The research group had a kick off meeting in Ethiopia in November 2014. The objective of the meeting was to discuss the project goals and to further elaborate detailed activities with the project consortium (see report). The group visited potential research sites and discussed in more detail the research site selection using the following criteria: road age, geography (both low and high land) and agricultural practices (both farming and pastoralist economic activities), distance to towns and governance of the road building implementation process (Universal Rural Road Access Programme (URRAP) since 2010 or earlier through other programmes). The group also discussed opportunities for knowledge sharing, such as through http://www.thewaterchannel.tv/, a web based resource with video’s, webinars and thematic pages on water management that also feature discussions and debate on road construction and inclusive development in Ethiopia and beyond.