Risk Management and Resilience: Summary of Learning on CGIAR’s Ways of Working

Humphrey, S. and Theuri, G. 2025. Risk Management and Resilience: Summary of Learning on CGIAR’s Ways of Working. Rome: CGIAR Independent Advisory and Evaluation Service.

This summary of learning, prepared under the System Council–endorsed Multi-Year Evaluation Plan (MYEP), synthesizes evidence on CGIAR’s Ways of Working (WoWs) identified in the CGIAR 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy as priority approaches for CGIAR to do business differently, namely: • Targeting risk-management and resilience as critical qualities for Food Land and Water systems.

The study examines CGIAR’s progress in integrating risk management and resilience within food, land, and water systems. Drawing on IAES Evaluation Function evaluations, Independent Science for Development Council (ISDC) and CGIAR Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA) sources, 2025–30 Portfolio inception reports, external literature, and field evidence from the Republic of Uganda, the report synthesizes progress, challenges, and opportunities in implementing the WoW. Overall, the summary found that CGIAR has built a strong base of solutions addressing climate, disease, and production losses associated with risks, and is increasingly embedding resilience concepts across its programs. Sustained progress will depend on clearer system-wide understanding of approaches to risk and resilience, stronger metrics for monitoring resilience outcomes, deeper engagement with partners, and tighter links between foresight analyses and country-level planning.