Forging researchers-farmers partnership in public social innovation: a case study of Malaysia’s agro-based public research institution

This paper explores the effective roles of public research institutions (PRIs) in social innovation and understand the element of communal support in researchers-farmers partnership. The case study on Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) reveals that the partnership between researchers and farmers is limited. The only productive and formal channel for researchers to reach the farmers is through agricultural extension agencies. It found that there are three elements that drive sustainable social innovation in agriculture: (1) quality research by PRIs; (2) efficient extension agency in disseminating knowledge to farmers; and (3) productive farmers in delivering high-yields farming. This paper claimed that the presence of partnership between researchers in PRIs and farmers is the crucial pivot in ensuring innovation reaches the target group. The study also found the potential of civil society organizations to transform farmers into more active innovation actors in the agricultural innovation system.

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Sistem Inovasi : Peran dan Tantangan dalam Mendukung Pembangunan Pertanian

Jurnal Ilmiah Membangun Desa dan Pertanian ◽

10.37149/jimdp.v5i4.13107 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 117

Author(s):

Julian Witjaksono

Keyword(s):

Regional Scale ◽

Innovation System ◽

Added Value ◽

Regional Research ◽

National Scale ◽

Agricultural Innovation ◽

Regional Autonomy ◽

Research Institution ◽

Development Institutions ◽

Agricultural Innovation System

Innovation system as the added value for economic growth needs more attention not only on the national scale but also on the regional scale, particularly in agriculture. This study is the assessment of the innovation system particularly about the achievement of the agricultural innovation system in regional development. The research method was employed in 2015 by purposive sampling with the number of respondents was about 30. The respondents came from the stakeholders of farmers, university, private sector, and regional research institution. The sample area has been chosen in Konawe District, North Konawe District and East Kolaka as represent of this research. This paper aims to describe the data and information related to the evaluation worked on regional research and development institutions in supporting the innovation system. This assessment has shown that the development of the agricultural innovation system in regional autonomy faced some constraints and weaknesses, viz. Less synchronization, less coordination, lack of research funding, and less infrastructure.

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Applying design to gender equality programming

Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management ◽

10.33114/adim.2019.c25.153 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Isabella GADY ◽

Nancy KHWEISS ◽

María TARANCÓN

Keyword(s):

Gender Equality ◽

Social Innovation ◽

Design Methods ◽

Civil Society Organizations ◽

Safe Space ◽

Independent Evaluation ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Specific Project ◽

Initial Results

This case study explores the application of design methods and tools in women’s rights programming and feminist grant making - both areas that are, despite growing interest and evidence on potential benefits, still rather underexplored. In 2018, following its first independent evaluation and with the aim to increase its grantees‘ qualitative impact, the Fund for Gender Equality, a grant-making mechanism of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women, launched Re-Think. Experiment., an initiative exploring the potential for design to serve as a tool for innovation of programs. Through providing training in key principles of the design process and a safe space for experimentation, nine women-led civil society organizations operating in eleven countries have been equipped with tools and methodologies tailored to their needs to address specific project challenges. This case study introduces context, process and initial results of the initiative and discusses whether hopes for design to serve as a tool to foster innovation were met. Furthermore, it offers a critical reflection on its limitations, the need for contextualizing tools, and growing opportunities by marrying design methods with other social innovation disciplines.

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ANALYSIS OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY CONDITIONS BASED ON R&D PROJECTS

RAM Revista de Administração Mackenzie ◽

10.1590/1678-6971/eramr200041 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (5) ◽

Author(s):

TATIANE B. CRESPI ◽

PRISCILA R. COSTA ◽

TAÍSA S. PREUSLER ◽

ROBERTO L. RUAS

Keyword(s):

Absorptive Capacity ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Dynamic Environment ◽

Development Stage ◽

Public Research ◽

Research Company ◽

General Goal ◽

Knowledge Absorption

ABSTRACT Purpose: In this study, the notion of absorptive capacity (AC) and its configurations were adopted as a reference with the general goal of understanding the development stage of processes and routines of the acquisition, transformation and application of knowledge in the context of a public research company. Originality/value: One of the mobilizing factors in the agricultural sector in Brazil is the generation of new products and processes. In this case, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Agency (Embrapa) has played a role, especially in the absorption, internalization and generation of agricultural knowledge and innovations. In its processes, it involves its decentralized units and scientific and technological partners through research and development (R&D) processes. Identifying and systematizing the most effective forms and configurations in processes and routines associated with the dynamic of knowledge appropriation in a diverse and dynamic environment such as Embrapa constitutes a major challenge for scholars. However, recent studies have highlighted the growing diffusion of the debate on the AC construct. Design/methodology/approach: For this purpose, a case study was conducted involving Embrapa and three of its R&D projects. The study found evidence of intra-organizational and interorganizational alliances, as well as resulting important innovations. Findings: The principal contribution was identifying, in a public research company, the presence of routines and processes similar to those observed in the configurations of AC analyzed in the literature and the consolidation of routines and processes of knowledge absorption at the intra-organizational and interorganizational levels.

