On October 13th, 2022, as part of the FAO Science and Innovation Forum, the DeSIRA-LIFT facility organized an online side event on ‘Strengthening AIS: learning from past and present research interventions. The aim of the webinar was to review the contributions and challenges of previous experiences built upon research partnerships, such as the CDAIS EU-funded project, and present three new patterns of research partnerships aimed at generating more long-term transformative outcomes in agricultural innovation systems in countries: a farmer-led research partnership, a living lab as a new multi-actor innovation facility, and partnerships between research and policymakers.
Three DeSIRA projects were invited to present these new patterns:
- the FO-RI project, implemented by AGRICORD and its partners, working in 16 countries with farmers’ organizations leading research activities to codevelop agro-ecological innovations;
- the Santés & Territoires project, implemented by CIRAD and its partners, conducting research for innovation using living labs in Africa and Asia;
- the TAP-AIS project, implemented by FAO in 9 countries, with the broader scope of using research and innovation to develop policy frameworks for AIS strengthening.
There were also important interventions from invited panelists (CIRAD, FARA, DG-INTPA and DeSIRA-LIFT), emphasizing key challenges and lessons learned on making research partnerships work for AIS strengthening:
- AIS strengthening requires more long-term research partnerships with farmers’ organizations, civil society, the private sector and policymakers, beyond traditional project duration, in order to align their innovation agendas and collaborate further;
- The risk to invest in technological innovation leaving behind social innovation;
- The importance of engaging farmers early in the research projects as drivers of R&I agendas, then reversing the research processes for transforming agrifood systems, through on-demand research approaches led by civil society and farmers ‘organizations;
- The need to shift learning models from science-based approaches to experience-based approaches where scientists co-learn and co-develop knowledge with their partners and AIS actors while developing innovations;
- The need to accelerate knowledge sharing on multistakeholder innovation experiences in order to make national and international communities move together at the same pace for boosting agricultural innovation;
- The need to develop innovation policies as capacity development policies, targeting three levels of the AIS (innovation niche partnerships, innovation support service providers, and policy actors), creating more enabling environments for innovators and enabling new accredited job profiles to facilitate multi-actor collaboration and innovation processes.