CRPs are networks of institutes belonging to the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in Member Countries of FAO or IAEA that agree to work together on a specific topic or problem relevant to food security in developing countries. Each CRP normally involves between 10 and 15 institutions.

  Cost-sharing Research Contracts (normally around $5,000) are awarded on an annual basis to institutions in developing countries or countries in transition that submit technically sound proposals relevant to the subject matter of the CRP in question. Subject to satisfactory progress, these Contracts can be renewed for up to 5 years - the normal period covered by a CRP.

  Research Agreements are awarded to institutions from more developed countries where expertise is relevant to the CRP. These are cost-free and are normally valid for the entire period of the CRP.

  Research Co-ordination Meetings (RCMs) of scientists participating in a CRP are held approximately every 18 months to review progress, to outline plans for future investigations or to prepare a final report on the results obtained during the course of the CRP. Travel costs for these meetings are covered from the budget of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division.

• encourages the NARS to be more self-sufficient and inter-dependent by promoting horizontal and vertical co-operation between scientists, institutions and the FAO and IAEA through the joint planning of research and sharing of resources and experiences

• offers opportunities to obtain new knowledge and better understanding of scientific and technical problems and recommendations for their solution, as well as new or improved technology for studying or reducing constraints in the agricultural sector

• helps to retain and motivate scientists to work in their country of origin and, in so doing, helps to foster national excellence and intellectual leadership in using nuclear techniques and biotechnology and the knowledge and technologies developed from these, which in turn benefit nationally-funded and partnership activities with others.

• acquire greater understanding of physical, chemical and/or biological processes relevant to food and agriculture
• develop new or improved technologies (methods, products, processes) for practical application in food and agriculture, including relevant biotechnologies

  It is important to note that the mandate is not simply confined to the traditional definition of research i.e. to the process of finding reliable explanations for phenomena (generating new knowledge). It also covers the development of technologies through which both our understanding and control of these phenomena can be obtained and sustainable improvements in the food and agricultural sector realized.

  How then does IAEA's mandate to encourage research using nuclear technology support FAO's wider economic and social aims in food and agriculture and vice versa? These aims are defined by FAO's Council and Conference acting on decisions by its Specialized Committees, in particular the Committee on Agriculture (COAG) and the Programme Committee. Consequently, in selecting research activities to be coordinated by the Joint Division, care is taken to ensure that these are fully consistent with the relevant priority issues which are defined by these Bodies for FAO action. In other words, applications of nuclear technology have to be aligned with the appropriate food and agriculture issues and problems, and should complement the work of the other Divisions in FAO. Given the vast range and complexity of these, and the potential for using nuclear technology in so many areas, the focus has to be narrowed so that only those issues and problems are tackled where "nuclear" provides significant added value to the work of IAEA, FAO and to the research agendas of the NARS in developing countries.

  In light of the Plan of Action that emerged from the World Food Summit, that focus is on research which contributes to the paradigm of sustainable food security, and in particular which assists Member Countries to implement Commitments 3 and 5 of that Plan, including:

• Integrated Plant Nutrition and Water Management Systems
• The Leipzig Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
• The International Plant Protection Convention; Integrated Pest Management
• The livestock component of the Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES), and the Animal Health Standards of OIE
• The International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides
• Codex Alimentarius Standards for Food Safety
• The WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures

  Details of the relevant nuclear technologies, which throughout the Programme are applied in an integrated manner with non-nuclear methods, and of the specific research themes which are followed in support of these Conventions, Agreements and Programmes are given in the pages describing each sub-Programme's activities.

• BASIC RESEARCH
  which aims to improve knowledge per se rather than to generate results or technologies that are likely to benefit society in the immediate future.
  
  This type of research is essential for long-term socio-economic benefit but, as implied above, it is not normally directly applicable to the research coordinated by the Joint Division.
  
