors with strategic direction can help to ensure that resources are targeted to where they are needed most in line with client needs and national priorities; that extension staff receive the appropriate training to carry out their duties; and that scarce resources are used more effectively through partnerships with NGOs and the private sector and use of information and communication technologies where appropriate. Monitoring and evaluating performance based on stakeholder feedback is also crucial to ensuring that extension staff skills remain up to date and relevant to client needs.

SPC Policy Brief 12/2010

We should view extension policy as something beyond a statement of intent. It must be a means to develop strategies, procedures, and working relationships among a large number of other actors in the wider system where extension is situated. This note reviews the extension policy development process in four countries and examines some of the implementation challenges. It also highlights the need for more clarity on the purpose of policy, the importance of policy learning, and why efforts to achieve policy coherence are important for extension.

CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) are required to show how their work contributes to development outcomes such as changes in policies.  While better evidence has the potential to improve decision-making, it is insufficient for achieving policy impacts. That evidence needs to be communicated effectively so that it is useful to targeted decision-makers, and decision-makers need to have the incentives and the capacity to use it.  This requires that researchers and their partners understand how policy processes work and how they can be influenced. Deliberate strategies to influence policy can also be the basis for assessing the extent to which research has contributed to a change in a policy or in the policy process—for example by influencing the discourse, attitudes, behaviors or actions of decision-makers. 

Define priorities clearly is essential for structuring, resourcing and training the extension service and for monitoring and evaluating its performance.  The focus may change over time depending on circumstances, e.g., natural disasters, new industry, service development by NGOs and private sector. Farmers must have an effective voice in determining national research and extension priorities—through regular meetings, workshops or farmer advisory groups, or a centrally managed survey. Below is an example of a priority setting tool that can be used with stakeholders to determine priorities for the extension service.

From: Developing a Policy Framework for Extension Systems. Secretariat of the Pacific Communities. Policy Brief 12/2010