McKnight Foundation invited Ann Waters-Bayer from the Prolinnova International Support Team to join as a resource person in their Leadership Meeting for the Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP). The meeting from 30 July to 1 August 2012 in Minneapolis, USA, was designed to create a shared understanding among the Leadership Team of the diverse approaches to social innovation that can support technical innovation. One example was the Local Innovation Support Fund (LISF) being piloted by Prolinnova partners in eight countries in Africa and Asia. Some of the countries in which the CCRP work, such as in eastern and southern Africa, are also countries in which Prolinnova multi-stakeholder platforms and LISFs exist. Ann gave a presentation on “Linking technical and social innovation in Prolinnova”, which stimulated interest of some McKnight Foundation research leaders, also those working in West Africa and the Andes, to seek closer linkages with members of the Prolinnova community of practice.
