Presented by K. Swaans, B. Boogaard, R. Bendapudi, H. Taye, S. Hendrickx, and L. Klerkx at the International Workshop on New Models of Innovation for Development, Manchester, UK, 4-5 July 2013

1. Operationalizing inclusive innovation: lessons from innovation
platforms in livestock value chains in India and Mozambique
International Workshop on New Models of Innovation for Development, Manchester, UK, 4-5 July 2013
Swaans, K., B. Boogaard, R. Bendapudi, H. Taye, S. Hendrickx, and L. Klerkx

2. Introduction
• Growing local and informal markets for high value agricultural
commodities; providing opportunities for the poor, but also challenges
• VC approach to reach development outcomes, but due to market
failures, limited participation of the poor
• Innovation platforms (IPs) as mechanism for inclusive innovation
• IPs are spaces that allow different type of individuals & organizations to come
together and address issues of mutual interest through knowledge exchange
and generation and putting this into use.
 Question: how best to operationalize innovation system approaches?
 Aim to investigate the formation and functioning of IPs to draw lessons
on factors and conditions that play a role in making them effective

3. Principles of well functioning IPs
IP is the ‘real world’ implementation of IS approach to stimulate innovation
and learning among actors, and enable reshaping of relations and institutions
• They are inclusive and follow participatory processes
• There is a common vision and an agreed set of operating modalities
• Members are committed and have adequate incentives to participate
• Diversity of members capabilities, capacities, resources, skills, knowledge,
interests and needs are acknowledged
• There is efficient and effective communication, knowledge and information
sharing
• Joint identification of challenges and opportunities and options to address
them through collective action
• There is an appreciation for learning by doing and M&E

4. Analytical framework
IP formation
• Inclusion & representation
• Vision and tasks/roles
• Inventory knowledge/skills
• Constraints & opportunities
• Organization & governance
• Resources
IP functioning
• Participation & ownership
• Information flow
• Use diversity of knowledge
• Capacity building
• Systematic process
• Facilitation & management
• Resource mobilization
Outcomes
• Interactions/relations
• Practices/activities,
• Production and income
Context

5. The imGoats project
• imGoats increasing income
and food security through
goat VCs in India and Moz.
• livelihood option for dry-
land regions; add hoc, risky,
informal
Both countries:
Low input – low
output system
Limited knowledge
goat management
practices
• Transform production and
marketing in sound &
profitable enterprise
• Targets poor goat keepers
(producer groups); other VC
actors

6. Implementation of the IP
Source: Van Rooyen & Homann-Kee Tui (2009)
Development
Process
Activities &
Outputs
Time
Establish IP and
define roles and
responsibilities
Workshop
Workshop
Workshop
Workshop
Workshop
Activities
implemented by
members
Activities
implemented by
members
Activities
implemented by
members
ProjectDriven
StakeholderDriven
Activities
implemented by
members
Sustainability M&E
M&E
M&E
M&E
Set Impact
Indicators

7. Outcomes
 No. goats increased by at least 1-2 animals
per household in India; also anecdotal
evidence of increased herd size in Moz. (>10).
 Producers in India selling more animals (from
1 to 2 on average; also higher price).
Mozambique, producers interested in selling,
but insecure local demand.
• Reduced goat mortality: animal treatment, goat
management practices (role CAHWs)
• Feeding: communal grazing areas, new
forages/techniques
• Goat markets: tried with mixed results; alternative
strategies explored

8. Methodology
Objective and questions
 To identify and better understand the factors and conditions that
play a role in making IPs effective
• How were the IPs intended and how were they implemented in practice?
• What went well and not well?
• What were the key challenges and lessons?
Methods
• Comparative case study
• Review project documents, IP process reports, outcome mapping and
project team reflections
• Reflection by authors on factors, conditions, challenges, and lessons

9. IP formation
• Inclusion and representation: rather inclusive; members representative of
VC actors and producer groups ; limited set of VC actors
• Vision, tasks/roles: visioning by partners; producers did not link platform
with commercialization (esp. Moz.); tasks/roles VC actors unexplored
• Inventory of knowledge/skills: initial assessment producers/CAHWs
through partners’ experience, later baseline studies; knowledge limited
(change regular sales difficult); no assessment among other VC actors
• Constraints & opportunities: rather participatory; focus production
(health, feed) and marketing (goat fairs); key constraints closely interlinked
• Organization & governance: partners took lead in facilitation &
management; mechanisms established to hand over to local actors
• Resources: project funding; transport issue in Moz. due spread out
locations project villages

10. IP functioning
Participation and
ownership
• CAHWs and
government staff
actively engaged
• Producers’
participation
inconsistent
• Difficult to
involve traders
and women
Mozambique:
IP relied on limited number of traders;
vulnerable; VC hardly existing

