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 | Worries about food security and climate change and the rediscovery of the poverty-reducing potential of agricultural development have prompted a new rush to invest in agricultural research. In November-December 2009's LINK LOOK Andy Hall and Jeroen Dijkman argue that much more than research is required and that what is now needed is a prominent development investor that will champion the idea of research as an integrated part of a more broadly-conceived capacity for change. . |
TWO NEW DISCUSSION PAPERS FROM LINK LINK is pleased to announce the publication of two new discussion papers, available for download from the UNU-MERIT website (www.merit.unu.edu).
The first, titled “What do Complex Adaptive Systems look like and What are the Implications for Innovation Policy?”, by LINK Coordinator Andy Hall and Norman Clark, explores the use of complex adaptive systems theory in development policy analysis using a case study drawn from recent events in Uganda. The second, titled “Tacit Knowledge and Innovation Capacity: Evidence from the Indian Livestock Sector”, is authored by Rasheed Sulaiman V., Laxmi Thummuru, Andy Hall and Jeroen Dijkman. explores the role of tacit knowledge in livestock sector innovation capacity though the case of Visakha Dairy, a producer-owned milk marketing company in India that used tacit knowledge to innovate around challenges. For more details on the papers and download details follow the link more... RIUTV GOES LIVE As part of its new communications strategy, the Research Into Use Programme (RIU) (www.researchintouse.com) has launched an on-line, on-demand television channel — RIUtv. Updated regularly with news and reports from the RIU programme, RIUtv will provide a lively and informative link to research in use in Africa, Asia and elsewhere. The channel follows the refocusing of the RIU programme, and is a feature of its website, which is in the process of being completely redesigned and much of the content rewritten. The new website is being built around the needs of its users, and designed to make the website, and therefore the RIU programme, more interactive, dynamic and responsive. Viewers can also watch Andy Hall, LINK Coordinator and Head of the Central Research Team of RIU, explains the programme's innovation systems approach to agricultural research and development at http://www.researchintouse.com/index.php?section=40. EC SEMINAR ON INNOVATION LINK coordinator Andy Hall presented the key features of an innovation systems approach — as well as the policy implications of such an approach — at a seminar on Agriculture and Rural Development in Brussels on November 9-13 for delivery to European Commission staff. According to Andy, the contemporary understanding of innovation — as neither research nor invention but as a social process of learning and acquiring knowledge and putting it into socially and economically productive use — offers new insights into ways of accelerating agricultural development, shifting policy attention to a much broader arena of activities, processes and capacities involved in innovation. Organised by ITAD, the seminar was part of the EC’s Methodological Support and Training in Aid Delivery Methods (MSTADM) programme. Participants included officials from delegations in Brussels working with the rural poor, agricultural sectors, economic development, agro-industries and agricultural development policies. LESSONS FROM THE FODDER PROJECT LINK South Asia coordinator Rasheed Sulaiman V. and ILRI scientist Ranjitha Puskur presented experiences and lessons from the joint LINK-ILRI Fodder Innovation Project (FIP) during an IFAD-Fodder Adoption Project (FAP) coordination meeting organised in Vietnam on November 17-19, 2009. The FIP is being implemented in India and Nigeria and more details are available on the project website at www.fodderinnovation.org. ILRI, in collaboration with the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), is implementing the IFAD-funded project “Enhancing livelihoods of Poor Livestock Keepers through Increased Use of Fodder” and organised the coordination meeting to share experiences. IAALD FEATURES FODDER PROJECT In a recent interview with the International Association of Agriculture Information Specialists (IAALD), Ranjitha Puskur of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) shared some lessons emerging from the LINK-ILRI Fodder Innovation Project in India and Nigeria. According to Ranjitha, the project, which is funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), aims to “form and facilitate a network of different actors in a chain or continuum of knowledge production and its use, mobilising all their various resources and capacities to address a problem”. However, as she emphasises, “getting a network of actors isn’t an easy process; it takes time.” Different organisations with different interests and motives have to be brought around the table to contribute and benefit. “It needs great facilitation skills and negotiating skills, which are not very often core competencies of researchers like us.” For more on the interview, visit http://ilri.blip.tv/file/2922907/. For more on the Fodder Innovation Project visit www.fodderinnovation.org.
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LINK works in collaboration with the following partner organisations-
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