Prolinnova-Nepal aims at developing and institutionalising partnership and methodologies that promote processes of local innovation in environmentally sound use of natural resources. It is an initiative undertaken in partnership between several Nepal-based organisations.
The Working Group, which supervises the day-to-day implementation of the activities, was coordinated for several years by LI-BIRD (Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development), an NGO with long-term expertise in participatory rural development. In early 2016, the coordination was rotated to the Institute for Science and Technology of Tribhuwan University, which now acts as secretariat for the Prolinnova-Nepal platform. The other members of the National Working Group are LI-BIRD, Practical Action and EcoCentre.
A National Steering Committee (NSC), comprising senior decision-makers from partner organisations and representatives from government R&D organisations, steers and oversees the Country Platform. This committee is currently being restructured. The government R&D organisations involved thus far included: Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Department of Agriculture, Department of Forest, Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management, IAAS and National Planning Commission (NPC) of Nepal.
The main activities of Prolinnova-Nepal have been: a review of previous studies and documents on local innovation, development of guiding principles and modality of field documentation and provision of orientation to partners regarding participatory innovation development (PID), and experimentation by Prolinnova-Nepal partners with modalities of Local Innovation Support Funds (LISFs). The Country Platform keenly focuses on institutionalisation of PID in academic institutions.