Transforming Global Innovation: Why Scaling Readiness Matters to CGIAR

CGIAR is mainstreaming the Scaling Readiness approach to ensure its innovations—whether new crop varieties, policies, or digital tools—reach those who need them most. With global food systems facing urgent challenges like climate change, malnutrition, and biodiversity loss, CGIAR needed a method to systematically and responsibly scale innovations.

Mainstreaming Scaling Readiness is CGIAR’s answer to bridging the gap between innovation and impact, transforming research into real-world solutions at a global scale.

CGIAR offers Scaling Readiness for organization-wide innovation and scaling support and management. Scaling Readiness is firmly baked in the CGIAR Performance and Results Management Framework that guides implementation of the CGIAR 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy. Scaling Readiness supports CGIAR and partners through four key steps:

1. Innovation Tracking: Monitoring innovation development, from idea to maturity.
2. Innovation Packaging: Bundle innovations and creating enabling conditions for context-specific scaling.
3. Scaling Strategies: Co-create strategies with partners to remove scaling barriers.
4. Portfolio Management: Support decision-making to ensure a healthy and impactful mix of innovations.

Between 2022 and 2024, over 1000 innovations were profiled and over 50 innovations were packaged for use at scale. This number keeps on growing exponentially every year. View innovations in CGIAR’s Results Dashboard. CGIAR trained 100 staff and partner scaling experts on how to apply Scaling Readiness in their programs and projects.

Scaling Readiness has sparked impact culture growth in CGIAR and allows the organization to make evidence-based decisions, prioritizing resources, and identifying the best pathways to achieve widespread impact. Scaling Readiness has empowered CGIAR to:

• Scale Responsibly: Evidence on readiness and real-world use of innovation enables CGIAR to only scale those innovations that are proven to work.
• Track and Report Impact at Scale: Monitor how innovations mature from idea to being used at scale and support teams in accelerating progress.
• Learn and optimize: Understand which innovations to prioritize or put on hold to increase organizational performance and resource use efficiencies.
• Foster Collaboration: Fit for purpose partnerships with governments, NGOs, and businesses to amplifying the effectiveness of CGIAR’s work.

Ultimately, Scaling Readiness supports CGIAR to take strategic decisions on how to make the best of its human and financial resources to tackle the world’s toughest food systems challenges.