Your search found 44 records
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H049940)
(3.65 MB)
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050116)
(0.31 MB)
Purpose – There is little known about investigating the importance of all proximity dimensions simultaneously as a result of geographical proximity on university-industry collaborative innovation. This paper aims to answer the question of how geographically proximate university and industry influence cognitive, social, organizational, institutional and cultural proximity within university-industry joint laboratories and finally, what is the outcome of these interplays on collaborative innovation.
Design/methodology/approach – The study uses an exploratory multiple-case study approach. The results are derived from 53 in-depth, semistructured interviews with laboratory directors and representatives from both the company and the university within 8 joint laboratories of Telecom Italia (TIM). The data collection was carried out in 2014 and 2015. The analysis follows a multi-grounded theory approach and relies on a mix of deductive and inductive reasoning with the final goal of theoretical elaboration.
Findings – This study finds the role of social and cultural proximity at the individual level as a result of geographical proximity as an enabler of collaborative innovation by triggering mutual learning, trust formation and frequent interactions. Cognitive proximity at the interface level could systematically influence collaborative innovation, while organizational and institutional proximity has marginal roles in facilitating collaborative innovation. The qualitative analysis offers a conceptual framework for proximity dimensions and collaborative innovation within university-industry joint laboratories.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H050124)
(3.74 MB)
The African Water Facility, together with the Water Research Commission, South Africa, as its implementing agent, supported the demonstration project Operationalizing community-led Multiple Use water Services (MUS) in South Africa. As knowledge broker and research partner in this project, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) analyzed processes and impacts at the local level, where the nongovernmental organization Tsogang Water and Sanitation demonstrated community-led MUS in six diverse rural communities in two of the poorest districts of South Africa, Sekhukhune and Vhembe districts - Ga Mokgotho, Ga Moela and Phiring in the Sekhukhune District Municipality, and Tshakhuma, Khalavha and Ha Gumbu in Vhembe District Municipality. In conventional water infrastructure projects, external state or non-state agencies plan, diagnose, design and prioritize solutions, mobilize funding, and implement the procurement of materials, recruitment of workers and construction. However, this MUS project facilitated decision-making by communities, and provided technical and institutional advice and capacity development. Based on IWMI’s evidence, tools and manuals, the project team organized learning alliances and policy dialogues from municipal to national level on the replication of community-led MUS by water services authorities; government departments of water, agriculture, and others; employment generation programs; climate and disaster management; and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
This working paper synthesizes the lessons learned about the six steps of the community-led MUS process in all six communities. The step-wise process appeared to be welcome and effective across the board. The duration of the process and the costs of facilitation, technical and institutional capacity development, and engineering advice and quality control were comparable to conventional approaches. However, the respective responsibilities of the government and communities, also in longer-term co-management arrangements, depended on the type of infrastructure. Some communities were supported to improve their communal self supply systems. In other communities, the process enabled an extension of the reticulation of borehole systems owned, operated and maintained by municipalities. Almost all households used water supplies at homesteads for multiple purposes, underscoring synergies in cross-sectoral collaboration between the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and irrigation sectors.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050217)
(0.57 MB) (588 KB)
As we rapidly modify the environment around us, researchers have a critical role to play in raising our understanding of the interactions between people and the world in which they live. Knowledge and understanding of these interactions are essential for evidence based decision-making on resource use and risk management. In this paper, we explore three research case studies that illustrate co-evolution between people and water systems. In each case study, we highlight how different knowledge and understanding, stemming from different disciplines, can be integrated by complementing narratives with a quantitative modelling approach. We identify several important research practices that must be taken into account when modelling people-water systems: transparency, grounding the model in sound theory, supporting it with the most robust data possible, communicating uncertainty, recognising that there is no ‘one true model’ and diversity in the modelling team. To support interdisciplinary research endeavours, we propose a three-point plan: (1) demonstrating and emphasising that interdisciplinary collaboration can both address existing research questions and identify new, previously unknown questions at the interface between the disciplines; (2) supporting individual interdisciplinary learning at all career stages and (3) developing group practices and a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050235)
