A Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) consultation was convened on 8th November prior to GFAR Conference 09-11 November in New Delhi India under the theme “Reinforcing CSOs Role in ARD: How CSOs can better inform Policy and Practice”. About 35 CSO representatives from all over the world participated in the event.

The workshop addressed the question of “how to reinforce the CSOs role in agricultural research for development?” It examined the CSOs-Research-Policy linkages and identified practical tools and methods that CSOs could use in order to contribute to and influence ARD policies at all levels and hence increase the effectiveness of the systems. The workshop also reviewed achievements and lessons learned in the past three years, since the previous GFAR conference in 2003, by providing CSOs with ample time to share information draw lessons during this period and identify action priorities, and provided an opportunity for CSOs to learn about the theory and practice of bridging research and policy and identify appropriate tools for policy advocacy and the role of civil society organizations.