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Role of Public Research Institutes in Japan’s National Innovation System: Case Study of AIST, RIKEN and JAXA

Science Technology and Society ◽

10.1177/0971721815579793 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 133-160 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Jun Suzuki ◽

Naotoshi Tsukada ◽

Akira Goto

Keyword(s):

Innovation System ◽

National Innovation System ◽

Public Research ◽

Research Institutes

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OPERASIONALISASI SPEKTRUM DISEMINASI MULTI CHANNEL TEKNOLOGI PERTANIAN UNTUK DISEMINASI YANG EFEKTIF

Forum penelitian Agro Ekonomi ◽

10.21082/fae.v38n2.2020.119-135 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 119

Author(s):

Enti Sirnawati ◽

Muhammad Taufiq Ratule

Keyword(s):

Technology Implementation ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Innovation System ◽

Implementation Process ◽

Technology Application ◽

Effective Dissemination ◽

Operating Level ◽

Technology Dissemination ◽

Agricultural Innovation System ◽

Planning Approaches

<p>Downstreaming information of Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Technology (IAARD) technology is carried out, among others, through the Multi Channel Dissemination Spectrum (MCDS). The SDMC employs various dissemination channels and actors to accelerate technology dissemination. MCDS discussions at the operating level are limited especially on how it contributes to more technology adoption. Referring to the Agricultural Innovation System, an innovation arises due to support of various subsystems ranging from technology providers, carriers, users, markets, policies, and interactions among subsystems. Likewise, the MCDS should be supported by its subsystems for an effective dissemination. This paper aims to contribute ideas on subsystems requirements in the implementation of the MCDS and how these subsystems can drive the delivered technology information to be adopted by users. The supporting subsystems (planning, approaches in the implementation process, policies, infrastructure) for technology implementation are essential in dissemination activities. As a system, MCDS does not only focus on delivering IAARD’s technology information, but the success of technological innovation must be supported by dissemination planning and its subsystems, technology application ecosystem, and interaction between potential users and technology producers.</p>

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Innovations in Sustainable Agriculture: Case Study of Lis Valley Irrigation District, Portugal

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11020331 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 331 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Maria de Fátima Oliveira ◽

Francisco Gomes da Silva ◽

Susana Ferreira ◽

Margarida Teixeira ◽

Henrique Damásio ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural Resources ◽

Global Economy ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Social Innovation ◽

Full Range ◽

Innovation System ◽

Development Program ◽

Irrigation District ◽

New Paradigm

The innovation of agricultural systems management is a determinant factor that guarantees adaptation to a new paradigm of global economy, environmental protection, and social requirements. The conventional concepts of innovation, applicable to new products and processes, do not consider many characteristics of the agricultural sector, such as social innovation and innovation resulting from new or renewed processes. Nevertheless, the overall impact of innovation on yields, competitiveness, and value can be hampered by the limited understanding or misinterpretation of Agriculture Innovation paradigms. For instance, the Rural Development Program (RDP) applies a restrict concept of innovation, being unable to embrace the full range of activities intended to implement new practices within the framework of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS). Stimulating innovation in agriculture demands a change in policy innovation of RDP in order to preserve natural resources and combine agricultural priorities and the rural environment with the concepts of innovation. This paper focuses on the different views of the concept of innovation within the Program of Operational Groups (OGs) of the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI), analyzing the Portuguese case study of the Lis Valley Irrigation District whose main innovation objective was to achieve and implement new processes of water management aiming at the conservation of natural resources as well as sustainable social and economic agricultural development. The Portuguese experience highlights why the application of innovation in agriculture may not reach the desirable outcomes.

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Relational capability: a study of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation

Revista de Administração Pública ◽

10.1590/0034-761220190329x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 54 (5) ◽

pp. 1307-1333

Author(s):

Taísa Scariot Preusler ◽

Priscila Rezende da Costa ◽

Tatiane Baseggio Crespi ◽

Claudia Brito Silva Cirani

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Research ◽

Research And Development ◽

Strategic Management ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Document Analysis ◽

Public Research ◽

Research Corporation ◽

New Framework

Abstract The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) plays an important role in Research and Development (R&D) for generating innovations. Most innovations are generated through R&D alliances with external partners, stimulating relational capability (RC), that is, a construct of strategic management of alliances with propositions for procedures that have not yet been empirically verified. In this context, we investigated how relational capability processes contribute to generating innovations. We conducted qualitative research using a case study based on interviews, document analysis, and observation. Three strategic R&D alliances involving EMBRAPA and external partners constituted the analysis corpus. The main contribution to knowledge advancement is a multidimensional fraProgmework for generating innovations from strategic R&D alliances, based on the empirical evidence of processes of EMBRAPA relational capability and its external partners. This new framework sheds light on how a public research enterprise absorbs knowledge and uncovers the processes of institutionalization and relational capability spillover.

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