(1.94 MB) (1.94 MB)
Calls for transformative adaptation to climate change require attention to the type of capacity building that can support it. Community-level capacity building can help to ensure ownership and legitimacy of longer-term interventions. Given that marginalized communities are highly vulnerable to climate risk, it is important to build their capacity to adapt locally and to integrate their perspectives into higher-level adaptation measures. Current adaptation policy does not pay sufficient attention to this. Using a Cape Town-based project on water governance in low-income urban settlements, this paper explores how a transdisciplinary research project supported capacity building. Our findings suggest that knowledge co-creation at the community level is central to the capacity building that is needed in order to inform transformative adaptation. The collaborative methodology used is also important; we illustrate how a transdisciplinary approach can contribute to transformative adaptation where knowledge is co-produced to empower community-level actors and organizations to assert their perspectives with greater confidence and legitimacy. We argue that if capacity building processes shift from the top-down transferal of existing knowledge to the co-creation of contextual understandings, they have the potential to deliver more transformative adaptation. By considering diverse sources of knowledge and knowledge systems, capacity building can start to confront inequalities and shift dominant power dynamics. Adaptation policy could provide more guidance and support for community-level transdisciplinary processes that can enable this type of transformative adaptation.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050302)
(6.12 MB) (6.12 MB)
Centralized state governance systems have been criticized for being ineffective and inefficient in tackling complex climate change challenges. Consequently, governance models that integrate collaboration among diverse stakeholders are seen as crucial in increasing adaptation efforts around the world. However, at present, there is little insight into the mechanics of collaborative adaptation governance (CAG) at the local, regional, national or global levels. Drawing on collaborative governance theory and literature on climate change adaptation, we use multiple qualitative research methods to identify and explore CAG in northern Ghana. We examine the conceptualization and implementation of CAG projects as well as the motivation behind them and their ensuing benefits. Results show that perceived climatic changes, diminishing agricultural livelihoods, adaptation resource needs and opportunities largely drive CAG. Local state actors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provide leadership in CAG, bridging gaps in access to adaptation resources through the provision of agricultural inputs, climate services, infrastructure and human capacity development. However, in parallel to these, there exist interwoven governance challenges that include questions of trust, commitment, transparency, accountability and the representation of diverse interests. We demonstrate how powerful state actors and NGOs set the agenda, frame problems, and implement rules and incentives that are contrary to the normative tenets of collaborative governance theory. Ultimately, the results of this study shows that CAG is attempted but the challenges of CAG in northern Ghana are large, while also providing insight into the extent to which CAG approaches can facilitate adaptation to climate change globally.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050368)
(8.27 MB)
To promote collaboration on water management between farmers and government agencies, both parties must have a mutual understanding of the measurement and management of available water resources using existing infra- and non-infrastructure management tools. They are required to provide collaborative water management through appropriate technology, with capacity building and knowledge management. In this study, the water balance model was used as a tool to induce participation and the promotion of a joint water use at the river basin level. The amount and proportion of water use from different types of water sources were calculated based on this water balance model. Moreover, farmers were encouraged to help with water flow measurements using technologies and principles that were simple but accurate in terms of engineering aspects. According to the analyses of water use proportions, a large amount of water from pumping stations was used during the dry season at high cost. When aware of the proportion of water used, farmers collaboratively established guidelines on an effective water management in the area, including large-scale viewpoints applicable beyond the actual areas. Overall, these guidelines will eventually bring positive results to other downstream water users.