• STRATEGIC RESEARCH
  research to understand physical, chemical and biological processes relevant to the food and agricultural sector so that their behaviour can be predicted under a variety of conditions and subsequently manipulated to improve food security. The aim is to develop concepts and technology which have potential for widespread application to study or solve problems which are important for sustainable food security. It is for producing knowledge of the "upstream" or "cutting edge" type rather than knowledge which offers immediate solutions to scientific and technological problems, and therefore favourable results cannot be expected for 5 - 10 years.
  
  This type of research is supported by the Joint Division because it provides the platform for further work to evaluate and adapt concepts or technology through more "downstream" research.
  
• APPLIED RESEARCH
  research to evaluate technology or concepts acquired through strategic research to determine whether these can be usefully "applied" with or without further refinement for the purpose(s) envisaged. Information obtained through this kind of research should also be applicable elsewhere and therefore it offers significant opportunities for spillovers.
  
  Most research conducted under the Coordinated Research Projects of the Joint Division fits into this category.
  
• ADAPTIVE RESEARCH
  research which involves "local tailoring" of well-tested concepts or technology to the needs of "end-beneficiaries" (see below).
  
  This concerns the adaptation of already existing knowledge or technology for adoption by beneficiaries. Its usefulness is mostly "site- or country-specific", and therefore there are more limited opportunities for spillovers. This kind of research is nevertheless also relevant to the research activities supported under the Division's Programme, particularly those involving a cropping or farming systems approach and where the end-beneficiaries (farmers) are involved in planning and/or implementing the research.

  It should be emphasized that there is no sharp demarcation between these categories of research, and that in practice, there may be considerable overlap. In general, however, laboratory and field station-type research will fall into the strategic or applied categories whereas research which involves work in farmers fields, and feedback from non-scientific stakeholders is adaptive.

  In summary, the Joint Division does not support basic research. Rather, the research activities it coordinates provide opportunities for scientists and institutions in Member Countries to conduct the more "upstream" types of research in which strategic and applied issues with their subsequent opportunities for spillovers drive the research agenda. There are, however, opportunities for research which focuses on the transfer of well-tried and tested technologies but which nevertheless often require significant adaptive research in the process of adoption by end-users or end-beneficiaries, as well as the involvement of an often complex array of stakeholders.

• to generate new understandings and technology which, through the use of atomic energy, add value to the existing body of scientific and technological information in their respective disciplines
• to disseminate these to the wider scientific community through publications and other means of communication
• to provide services (knowledge and technology) to others within their own or other socio-economic sectors which enhance the performance of such sectors

  There are therefore several potential users and beneficiaries of research outputs. However, in most cases the "end-users" and "end-beneficiaries" are the participating scientists and institutions themselves (i.e. the clients), as well as the international scientific community. On the other hand, some research (adaptive) aims to provide services directly to groups outside the scientific community concerned e.g. farmers, extension workers. Such groups never "use" nuclear technology directly but rather make use of the knowledge or technologies derived from it. It is therefore more accurate to describe these groups as "end-beneficiaries" rather than as "end-users" of nuclear technology.

• the rationale for the CRP
• its research objective
• the types of research outputs expected, with appropriate timeframes
• the activities needed to achieve these outputs
• the milestones for monitoring progress.

  After completion of an IAEA approval process, applications are invited for Research Contracts and Agreements through various channels e.g. an annual information circular issued by the IAEA's Director General, the IAEA Bulletin, sub-Programme Newsletters, the Internet and direct communication with scientists and institutes which the Joint Division feels can contribute effectively to the research in question.

• the relevance of proposals to the objective of the CRP in question
• the scientific quality of the workplan which is proposed and the likelihood of it being completed within the timeframe of the CRP
• the competence of the research team and the availability of necessary laboratory, field or other facilities at the institution (except for items to be purchased in connection with the proposal)
• the level of funding being requested

  There are obviously restrictions on the number of participating institutions that can be accommodated in a CRP because of budgetary constraints and in the interests of effective coordination. We also avoid awarding more than one Contract in a single country. For these reasons, it is not always possible to include even highly relevant and well formulated proposals in some CRPs.