TRACKING AND MONITORING CHANGE: TWO SIMPLE APPROACHES TO OPERATIONALISE PROCESS MONITORING

TRACKING AND MONITORING CHANGE: TWO SIMPLE APPROACHES TO OPERATIONALISE PROCESS MONITORING

Previous LINK Research in Focus articles discussed the idea that social and economic outcomes are mediated through the process of institutional change — changes in the rules, routine and ways of working. The argument is that if impact is increasingly about institutional change, one needs to be far more serious about how such change is to be monitored. This, by extension, requires an expansion in the perspective of traditional Monitoring and Evaluation and Impact Assessment exercises, which tends to underestimate change because it views this in terms of short-term, tangible economic goals, rather than the wider behavioral changes that underpin current and future impact. Since there is generally a long lag-time before tangible benefits — which can be assessed — arise, there is a growing interest in approaches for monitoring changes in process.

TACIT KNOWLEDGE FOR LIVESTOCK INNOVATION: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT OR LEARNING MANAGEMENT

TACIT KNOWLEDGE FOR LIVESTOCK INNOVATION: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT OR LEARNING MANAGEMENT

The business community has always known that most of the knowledge and information it needs to remain competitive within constantly changing environments doesn’t comes from textbooks or research, but from hard-won lessons of experience. Sociologists and organisational change specialists call this tacit knowledge — as distinct from explicit or codified knowledge. Practitioners call it know-how and know-who. It’s the knowledge that helps you — but not your five-year-old daughter — ride a bike.

INNOVATION CAPACITY: WHAT IS PROOF?

INNOVATION CAPACITY: WHAT IS PROOF?

A number of LINK research projects have had to confront the challenges of evaluating the impact of interventions aimed at strengthening innovation capacity.

INNOVATION RESPONSE CAPACITY: THE CASE OF LIVESTOCK IN ETHIOPIA AND KENYA

INNOVATION RESPONSE CAPACITY: THE CASE OF LIVESTOCK IN ETHIOPIA AND KENYA

Innovation response capacity is a relatively new concept that tries to explain the process that enables companies, sectors and countries to survive and prosper in changing circumstances. LINK Ph.D. scholar Ekin Keskin has been developing this idea through a study of livestock sector dynamics in Kenya and Ethiopia.

FODDER INNOVATION: REVISITING AN OLD PROBLEM

FODDER INNOVATION: REVISITING AN OLD PROBLEM

Adequate year-round supply of fodder is one of the biggest problems faced by livestock keepers in developing countries. It does not matter if they are pastoralists in the semi-arid regions of West Africa or cooperative dairy farmers in India, finding enough fodder for their animals is a constant struggle. While the underlying reasons may be different, the fact remains that access to fodder ranks alongside animal health as the key to success.

LESSONS FROM SELF-ORGANISING SYSTEMS OF INNOVATION: THE TRAJECTORY OF NERICA RICE IN WEST AFRICA

LESSONS FROM SELF-ORGANISING SYSTEMS OF INNOVATION: THE TRAJECTORY OF NERCA RICE IN WEST AFRICA

The dilemma with NERICA rice (a family of improved rice varieties specially adapted to the production conditions of West Africa) is familiar to those working with variety-based agricultural technology — the technology is good but the uptake and spread is not as fast as expected. LINK researcher Dr. Daniel Dalohoun has revisited this old problem from his new and unique perspective on agricultural innovation, which he developed during his doctoral studies at UNU-MERIT.

SERVICE INNOVATIONS TO BETTER SERVICE INNOVATION

SERVICE INNOVATIONS TO BETTER SERVICE INNOVATION

The significance of service innovation is increasingly being recognised in the study of innovation processes. LINK PhD scholar Lina Sonne’s research on the financing of rural innovation in India is helping to fill in some of the gaps in understanding the role and organisation of financing.

INNOVATION RESPONSE CAPACITY, BUT DOES IT HELP THE POOR?

INNOVATION RESPONSE CAPACITY, BUT DOES IT HELP THE POOR?

One reason why innovation and innovation capacity have become so economically important for developing countries is because globalisation-induced links to international market expose them to ever-changing consumer demands, patterns of competition and regulatory changes. As part of a cluster of studies on the nature and organisation of innovation response capacity, Dr. Mirjam Steglich has been exploring the Kenyan horticultural sector. Her findings suggest that economic success may have been achieved at a social cost.