Webinar 2 theme: “Building capacities within universities and research institutes to create conducive conditions for stimulating reflection and integrating Participatory Innovation Development (PID)”
The Prolinnova international network (www.prolinnova.net) initiated a series of three webinars to provide an opportunity for its Community of Practice (CoP) to share experiences in linking with university and research actors in promoting the Participatory Innovation Development (PID) approach in ecologically oriented agriculture and natural resource management. Each webinar focused on a specific aspect of the institutionalisation process.
This report presents the results of Webinar 2, held on 16 August 2023, which looked at how capacities were strengthened within universities and research institutes to favour the institutionalisation of PID. It built on Webinar 1, which introduced the concepts of local innovation and PID and related activities of Prolinnova Country Platforms (CPs) in collaboration with university and research actors.
Prolinnova believes that strengthening the capacity of stakeholders, including farmers, to engage in genuine partnerships of farmers, on one the hand, and people from research institutes, universities and colleges, on the other, helps these institutions understand and incorporate the PID concept and approach into their institutional policies and practice.
In Webinar 2, after opening remarks from a member of Prolinnova International Support Team, partners from four CPs – in Benin, Kenya, Mozambique and Sudan – made short presentations on their experiences. A member of the Prolinnova Oversight Group gave summary and concluding remarks.
The CP cases were:
- Experience of Nuffic-funded projects in Mozambique and Sudan
- Integrating PID through partnership and capacity building with stakeholders from universities and agricultural colleges in northern Benin
- Experiences in integrating PID into the curriculum at Maseno University in Kenya.
The key points raised in these presentations have been analysed in this report in terms of capacity-strengthening process and activities geared towards institutionalising PID in institutions of research and higher learning, including challenges faced, lessons learnt as well as strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in the institutionalisation process.
The webinar revealed that, for successful strengthening of capacities to institutionalise PID, the process should start with stakeholder analysis to identify key focal persons and should be continued through follow-up to maintain enthusiasm among the institutional actors to apply PID within their day-to-day work. The follow-up involves further sensitisation and guidance of staff through giving talks, seminars, backstopping and inputs into curriculum content, when requested.
The full report can be found here.