eprintid: 9779
rev_number: 14
eprint_status: archive
userid: 1305
dir: disk0/00/00/97/79
datestamp: 2016-11-11 06:26:03
lastmod: 2017-05-22 05:58:33
status_changed: 2016-11-11 06:26:03
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Swaans, K
creators_name: Cullen, B
creators_name: Van Rooyen, A F
creators_name: Adekunle, A
creators_name: Ngwenya, H
creators_name: Lema, Z
creators_name: Nederlof, S
icrisatcreators_name: Van Rooyen, A F
affiliation: International Livestock Research Institute (Addis Ababa)
affiliation: ICRISAT (Bulawayo)
affiliation: Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) (Accra)
affiliation: Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Framework (FANRPAN) (Pretoria)
affiliation: Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences (VHL) (Wageningen)
country: Ethiopia
country: Zimbabwe
country: Ghana
country: South Africa
country: Netherlands
title: Dealing with critical challenges in African innovation platforms: lessons for facilitation
ispublished: pub
subjects: II1
subjects: s28
divisions: D5
crps: crp1.1
full_text_status: public
keywords: Innovation platforms; Facilitation; Innovation brokers; Africa
note: The development of the ideas for this paper took place during a writeshop on innovation
platforms, which was held from 27-29 May 2013 in Nairobi, funded by the CGIAR
Research Program on Humid Tropics. The authors like to thank Alan Duncan from ILRI
for his comments on an earlier draft.
abstract: Innovation platforms are increasingly used by research and development initiatives to actively engage the poor in agricultural innovation processes. These platforms are forums for action and learning, where different types of actors come together to address issues of mutual concern. However, the dynamic nature of the innovation process, and the differences in interest, capacity and power among the actors involved, pose a challenge in the facilitation of these platforms. We believe that the key to success is very much linked to the attitude, skills and capacities of the innovation broker. This paper highlights seven key issues which in our view are critical to effective platform facilitation and have not received the attention they deserve: the dynamic and evolving nature of platforms; power dynamics; gender equity; external versus internal facilitation; sustainability of the process; issues of scale; and monitoring and evaluation. These issues and implications for facilitation of innovation platforms will be discussed based on examples from the field and in relation to current theories.
date: 2013
date_type: published
publication: Knowledge Management for Development Journal
volume: 09
number: 03
publisher: KM4Dev-community
pagerange: 116-135
refereed: TRUE
issn: 1871-6342
official_url: http://journal.km4dev.org/index.php/km4dj/article/view/154
related_url_url: https://scholar.google.co.in/scholar?q=DEALING+WITH+CRITICAL+CHALLENGES+IN+AFRICAN+INNOVATION+PLATFORMS%3A+LESSONS+FOR+FACILITATION1&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5
related_url_type: pub
citation:   Swaans, K and Cullen, B and Van Rooyen, A F and Adekunle, A and Ngwenya, H and Lema, Z and Nederlof, S  (2013) Dealing with critical challenges in African innovation platforms: lessons for facilitation.  Knowledge Management for Development Journal, 09 (03).  pp. 116-135.  ISSN 1871-6342     
document_url: http://oar.icrisat.org/9779/1/154-523-1-PB.pdf