The contribution of research for development to the sustainable development goals: lessons from fisheries research in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Island countries

ABSTRACT

Drawing from research evaluation of the Fisheries Program of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Centre (ACIAR) in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Island Countries, this paper explores the link between Research for Development (R4D) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specifically, it seeks to understand how Research Capacity Development (RCD) in fisheries, in the specific contexts of international development partnerships, may contribute to SDG 1 (no poverty), 2 (zero hunger), and 3 (good health and wellbeing). A high-level multi-path, RCD-to-impact approach is employed to assess the outcomes of the R4D program of the ACIAR Fisheries Program at the individual, organisational and systems levels. Both primary and secondary data were collected through document analysis, interviews, surveys, and case studies. The case studies illustrate that RCD in fisheries in partner countries can contributes to the SDGs in participating communities. The paper advances research on the link between R4D and the SDGs and proposes a high-level framework to assist researchers and international development practitioners in assessing the impacts of investing in RCD.

KEYWORDS:

• Research for Development
• Sustainable Development Goals
• Research Capacity Development
• Fisheries Research and Development
• the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
• Southeast Asia and the Pacific Island Countries

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the ACIAR Fisheries Program for providing the funding for this research. We would also like to thank the Project Leaders, local researchers, field officers and community members across the five countries visited, who generously gave their time to make this work possible.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fisheries Program of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) [Project No C2016/108].