CCRP – 30 years of solutions for sustainable local food systems through agricultural research

For over 30 years, The McKnight Foundation’’s Collaborative Crop Research Program has explored solutions for sustainable local food systems through agricultural research. The program grew out of the Foundation’s Plant Biology Program, which was founded in 1983, and reflects the Foundation’s long-time commitment to place-based grantmaking and learning from those working on the ground. Since its founding, the CCRP has committed over $100 million through grant and non-grant assistance to further collaborative crop research between smallholder farmers, leading local researchers, and development practitioners. The CCRP’’s participatory community based approach has been captured in two recent case studies that demonstrate the significant impact this work has had on the field of sustainable food systems. In 2014, the Foundation engaged The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI) to develop a historic overview of the CCRP to capture its origins and evolution over the last 30 years. To develop this narrative, TPI interviewed past and current Board members, staff, consultants and grantees who had been involved at various stages in the lifespan of the program, and reviewed existing documents, reports and meeting notes. View the CCRP History document.