agrl_innovations_in_ssa.pdf?utm_content=buffercb41d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Integrated agricultural research
for development
FARA has promoted the use of innovations systems approaches encouraging processes that
have become known as Integrated Agricultural Research for Development or IAR4D. This has
four defining principles (Hawkins et al., 2009), which integrate:
• Perspectives, knowledge and actions of different stakeholders around a common theme.
• Learning that stakeholders achieve through working together.
• Analysis, action and change across environmental, social and economic dimensions of
development
• Analysis, action and change at different levels of spatial, economic and social organisation.
To put these principles into effect requires joint knowledge sharing, joint analysis and joint
action and change, which necessitate individual, organisational and institutional capacities
that ensure these activities take place. This requires different stakeholders, individuals and
organisations from both public and private sectors to come together on a level playing field.
IAR4D can be viewed as a set of good practices that adds value to existing research and
development processes and therefore should be viewed as an approach or a framework
fostering the quality of the processes. IAR4D is therefore concerned not only with technology
or policy outputs but also with markets, institutional and infrastructural outputs and improved
capacity and behavioural processes that will ensure that new knowledge is put into use. This
requires the creation of favourable organisational and institutional environments that may
require changes in governance structures, leadership and management, resources procedure
and culture to ensure that IAR4D becomes part of mainstream research and development
practice.
Interventions to support the innovation process vary with purpose and are influenced by both
the context and the capacity of different stakeholders.
Figure 2 demonstrates a typical three-phased process from initial engagement with stakeholders,
through planning, implementing, learning and assessing to a final phase of ensuring
a continuing and sustainable and dynamic innovation system. These three phases compare
with those identified in Table 2 in both planned and opportunity-driven innovations: Phase 1
including the foundation or initiating stages, Phase 2 the expansion or emergence stages and
Phase 3 the sustainable innovation stage.
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