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Networking for practical change through innovation platforms: Insights from African experiences Bertus Wennink, Femke van der Lee, Remco Mur Peter Gildemacher

Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

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B. Wennink et al, Royal Tropical Institute, The Netherlands

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Page 1: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Networking for practical change through innovation platforms: Insights from African experiences

Bertus Wennink, Femke van der Lee, Remco Mur

Peter Gildemacher

Page 2: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Introduction• Innovation is the major driver of local economic development• Innovation system analysis has been instrumental in identification of systemic flaws• It has led to important insights:

• Integration production & marketing innovation• Often a combination of technical, organizational and

institutional changes is required for innovation • Innovation is likely to happen there where different

experiences and points of view meet

• How can we practically use these insights to stimulate innovation to occur?

Page 3: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Introduction• Change is the major driver of local economic development• Change system analysis has been instrumental in identification of systemic flaws • It has led to important insights:

• Integration production & marketing change• Often a combination of technical, organizational and

institutional changes is required for change • Change is likely to happen there where different

experiences and points of view meet

• How can we practically use these insights to stimulate change to occur?

Page 4: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

From analysis to actionHow can we practically use these insights to stimulate change to occur?

Response: pilots with innovation platforms:

A set of stakeholders that are brought together by their interests in shared issues. It provides a physical or virtual forum for exploring opportunities to address those common issues, and investigating and implementing joint solutions. Stakeholders have a shared objective for coming together, which needs to be clear to all participating and translate into commitment to cooperate. This objective has to be tangible, realistic and achievable (FARA 2007). Innovation platforms are seen here as mechanisms to operationalize the agricultural innovation systems approach, and should therefore follow the main principles of the Agricultural Innovation Systems’ thinking, as defined by Otim-Nape (2009). (Nederlof et al, forthcoming)

Page 5: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

From analysis to actionHow can we practically use these insights to stimulate innovation to occur?

Response: pilots with innovation platforms:

A diverse group of people deliberately convening to realise change

Pilots:COS-SIS, RIU, SSA-CP FARA, other commodity platforms

Page 6: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Lessons drawn from different pilots

• International writeshop with practitioners and experts for case based analysis (RIU, CoS-SIS, SSA-CP, other)

• Assessment of RIU platforms in Rwanda, Zambia and Tanzania

• Documentation of case-stories by RIU innovation platforms members in Nigeria, Tanzania and Rwanda

• CoS-SIS experiences

Outcomes:1. RIU reports (to be transformed into book in 2012)2. KIT bulletin: Agricultural Innovation platforms: lessons from

and for practitioners (in print)3. IP experiences CoS-SIS (early 2012)

Page 7: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Innovation platform impact pathways

Output

Immediate Outcomes

• Identification of opportunities

• Needs articulation

• Conflict resolution

• Problem-solving

• Policy-advocacy

• Stakeholder organization

• Income increase

• Risk reduction

• Improve food security and livelihoods

• Improved stakeholder interaction, knowledge & information flow

Impact

• Improved services (i.e. research, advisory, etc.)

• Improved policies and decision making

• Improved system efficiency

• Business deals and new agricultural business operations

• Improved production and management practices

Intermediate Outcomes

Output

Immediate Outcomes

• Identification of opportunities

• Needs articulation

• Conflict resolution

• Problem-solving

• Policy-advocacy

• Stakeholder organization

• Income increase

• Risk reduction

• Improve food security and livelihoods

• Improved stakeholder interaction, knowledge & information flow

Impact

• Improved services (i.e. research, advisory, etc.)

• Improved policies and decision making

• Improved system efficiency

• Business deals and new agricultural business operations

• Improved production and management practices

Intermediate Outcomes

Page 8: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Platform functions observed by members1. Advocacy for change2. Demand articulation3. Access to financial services4. Access to research and extension services5. Access to inputs6. Access to markets7. Farmer collaboration8. Innovation9. Communication10.Coordination of action between support organisations

Page 9: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Facilitation needed

Championing: Representing local stakeholders at a higher level by virtue of a leading role in a local organisation.

Brokering: Make connections between actors that can benefit form each other’s services or roles.

Facilitation: Stimulating and assisting the interactive process between stakeholders with the objective of improved quality of interaction.

Thematic leadership (thrust leadership in RIU): Taking the initiative on a certain topic

Mobilisation: Lobbying essential stakeholders to join a platform or local level organisation.

Page 10: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Facilitation needed cont’dMediation: Conflict resolution.Advocacy: Promoting the network and ensuring support of

and buy-in into the network by those individuals and organisations that matter.

Problem solving: Identifying, proposing and providing practical solutions for bottlenecks hindering progress of multi-stakeholder action.

Technical backstopping: Providing technical advice and training in order to ensure that opportunities discussed are economically, technically and socially viable.

Page 11: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Lessons on facilitation 1. Organisation, not an individual2. Facilitation requires a wide-ranging set of skills3. A person combining all required skills is rare, a team

may be needed4. Organisation assures more continuity5. A change of style and approach can be refreshing6. Level of independence / impartiality appreciated

• Private sector perceived as biased• Other advisors do however also have biases

7. Once established the platform participants can over time assume facilitation roles

8. Facilitation is highly involving, and as a result costly

Page 12: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Platform levelsMiddle level: • Most vibrant and practical• Diverse actors• Close enough for grassroots influence• Distant enough for eye on public interests and system overview

Local: • Fewer stakeholders• Action and individual interest focused

National / state:• Distant from action• Policy orientation• Risks to become talkshop• Only works if the ‘big fish’ participate

Page 13: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Joint stakeholder activities• Essential to attract initial interest of participants and

maintain motivation• Essential to build trust between participants• Important for quick wins and direct success towards

funders

Risk:• These activities take center stage• Innovation objective forgotten and routine management

of activities becomes the mandate• Platform becomes a sort of project implementer and

takes over mandate of its members

Page 14: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Dilemma’s • High cost of facilitation• Who pays?• Keeping an innovation focus• Scaling-up and out

• Initiate many platforms?• Communicate and disseminate results and

methods?• Impact assessment• Facilitation capacity

Page 15: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Cautious conclusionsPlatform is the breeding ground for change

• It provides stakeholders with a stimulating environment to reflect on change

• Try out new things• Articulate needs to both in- and outsiders• Supports coordinated action between participating actors

This justifies the rather heavy time and resource investments provided that• Experiences are of above-local importance• Experiences feed into programs of extension / dissemination /

communication

This would need to be substantiated with an ‘impact per dollar’ assessment

Page 16: Networking for practical change through innovation platforms, Insights from African experiences

Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.kit.nl

Thank you for your attention