Innovation platforms are equitable, dynamic spaces designed to bring heterogeneous actors together to exchange knowledge and take action to solve a common problem. Although innovation platforms are being set up to attain collectively defined development objectives, there are limited methods and tools available using quantitative data to evaluate whether they are effective. This paper elaborates a conceptual framework based on elements from new institutional economics and marketing relationship management to model the impact pathways within innovation platforms and how they contribute to attaining the objectives of the rural communities involved. The paper also proposes a field research protocol based on focus group discussions, semi-directive interviews of key stakeholders associated with the innovation platforms and individual surveys of platform members. The data collected is both qualitative and quantitative in nature allowing useful triangulation to test the model. Successive empirical tests of the model in different contexts should allow long-term strengthening and field validation of the conceptual framework.
This book examines how agricultural innovation arises in four African countries – Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda – through the lens of agribusiness, public policies, and specific value chains for food staples, high value products, and livestock. Determinants of innovation...
Discussion of the processes that led Unilever to develop and implement a corporate sustainability strategy working with multiple stakeholders.Major learning points include: 1) interactions with stakeholders are crucial to secure strategic resources in developing countries; 2) developing multi-stakeholder platforms must...
This paper argues that impact assessment research has not made more of a difference because the measurement of the economic impact has poor diagnostic power. In particular it fails to provide research managers with critical institutional lessons concerning ways of...
