Brokering Innovation for Sustainable Development: The Papa Andina Case

The inadequate linkage of knowledge generation in agricultural research organizations with policy-making and economic activity is an important barrier to sustainable development and poverty reduction. The emerging fields of sustainability science and innovation systems studies highlight the importance of boundary management and innovation brokering in linking knowledge production, policy-making, and economic activities. This paper analyzes how the Papa Andina Partnership Program, based at the International Potato Center, functions as an innovation broker in the Andean potato sector. As a regional initiative, Papa Andina operates as a second-level innovation broker, backstopping national partners who facilitate local innovation processes in their respective countries. Papa Andina works to strengthen local innovation capacity and to foster innovations in innovation the development of more effective ways of bringing stakeholders together to produce innovations that benefit small-scale farmers. There are virtuous feedback loops between first- and second-level innovation brokering functions. The paper outlines the approaches Papa Andina has developed and promoted for fostering innovation brokerage at these two levels and the types of results obtained. It then identifies some important challenges that Papa Andina faces in innovation brokerage at the international level. The paper concludes with a discussion of broader policy issues related to the roles and functions of innovation brokers and boundary organizations in promoting sustainable development.