Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation – Bringing System-Wide Change in Asia-Pacific Martina Spisiakova, Consultant, APAARI

1. Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation –
Bringing System-Wide Change in Asia-Pacific
Martina Spisiakova, Consultant, APAARI

2. About APAARI
APAARI members (71 to date)
• National agricultural research
institutes and organizations
• Higher education institutions
• Inter-governmental agencies
• CGIAR and other international
agricultural research centres
• International development
organizations
• Civil society (NGOs and FOs)
• Global/regional/sub-regional
fora
Vision:
Strengthened research and
innovations for sustainable
development in Asia and the
Pacific
• Membership-based
• Apolitical
• Multi-stakeholder
• Inter-governmental
• Regional forum
…working in APR since 1990

3. APAARI’s Mission
• Promoting
• Coordinating and
• Strengthening
agriculture and agri-
food research and
innovation systems
through key programmes:
• Knowledge
management
• Partnerships and
collaboration
• Capacity development
• Advocacy
… cross-cutting areas – women and youth, foresight
and visioning
… in the context of: natural resources management,
risks and uncertainties, value chains and public policies

4. Benefits to Members
• Enhancing scope for networking, knowledge sharing,
collaboration and partnership by synergizing efforts and
creating opportunities for the members to participate in
discussions and policy dialogue
• Ensuring dissemination of research outputs of the
members and their integration in regional and global
knowledge base
• Increasing visibility of the members and their activities
through KM and advocacy at regional and global levels
• Providing incentives to the members for enhancing APAARI
activities and opportunities to influence APAARI
governance
• Assuring participation of the members in capacity
development to strengthen their technical and functional
capacities, including women and youth, and disadvantaged
institutions and countries
• Helping members develop KM models

5. APAARI’s Work with Universities
• Working with TAP (FAO), GCHERA and GFAR to introduce
programmes on soft skills and leadership development in
universities (ongoing) – other partners welcome to join us!
• Webinar with Universities on Capacity Development for
Agricultural Innovation: Bringing System-Wide Change in Asia-
Pacific (Nov 2017)
• Presentations on the developments in the higher education
sector, improved methods, tools and resources for application in
education (Regional Conference on Greening Agri-food Systems
in Southeast Asia) (Jan 2018)
• Identification of pilot universities for a project on ‘soft skill’
development based on the presented models, focusing on
transformational learning and curricula reform to better
prepare graduates to tackle global challenges (Feb 2018)

6. APAARI’s Work with Universities
• More webinars to raise awareness on the improved models in
education with SEA and Pacific universities (March 2018)
• Appraising senior officials of NARS and other national
educational bodies on the importance of learning about and
applying these different models, to get their buy-in for replicating
successful pilot projects (ongoing)
• Scope for and mobilize funding for the pilot project (ongoing)
• Attracting and mobilizing more organizations (new members) to
contribute to the APAARI-initiated collective action on bringing
transformation to agricultural universities in APR (ongoing)
• Project development (March 2018)
• Project implementation (2018-2019)
• Scaling up successful models in other countries/universities of
Asia-Pacific (2019-2020)

7. APAARI-supported education models
Common
Framework on
Capacity
Development (CD)
for Agricultural
Innovation Systems
(AIS) – Tropical
Agriculture
Platform (TAP)
Soft skills and ethical
leadership to prepare
graduates to become
catalysts of change –
Global Confederation
of Higher Education
Associations for
Agricultural and Life
Sciences (GCHERA)
Transformational learning and student leadership
development – Global Forum for Agricultural Research
(GFAR)

8. Achieving Global Coherence on CD
for Agricultural Innovation Systems
Advocacy and
policy dialogue
Common
Framework TAPipedia
knowledge hub

9. TAP Common Framework (CF)
http://www.fao.org/in-action/tropical-agriculture-platform/commonframework/en/
 Provides concepts, principles, approaches and tools to
• better understand the AIS architecture, and assess CD needs
• plan, implement, monitor and evaluate CD interventions
• work in three dimensions of CD – individual, organizational, enabling environment
 Focus on functional capacities (soft skills) for enabling innovation
 Promotes a shift of mind-set and attitudes

10. Agricultural Innovation System (AIS)

11. Functional Capacities (soft skills)
The Common Framework identifies 4 + 1 key capacities for AIS to perform
effectively. These apply to all three dimensions of CD – individual,
organizational and enabling environment..
The 4 capacities on the left are the core of an overarching capacity to adapt
and respond in order to realize the potential of innovation.

