Research Results from the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Markets, Risk & Resilience
The USAID-funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Markets, Risk & Resilience (MRR) at UC Davis developed and tested financial and market innovations that build resilience and agricultural growth among rural families and markets. This Key Learnings Report synthesizes key research findings that had been collected before our closure in early 2025.
Similar work is ongoing through the Resilience+ Innovation Facility at UC Davis.
Accounting for the Full Cost of Shocks with an Economic Measure of Resilience
In many parts of the world, increasingly erratic weather is threatening the lives and livelihoods of families who rely on agriculture. While no one can control mother nature, development programs are focused more than ever on the idea of building people’s resilience to losing crops, livestock and even their means to earn a living.
But when it comes to measuring resilience, what exactly do we mean?
“Intuitively, resilience is the ability to maintain one’s livelihood with minimal compromise compared to what it would have been without a shock,” said Michael Carter, director of the MRR Innovation Lab at UC Davis. “That’s a common-sense definition but how do we measure that?” Read more