8 Lundy, L.; Fatta-Kassinos, D.; Slobodnik, J.; Karaolia, P.; Cirka, L.; Kreuzinger, N.; Castiglioni, S.; Bijlsma, L.; Dulio, V.; Deviller, G.; Lai, F. Y.; Alygizakis, N.; Barneo, M.; Baz-Lomba, J. A.; Been, F.; Cichova, M.; Conde-Perez, K.; Covaci, A.; Donner, E.; Ficek, A.; Hassard, F.; Hedstrom, A.; Hernandez, F.; Janska, V.; Jellison, K.; Hofman, J.; Hill, K.; Hong, P.-Y.; Kasprzyk-Hordern, B.; Kolarevic, S.; Krahulec, J.; Lambropoulou, D.; de Llanos, R.; Mackulak, T.; Martinez-Garcia, L.; Martinez, F.; Medema, G.; Micsinai, A.; Myrmel, M.; Nasser, M.; Niederstatter, H.; Nozal, L.; Oberacher, H.; Ocenaskova, V.; Ogorzaly, L.; Papadopoulos, D.; Peinado, B.; Pitkanen, T.; Poza, M.; Rumbo-Feal, S.; Sanchez, M. B.; Szekely, A. J.; Soltysova, A.; Thomaidis, N. S.; Vallejo, J.; van Nuijs, A.; Ware, V.; Viklander, M. 2021. Making waves: collaboration in the time of SARS-CoV-2 - rapid development of an international co-operation and wastewater surveillance database to support public health decision-making. Water Research, 199:117167. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117167]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050412)
(1.32 MB)
The presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater was first reported in March 2020. Over the subsequent months, the potential for wastewater surveillance to contribute to COVID-19 mitigation programmes has been the focus of intense national and international research activities, gaining the attention of policy makers and the public. As a new application of an established methodology, focused collaboration between public health practitioners and wastewater researchers is essential to developing a common understanding on how, when and where the outputs of this non-invasive community-level approach can deliver actionable outcomes for public health authorities. Within this context, the NORMAN SCORE “SARS-CoV-2 in sewage” database provides a platform for rapid, open access data sharing, validated by the uploading of 276 data sets from nine countries to-date. Through offering direct access to underpinning meta-data sets (and describing its use in data interpretation), the NORMAN SCORE database is a resource for the development of recommendations on minimum data requirements for wastewater pathogen surveillance. It is also a tool to engage public health practitioners in discussions on use of the approach, providing an opportunity to build mutual understanding of the demand and supply for data and facilitate the translation of this promising research application into public health practice.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050492)
(2.91 MB)
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050495)
(0.99 MB) (0.99 MB)
Recently, increasing attention has been paid to entrepreneurial ecosystems and the process of their formation and function. Researchers have noted the important role that intermediary organizations such as incubators play in connecting various actors within ecosystems. Yet our understanding of this role is limited to a few empirical insights. Using resource dependence and embeddedness as theoretical lenses, the present research examines the role of incubators in entrepreneurial ecosystem formation and function, and analyzes how intermediation activities shape collaboration patterns embedded within entrepreneurial ecosystems. Our findings are based on an empirical investigation of two entrepreneurial ecosystems, one in Kenya and one in Uganda. Our analysis of 38 semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurial actors in these ecosystems reveals the underlying structural, operational, and relational conditions that influence the actors’ interaction with each other. We propose three collaboration patterns that emerge among actors in entrepreneurial ecosystems under these conditions: one-sided dependency-based, joint dependency-based, and mutual dependency-based collaborations. We discuss these patterns in detail and identify the circumstances in which each is most likely to occur. This empirical setting clearly shows that beyond their primary roles of providing space, network, and advice to entrepreneurs, intermediary organizations in entrepreneurial ecosystems play a significant role in orchestrating collaborations. Finally, we reflect on the limitations of this study and offer implications for future research.
11 Eaton, W. M.; Brasier, K. J.; Burbach, M. E.; Whitmer, W.; Engle, E. W.; Burnham, M.; Quimby, B.; Chaudhary, A. K.; Whitley, H.; Delozier, J.; Fowler, L. B.; Wutich, A.; Bausch, J. C.; Beresford, M.; Hinrichs, C. C.; Burkhart-Kriesel, C.; Preisendanz, H. E.; Williams, C.; Watson, J.; Weigle, J. 2021. A conceptual framework for social, behavioral, and environmental change through stakeholder engagement in water resource management. Society and Natural Resources, 23p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2021.1936717]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050512)
(2.39 MB) (2.39 MB)
