This is a chapter of the book Innovation platforms for agricultural development edited by Iddo Dror, Jean-Joseph Cadilhon, Marc Schut, Michael Misiko and Shreya Maheshwari.
This case study zooms in on multi-stakeholder processes in the East and Central Africa (ECA) Action Area or Flagship that were launched on 20 May 2013 in Bukavu, DR Congo. The ECA Flagship encom-passes the Rwanda, DR Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia Action Sites. More specifically, the case study describes and reflects upon the first two years of CGIAR Humidtropics in DR Congo. aiming to outline the multi-stakeholder process as it unfolded and highlight lessons that can be learned from this.
Capacity development (CapDev) is increasingly acknowledged as a crucial part of agricultural development. In the CGIAR Strategic Results Framework (SRF), CapDev is included as a ‘cross-cutting issue’ and as a strategic enabler of Research for Development (R4D) impact for CGIAR and its partners. It goes far beyond the transfer of knowledge and skills through training, and cuts across multiple levels.
Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) is the world’s first index-based insurance designed to protect vulnerable pastoralists in drought-stricken areas from losing their primary asset—livestock. This case study demonstrates the opportunities and challenges emerging from the IBLI project. It explains the need to establish the product in locations with large vulnerable pastoralist populations and encourages students to consider and develop an IBLI growth strategy.
This document is intended to serve as a resource for assessing capacity needs in a project or programme. A capacity needs assessment (CNA) is a process for identifying a project’s perceptions (through staff, partners and stakeholders) on various capacity areas that impact the work they do. The process helps identify challenges and opportunities for enhancing key skills thereby enhancing the project’s ability to achieve its objectives. The overall goal of a CNA is to determine the gap between required and existing capacities.
The three system CGIAR research programs on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics, Dryland Systems and Aquatic Agricultural Systems have included “capacity to innovate” as an intermediate development outcome in their respective theories of change. The wording of the intermediate development outcome is “increased systems capacity to innovate and contribute to improved livelihoods of low-income agricultural communities.” This note captures the CGIAR's collective thinking about this intermediate development outcome from a systems perspective to clarify it and inspire other programs.
The module aimed to identify and examine the main features and characteristics of complex agricultural problems, explore innovative solutions to address complex agricultural problems, and examine the circumstances under which innovative solutions emerge.
Le renforcement des capacités à innover apparaît comme un nouveau moyen pour assurer un développement durable dans les pays du Sud. Dans le secteur de l'agriculture, l'innovation est essentiellement collective, ce qui appelle les chercheurs à sortir de leur rôle de producteurs de connaissances pour s'engager auprès des acteurs en situation d'innovation. Si une diversité de pratiques de recherche engagée sont apparues, il n'existe cependant pas aujourd'hui une vision claire des différentes façons dont les chercheurs contribuent à l'innovation.
This project report from Wageningen UR (as a contribution to the CGIAR Humid Tropics research program) examines critical issues for reflection when designing and implementing research for development in innovation platforms’. The current document therefore aims to increase awareness about the complexity of research in innovation. The underlying idea is that innovation platforms can facilitate institutional changes and support system innovations through increased interaction, negotiation and learning between stakeholders, including (new) roles of research(ers).
Innovation Platforms (IPs) have become a popular vehicle in agricultural research for development (AR4D). The IP promise is that integrating scientific and local knowledge results in innovations that can have impact at scale. Many studies have uncovered how IPs work in various countries, value chains and themes. The conclusion is clear: IPs generate enthusiasm and can bring together stakeholders to effectively address specific problems and achieve ‘local’ impact.