The purpose of this paper is to review the innovation research literature which has made an explicit use of social network analysis methodology in order to provide empirical support to innovation theories or conceptual frameworks. The review introduces social network analysis then discusses why and how it has been used in innovation research so far. This paper argues that studies using social network analysis tend to focus too much
on change in the relationships between interacting units or nodes of the network to the detriment of change within units/nodes. Therefore, a combination of case study and social network analysis can offer a solution to that problem by providing the best of both methodologies.
Within the agricultural development sector, innovation has been identified as a primary pathway to achieve economic, social and environmental goals. Innovation is traditionally defined as a linear and relatively homogenous process involving the invention of a “new” technology that is...
The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) has a high potential to raise smallholder income and improve food security in Eastern Africa. Improving the quality of seed potatoes can contribute to increasing its productivity. Few seed potatoes are currently sourced from specialized...
This paper presents findings of an explorative case study that looked at 22 organisations identified as fulfilling an intermediary role in the Kenyan agricultural sector. The results show that these organisations fulfill functions that are not limited to distribution of...
The USAID Bureau for Food Security (BFS) has made available this Technical Brief on USAID'role in Supporting National Agricultural Research Systems. USAID has launched its Feed the Future (FTF) program, which aims to address the root causes of hunger and poverty and...
This guide is mainly for researchers already involved in natural resource management (NRM). It assumes some familiarity with the often complex and chaotic reality of NRM projects, and tries to provide a systematic treatment of all the issues that may...