11. IP functioning
Information flow
• Information flow market to production improved, but far
from optimal; system seems more responsive in India
compared to Moz.
• Flow from IP to PGs good; weak in bringing issues back to IP
• CAHWs link with producers; project staff with other VC actors
India: PG meeting

12. IP functioning
Use diversity of knowledge/skills
• IP tapped into knowledge/skills of VC
actors
• Especially in India, knowledge/skills
from veterinarian and pharmacist
• Diversity within each group largely
unexplored (except model farmers
Moz.)
Capacity building
• Importance of training and exposure
and exchange visits
• Mainly focused on producers and
CAHWs (but also project staff)
• IP meetings acknowledged as form
of capacity building
India: FGs being trained
Mozambique: gender training

13. IP functioning
Systematic
process
• Problem solving
iterative process
(simultaneously;
technical,
organizational,
institutional
elements)
• in Mozambique
stronger reflection
on IP process
Mozambique
India

14. IP functioning
Facilitation & management
• Multiple and diverse tasks (including
reconstruction of the chain)
• Start handing over facilitation, but
capacity local actors still weak
(easier for facilitation compared to
innovation brokering)
• Contribution research highly
appreciated
Resource mobilization
• Extra meetings to get support
community leaders and producer
groups
• No clear strategies (nor resources)
for continuation
India: CAHWs
Mozambique:
IP president

15. Discussion
1. Actors – rules and regulations need to be adapted to include the poor;
representation critical issue; intermediaries play critical role
2. Innovation – not new, but new in context; flexible approach to support
incremental change and bundles of innovation; needs incentives
3. Learning – trough interaction/doing; also demonstration/exposure;
reflexive learning by challenging critical constraints; role of research
4. Relations – nurture informal social relations to foster innovation; ensure
consistency to reduce risk; innovation brokers (different levels)
5. Institutions – formal institutions to support the process; importance of
informal institutions such as norms/values (e.g. gender), trust
6. Scope – analysis context & development challenge critical before
implementation; actors need to feel mutually dependent; take into
account diversity of actors; may affect entry point

16. Conclusion
Overall, innovation platform is a promising model to
stimulate innovation and stakeholder interaction for
pro-poor growth, but…
1. Resource intensive – importance of cost-effective
models and building innovation capacity
2. Requires a careful assessment of and adjustment to
the (institutional) context

17. The presentation has a Creative Commons licence. You are free to re-use or distribute this work, provided credit is given to ILRI.
Better lives through livestock
ilri.org

18. Establish
linkage with
Veterinary
College
Establish
linkage with
Animal
Husbandry
Department
Training of
CAHW on fecal
sample collection
and submission
CAHWs
organizing
and
facilitating
IP meetings
Regular
transport
of goats to
Udaipur for
sale
Gender
study
Training of
CAHWs on
facilitation
for IP
meetings
Planning
of health
camps &
discussion
on sales
Value chain analysis
Discussion
on
increased
levels of
abortions
reported
Identify VC
constraints
and agree
on issues
to address
Discussion on
main animal
health issues
goat
fairs
Aug 2011 2012 2013
Establish
linkage with
agricultural
training
center
Demonstration
of crop residue
urea treatment
Strengthening
linkage with
pharmacist for
drug supply
Training of CAHWs and goat
keepers at Veterinary College
and agricultural training
center
Ongoing testing of fecal samples by Animal Husbandry Department and treatment adapted accordingly
Exploratory
visit to
Udaipur to
assess
market
Discussion IP
functioning &
sustainability
Training of
BAIF project
staff
Demonstration
of crop residue
urea treatment
& azolla
IP India
----
----
Baseline study
Feed and
fodder
issues
discussed
Fodder tree
plantations
Plantation
of fodder
trees

19. Discussion
with
veterinary
services on
identification
communal
grazing areas
Suggestion
to raise fee
to sustain IP
Discussion
with
veterinary
services to
set up goat
fairs
Research on
communal
pasture areas
Training project
officers (followed
by CAHWs) on
communal pasture
area management
Meeting
with
community
leaders on
relevance
platform
Research on
consumer
preferences
meeting with
commercial
producer to
discuss goat
sales
Meeting with
community
leaders on
communal
grazing areas
Research on IP
performance
Training course
project officers
(followed by
CAHWs) on gender
Gender
study
Training of IP secretariat on facilitation skills
Agreement
on transport
IP members
Additional
training
session for
CAHWs on
commer-
cialization
Value
chain
analysis
IP president
facilitates
meeting
alone
Re-election
secretariat
Election IP
secretariat
Identify VC
constraints
Discussion IP
benefits &
sustainability
Prioritize
issues to
address
Agree on
price/Kg
goat
IP
secretariat, veterina
ry services and CARE
meet with traders at
various locations to
explore market
May 2011 2012 2013
IP Mozambique
Reflection
IP process
Discuss
issues with
setting up
communal
grazing
areas
----
----
Goat
fairs
Goat
fairs
Goat
fairs
Baseline
study