12. Dual Pathway
System level: the focus is on the
functionalities and performance of
the system as a whole.
Innovation niche level: CD takes place
around specific innovation agendas, in
which actors of all types allocate time
and resources to achieve change.

13. The CD for AIS Cycle
The CD cycle stimulates learning
and interactions between the 3
CD dimensions (individual,
organization, and enabling
environment – system).

14. Pilots to apply the Framework
• Angola, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso,
Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Laos
and Rwanda through:
• innovation niche partnerships
• national platforms to support
capacities to innovate
(initiated with the inception
workshops,
marketplace/innovation platforms,
policy dialogue processes)

15. Pilots to apply the Framework
Design, adaptation and use of global
methodologies and tools (scoping studies and
learning cycles):
• participatory capacity needs assessments
(CNA): niche & org. levels
• training national innovation facilitators who
accompany changes
• scheduled reflection
• Integrated Monitoring, Evaluation and
Learning Framework (MEL)
• coaching plans to measure changes at
individual, org. and systems level
• cross-country analysis

16. Common Framework interactive
page on TAPipedia (www.tapipedia.org)
The Common Framework
concepts are presented in an
interactive way

17. 5 stages:
8 tools:
Factsheets developed by TAP

18. GCHERA’s approach to HD
 TAP goal: “Facilitating capacity development for
agricultural innovation”
 Young people: Central to capacity development,
education systems to equip graduates with the tools to
become leaders in catalysing innovation
 Three pronged approach to transformative change:
discipline, pedagogy, management and administration
 EARTH University Model in Costa Rica: International
model for preparing ethical leaders who are agents of
positive change in addressing social, economic and
environmental challenges of the most vulnerable regions
of the world
 Pilot projects – Haiti and Mexico

20. Mission
Prepare leaders with ethical values to
contribute to sustainable
development and to construct a just
and prosperous society.
Vision
Our actions are mission-driven to alleviate
poverty, promote social justice and build a
future where our communities achieve
sustainable and shared prosperity.

21. Technical and
scientific
knowledge
Ethical
entrepreneurship
Personal
development,
attitudes and
values
Social and
environmental
awareness and
commitment
Formative Pillars
Student
centered
learning
Experiential
learning

22. Alumni Impact
90% work in their countries of
origin
75% has a positive and direct
impact on the agricultural sector,
mainly by increasing the
efficiency of agricultural
production
87% have a direct and positive
impact on environmental issues
84% of respondents report
having a direct and positive
impact on
social issues
20% have their own company

23. GFAR’s approach to HD
• Key focus: Transformational learning and
student leadership development to meet
societal demand and aspirations of youth.
• Approach: Dialogue b/w agricultural
universities and other stakeholders (meetings
and consultations to analyse specific needs)
• Pilot project: Developing a model of reform in
Africa

24. Transformational Learning
• Linking African universities with industry, rural
communities and wider society – creating an open
learning environment
• Commitment to work together in multi-stakeholder
groups to develop a programme for agreed reforms
• Governance reform (from curricula to administration)
• Holistic development – education linked to the needs
and opportunities in their societies
• Change – academic aspects, as well as students’
physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and professional
development

25. Pilot project with APAARI– Agricultural
universities Asia-Pacific
• Focus on curricula reform and pedagogy to better
prepare graduates to be leaders in tackling global
challenges (poverty reduction, food and nutritional
security and environmental sustainability)
• Under the broad umbrella of Soft Skills, help
participating universities incorporate the key
elements of the Common Framework, EARTH
University model, and transformational learning in
their undergraduate programmes
• This includes: experiential/participatory learning,
entrepreneurship, community engagement and
ethical and value-based leadership

26. Desired outcome of
the collective action
Graduates have the ethical foundation,
knowledge, skills – especially leadership,
entrepreneurship and creativity…
…to succeed in their future careers as
agents of positive change in addressing
global challenges in agriculture and life
sciences
Source: GCHERA

27. Thank you!
Follow us: www.apaari.org
http://apaari.blogspot.com/
www.facebook.com/APAARI
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www.linkedin.com/apaari
E-mail: ravi.khetarpal@apaari.org,
f.collins@apaari.org,
m.spisiakova@apaari.org
TAP and CDAIS:
http://www.fao.org/in-
action/tropical-agriculture-
platform/en/
http://tapipedia.org/;
http://cdais.net/home/;
http://www.apaari.org/web/our-
projects/tap/