Nqubenhle Mbokazi
Overview: Nqubenhle Mbokazi is a researcher who is interested agricultural research, research impact, cooperatives and local economies. He investigates how the evaluation capacity and practices of agricultural research institutes affect their ability to achieve institutional missions and deliver outcomes that benefit the society. He is currently working on a project that compares and analyses the evaluation capacity and practices of Teagasc, the Irish agriculture and food development authority, with those of other pastoral (AgResearch and INIA Uruguay) agriculture research institutes that are part of a Strategic Partnership with Teagasc. This partnership aims to enhance collaboration and knowledge exchange among researchers and evaluators.
His project aims to answer the question: How does evaluation capacity and practices influence the impact of agricultural research activities in relation to institutional missions? He hopes that his research will contribute to improving the quality and relevance of agricultural research and its benefits for society. Through this project, Nqubenhle Mbokazi seeks to provide new insights and recommendations to Teagasc on how to improve its research impact evaluation and to foster stronger research linkages and professional collaboration within the Strategic Partnership. He also hopes to contribute to the development of effective and evidence-based evaluation approaches and practices for agricultural research in general.
Programme Area: Business Planning and Performance Evaluation Department
Supervisors: Dr Kevin Heanue, Dr Barbara van Mierlo, and Cees Leeuwis
Location: Teagasc Athenry, Co. Galway
Funding Source: Teagasc & Wageningen University