Incorporating stakeholder engagement into environmental management may help in the pursuit of novel approaches for addressing complex water resource problems. However, evidence about how and under what circumstances stakeholder engagement enables desirable changes remains elusive. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework for studying social and environmental changes possible through stakeholder engagement in water resource management, from inception to outcomes. We synthesize concepts from multiple literatures to provide a framework for tracing linkages from contextual conditions, through engagement process design features, to social learning, community capacity building, and behavioral change at individual, group, and group network levels, and ultimately to environmental change. We discuss opportunities to enhance the framework including through empirical applications to delineate scalar and temporal dimensions of social, behavioral, and environmental changes resulting from stakeholder engagement, and the potential for negative outcomes thus far glossed over in research on change through engagement.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050601)
(2.69 MB) (2.69 MB)
Nature-based solutions (NBS) can help tackle climate change and advance urban sustainability by using nature to deliver social, ecological and economic benefits. However, their success largely depend on implementation for which several barriers exist. For NBS to be meaningful in terms of delivering positive impacts in cities, we need better understanding of how implementation is embedded in NBS frameworks. The aim of this paper is to i) understand how frameworks address implementation, and ii) extract and synthesize key elements and conditions required for enabling the implementation process. Taking a hermeneutic approach, the paper makes use of pre-understanding to interpret and analyse 'the whole' and 'the parts' of the implementation process and discuss how the discourse on NBS implementation could advance towards more operational understanding. This paper suggests that multi-stakeholder collaboration and co-creation of knowledge are important prerequisites for shared understanding of problems, developing actionable knowledge and adapting NBS to site-specific societal challenges. Advancing knowledge about the NBS implementation process is relevant for capacity building and governance of NBS at the local level and bridging policy areas, stakeholders and the knowledge needed to make NBS become relevant to broader society. However, more research is needed to i) move beyond conceptual propositions and towards operational understanding of NBS principles and ii) improve the understanding of how local collaboration and co-creation of knowledge can enhance capacity building and support implementation of NBS.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050625)
(2.64 MB) (2.64 MB)
Digital technologies enable small-scale farmers to reduce some constraints to participate in Agriculture Value Chains (AVCs). Small-scale farmers face significant challenges and barriers to adopting digital technology. This study contributes to the literature on digital development in three ways: present the economic, political, and social factors affecting digital adoption in the AVCs; highlight the implications for governance and institutional challenges;adds knowledge to the analytical value of the Choice Frameworkto study digital technology adoption. This paper after identifying more than 100 papers and articles, uses a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) aligned with Cooper’s [(2010). Research synthesis and meta-analysis: A step-by-step approach (5th ed.). Sage] approach to examine 52 articles published from 2014 to 2019, ultimately selecting the most relevant 36 studies. The study uses the Choice Framework that operationalizes the Capabilities Approach (CA) as a theoretical window for this research. Papers were classified into four different categories: economic; political; social factors; institutional/governance. The findings show: - the role of the state in governance and institutional support is critical to facilitate the collaboration and participation of different actors;-the importance to develop a comprehensive localized developmental implementation framework that can support the adoption of digital solutions to support small-scale farmers. Limitations for this study are highlighted and areas for further research are suggested.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050626)
(2.51 MB) (2.51 MB)
Despite widespread recognition that social learning can potentially contribute toward enhancing community resilience to climate-induced disaster shocks, studies on this process remain few and far between. This study investigates the role of local institutions (formal, informal, and quasi-formal) in creating learning arenas and translating social learning into collective action in flash flood-prone Sunamganj communities in Bangladesh. We follow a Case Study approach using qualitative research methods. Primary data were collected through 24 key informant interviews, 10 semi-structured interviews, six focus-group discussions, and two participant observations events. Our results reveal that the diversity and flexibility of local-level institutions creates multiple learning platforms in which social interaction, problem formulation, nurturing diverse perspectives, and generating innovative knowledge for collective action can take place. Within these formal and informal learning arenas, communities’ desire and willingness to be self-reliant and to reduce their dependency on external funding and assistance is clearly evident. Social learning thus paves the way for institutional collaboration, partnership, and multi-stakeholder engagement, which facilitates social learning-based collective action. Nurturing institutional diversity and flexibility at the local level is therefore recommended for transforming social learning into active problem-solving measures and to enhance community resilience to disaster shocks.
15 Pugel, K.; Javernick-Will, A.; Peabody, S.; Nyaga, C.; Mussa, M.; Mekonta, L.; Dimtse, D.; Watsisi, M.; Buhungiro, E.; Mulatu, T.; Annis, J.; Jordan, E.; Sandifer, E.; Linden, K. 2021. Pathways for collaboratively strengthening water and sanitation systems. Science of the Total Environment, 802:149854. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149854]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050638)
(1.32 MB) (1.32 MB)
Collaborative approaches are seen as a promising way to strengthen Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) service delivery systems when challenges exceed the mandates and capabilities of any single entity. While collaborative approaches are well studied in high-income country contexts, current understanding of their application to international development contexts is limited. This paper uses fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis to assess what conditions and pathways drove or impeded progress within eleven collaborative approaches for WASH service delivery in Eastern Africa. Evidence supported three main findings: (1) Government uptake of recommendations is necessary for progress but cannot be guaranteed solely by government participation in the collaboration, (2) different forms of problem identification are possible; problem scopes are often predefined to align with funders and partner government agendas, but flexible scopes that foster collective problem identification can reap benefits, and (3) hub convening power can be critical and convening power can be gained in different ways. Political dynamics, shifting priorities, and turnover undermine collaborative efforts, but collaborative approaches can still make progress in spite of turnover if funds are available for implementation of activities (i.e. in addition to funds for meetings and hub roles) and program implementers either facilitate collective problem identification or establish a hub with convening power. Yet even these tactics are vulnerable to instability, thus in highly unstable contexts, stakeholders and funders should be realistic from the outset about what they may be able to achieve. Building on existing theories of collaborative approaches, this work revealed that there is no single best design for collaborative approaches in WASH, rather, core elements worked together in different ways depending on the context.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050789)
(2.21 MB)
This paper argues for more creativity and flexibility in agricultural research for development (AR4D) scaling and impact evaluation in complex contexts. While acknowledging the importance of setting reasonable end-of-project targets and outcomes, we argue that the achievement of outcomes and impacts, particularly in complex contexts, requires adaptive management and acknowledgment that significant positive outcomes and impacts may occur after the project funding cycle is complete. The paper presents a practitioner-developed approach to scaling AR4D innovations called Impact Tracking (IT). We illustrate IT in practice by presenting three case studies from Ethiopia in which IT proved crucial to achieving impact. The paper concludes by drawing lessons from the case studies and discussing what implications IT may have for development practitioners.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050773)
(6.07 MB)
African experts remain underrepresented in global climate change work and assessments, potentially from patterns of international funding, collaborations, or funder mandates. We evaluated authorship and funding of African climate science by searching Web of Science Core Collection for studies published between database inception and 31 October 2018, identifying 12561 journal articles reporting climate research in Africa. We exported the funding information, and ranked funders by the number of publications they funded. For the ten agencies funding the most publications with at least one African author, we identified all publications (n = 214) from the top five grants, by number of publications. We examined the number and position of African authors on these, and the mandates of these ten agencies. Of the publications on Africa climate research, 58% (7232) included no African authors. Among the top ten funders of African-authored publications, the South African NRF funded predominantly South African authors, while the United Kingdom’s NERC, German BMBF, and USAID, funded research involving authors from 7 to 15 African countries. Only the IDRC and CGIAR have clear mandates to develop capacity within regions being studied. Overall, African climate experts are absent from much of the foreign-funded climate change research about Africa. Funders should promote collaboration with Africans when funding work on the continent, to improve African research capacity and expertise, and bolster African climate science. Most importantly, research done without local expertise may exclude important local knowledge, not be locally relevant or applicable, or miss African based solutions of potential global importance.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050921)
(2.33 MB) (2.33 MB)
Complexity of African agrarian systems necessitates that agricultural research and development transition to agricultural innovation system [AIS] approaches. While AIS perspectives are embraced across sub-Saharan Africa, engagement of stakeholders in agricultural research and development processes as espoused in AIS paradigm remains limited. This paper aims to analyze key stakeholders in the AIS in Malawi using the case of Conservation Agriculture [CA]. We analyze roles, organizational capacity and collaboration of stakeholders in Malawi’s CA innovation system. Although Government has the most extensive role, NGOs dominate the national CA agenda, while smallholder farmers remain passive recipients of CA interventions. Many CA promoters lack technical and financial capacity, and pursue limited collaboration, which diminish prospects of inclusive stakeholder engagement. While insufficient resources lead to inadequate technical support to smallholders, the limited collaboration hinders integration of programmes, multiple sources of innovation and knowledge required to foster social learning and sustainability of CA. Our findings indicate a need to: (1) strengthen understanding of AIS approaches among CA innovation system stakeholders; (2) build stronger partnerships in CA research and development by strengthening stakeholder platforms and social processes; (3) strengthen collaboration advisory mechanisms to facilitate knowledge-sharing, resource mobilization and joint programme implementation with strengthened feedback loops.
