With stakeholders and funders increasingly demanding evidence of CGIAR’s economic returns, the Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA) recently carried out an ROI analysis of a number of "Showcase Successes" from the CGIAR innovation portfolio. Our research found that four innovations — Axial Flow Pumps, Drought-Tolerant Maize, Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) and Flood-Tolerant Rice Varieties — show positive ROIs, strengthening the investment case for CGIAR.
These innovations were selected on the basis of being both ROI-Appropriate and ROI-Feasible — in other words, there was clear evidence of CGIAR's role within the R&D pathways and presence of rigorous estimates on costs, reach, and impacts to enable ROI estimation.
Looking ahead, expanding this analysis to more innovations will require sustained commitment to rigorously measuring reach, impacts, and costs across CGIAR's portfolio.
Ahead of the full ROI report, which is due to be published in early 2026, we've released a brief and an infographic detailing some of our key findings.
Download the brief here and view the infographic below.
