International Conference on Integrated Systems Research

1. Partnerships and Institutional arrangements for
Innovation, Scaling and Impact
Anne Rietveld and Nelson Mango

2. Overview
• Two presentations by Sinclair and Julienne
1. Systems Science at the scale of Impact:
reconciling bottom up participation with the
production of widely applicable research
output
2. A paradigm shift in agricultural research for
development: Innovation Platforms as
vehicles for change and impact

3. Key elements from the first
Keynote address
• What should we scale up? Technology or the
delivery mechanisms?
• Promote livelihood system at scale that takes
into account the interlocking and interactions
of livelihoods.
• The greatest challenge is how to scale systems
approaches as there are variations and a
whole host of factors at different scales.
Biophysical, socio-cultural, policies etc

4. Key elements from the
presentations …..
• We’re lacking an overview of available intervention
options available in different contexts.
• In order to predict what might work the scaling up
equitation should not be Genome*environment =
production but
• Option*context=performance
• We need to match technologies to specific local
circumstances and work both from top-down to get to
scale and bottom-up to identify the appropriate options.
• The question is how do we empower millions of farmers?

5. Key elements from the second
Keynote address
• The IAR4D concept appraises agriculture as a
system that is made of many sub-systems that
must work together to foster development
• Uses both the system and the commodity
approach
• Uses Innovation Platform (IP) as its
operational instrument.

6. Key elements from the
presentations
• IP is a forum for a group of relevant actors along the
value chains of specific commodity or system of
production that influence the chain to interact and
provide solutions to jointly identified constraints on
the platform.
• CORAF has used IAR4D approach to achieve greater
impact at scale.
• Facilitated 212 IPs, improvements mainly in yields,
new planting materials, income and influenced policy
change in Burkina Faso, Gambia, and Sierra Leone

7. Key issues and lessons from discussions
on the 1st Keynote address
• There are different scaling domains such as
the socio-economic domain and the bio-
physical.
• We need to collect evidence on what works
where.
• We need models that relate to system
interventions in smallholder settings
• Institutional and process constraints that have
not enabled scaling of livelihood systems to
take place as presented.

8. Key issues and lessons from the
2nd Keynote Address
• Gender issues in the IPs is not only about numbers or
the presence of women in the IPs but their effective
participation and involvement in decision-making versus
men.
• The impact of the IPs in the intervention areas should
also be measured in terms of nutrition security.
• Facilitation of the IP process still remains a key challenge
in value chains and food systems. CORAF has put in
place competent and skilled trainers to train and coach
IP facilitators.

9. Take home messages from the two
presentations
• Research outputs needs to impact millions of
people and hectares.
• Key steps in scaling intervention options
requires optimizing the system and not only
one of its component
• We need overview of what interventions work
in which contexts.

10. Take home messages
• CORAF recommends the use IAR4D to catalyze
processes that hastens the simultaneous
generation and adoption of technologies and
innovations including practice and polies in
agriculture value chains, food systems and
natural resource management, using multi-
stakeholder innovation platforms.

11. Thank you for your attention