19 Horvath, S.- M.; Muhr, M. M.; Kirchner, M.; Toth, W.; Germann, V.; Hundscheid, L.; Vacik, H.; Scherz, M.; Kreiner, H.; Fehr, F.; Borgwardt, F.; Guhnemann, A.; Becsi, B.; Schneeberger, A.; Gratzer, G. 2022. Handling a complex agenda: a review and assessment of methods to analyse SDG entity interactions. Environmental Science and Policy, 131:160-176. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.01.021]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050937)
(2.78 MB) (2.78 MB)
The interlinked character of the 2030 Agenda poses both a challenge and an opportunity in terms of coherent policy making. Accordingly, different methods have been used in approaching the interactions between SDG entities (goals, targets, indicators, policies, external entities) in several recent publications.
In this paper, we provide a review and assessment of methods used for analysing SDG entity interactions. Specifically, we assess the suitability of these methods for addressing policy coherence at different levels and from different perspectives.
A total of 30 methods are categorised into argumentative, literature, linguistic, simulation, statistical, and other quantitative methods and are examined with expert elicitation applying a range of criteria on the basis of the following factors: the ability to give detailed information about effects between SDG entities, practicability, sensitivity to interdisciplinarity, and collaboration and systems thinking.
No single method, category, or research tradition (i.e. quantitative or qualitative) can be regarded as the most suitable for analysing SDG entity interactions. Quantitative methods (i.e. statistical, simulation, and other quantitative) are most frequently applied in the scientific context, although assessment results suggest that argumentative methods are particularly useful for obtaining information about effects while enabling interdisciplinarity and collaboration. In contrast, literature, linguistic, and quantitative methods can not be used to process different kinds of information. However, regarding the effort required, quantitative methods (except simulation methods) seem to require fewer resources. Although argumentative methods are evaluated best overall in our assessment, different implementation contexts and the importance assigned to the criteria may justify the application of most other methods as well.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050939)
(0.95 MB) (976 KB)
CONTEXT: Farmer-led innovation brings farmers together with other stakeholders in a collaborative endeavour that recognises multiple forms of expertise. Critical engagement with mainstream models of agricultural science and technology (AST) development has drawn attention to the isolation of farmers as technology adopters within a compartmentalised model of AST development and dissemination. Academic, government and non-governmental actors and organisations are increasingly supporting facilitated processes in which farmers, scientists and engineers develop new knowledge, learning together about the nature of the problems being faced and the potential of different solution pathways.
OBJECTIVE: Despite the centrality of learning to farmer-led innovation, its role has yet to be systematically explored. In response, this paper looks to understand the forms of learning and their contribution to farmer-led innovation during a three-year action-research project involving two groups of farmers from northern England and the Scottish Borders in the UK.
METHODS: A researcher-facilitator convened a structured process of twenty meetings that together created opportunities for interaction, deliberation and re-framing of problems and solutions among groups of farmers, a university-based engineer, and wider stakeholders. Multiple qualitative methods were used to build understanding of the different farming contexts and to explore the issues the farmers wanted to work on. Meeting transcripts and fieldnotes were subject to thematic analysis, informed by the analytical framework of cognitive, normative and relational learning derived from the social learning literature.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive, normative and relational learning were found to be mutually interdependent and equally significant, building iteratively rather than linearly: the farmers and engineer assessed new information and reappraised existing situations; they did so informed by and informing a shift in understanding of their goals for new technology; and in so doing they relied on and developed the trust and confidence needed to acknowledge or challenge each other's perspectives. By orientating the group engagement process around the space to explore and challenge histories and contexts of AST, and by drawing on social learning principles to facilitate interaction between the different expertise of farmers and between farmers and engineers, learning emerged that interleaved technology co-design with incremental refinement of the shared norms and values embedded in the process itself.
SIGNIFICANCE: A focus on learning helps deepen understanding of key mechanisms and processes that define and deliver innovation, and the findings suggest that priorities for farmer-led innovation process design should focus on modalities that open up spaces to negotiate both the purpose and products of innovation.
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