Anchoring innovation methodologies to ‘go-to-scale’; a framework to guide agricultural research for development

Mikinay Seifu,Annemarie Van Paassen,Laurens Klerkx,Cees Leeuwis

doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102810

Abstract

Research for development (R4D) projects increasingly engage in multi-stakeholder innovation platforms (IPs) as an innovation methodology, but there is limited knowledge of how the IP methodology spreads from one context to another. That is, how experimentation with an IP approach in one context leads to it being succesfully replicated in other contexts. To inspire development actors to consider the fit of an innovation methodology for a context, following work on anchoring for scaling, we developed a framework for networking-, methodological, and institutional anchoring and applied it to a R4D IP in order to test the value of such an anchoring approach for understanding the scaling of innovation methodologies such as IP. We selected a R4D project with a Farmer Research Group-Innovation Platform in Ethiopia, whose technical output and methodological approach were greatly appreciated by the actors involved. Using the anchoring framework, the executed or non-executed tasks were identified. Besides, the embedding of the methodological experiment the potential up-scaling and out-scaling were systematically analyzed. The analysis yielded the strengths and weaknesses of the anchoring work done so far to scale the innovation methodology used, and provided concrete suggestions of how to proceed if an innovation project considers ‘going to scale’. We recommend R4D projects to valorize their work and pay more explicit attention to anchoring. With a flexible, multi-pronged anchoring approach and continuous scanning of the progress made in context, more R4D projects and their associated innovation methodologies can ‘go to scale’.

Highlights

Scientists and donors are increasingly embracing the Agricultural Innovation System (AIS) perspective, underscoring the need for multiactor learning and coordinated action to create solutions fit and affordable for farmers, value chain actors, and government
innovation platforms (IPs) provide the opportunity for key actors to learn about more interactive problem-solving processes, and they see what type of innovation methodology best fits their context, establishing new roles and relationships for innovation, towards building the systemic capacity for innovation
Inspired by theories on niche-regime interaction, notably literature on strategic niche management (Elzen et al, 2012; Loeber, 2003; Loorbach and Rotmans, 2010; Raven et al, 2008; Schot and Geels, 2008), and innovation processes (Leeuwis, 2004; Kivimaa and Kern, 2016; Klerkx et al, 2009), we developed the ‘anchoring framework’ and selected a well-performing IP project in Ethiopia to test the value of the framework

Summary

Introduction

Scientists and donors are increasingly embracing the Agricultural Innovation System (AIS) perspective, underscoring the need for multiactor learning and coordinated action to create solutions fit and affordable for farmers, value chain actors, and government. Research conducted on the process of IP implementation demonstrates the potential of the interactive IP methodology in developing effective technical, organizational, and institutional innovations at farm level and within value chains (Hounkonnou et al, 2012; Hounkonnou et al, 2018; Van Paassen et al, 2014). This paper is about anchoring such a methodological innovation experiment in its institutional context, to fine-tune the design and to prepare for potential scaling. Out- and up-scaling mutually influence each other, but their relative importance in the change process depends on the complexity of the innovation, the context, and the actors involved

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion