ifwfabs8

=2-Pager Abstract Template for NBDC Contributions to South Africa Forum=

1. Authors
Authors names: Alan Duncan, Kees Swaans, Andre van Rooyen, Hubert Some, Eva Ludi, Josephine Tucker, Alemayehu Belay Project Number: Nile 2, Limpopo ?, Volta ? E-mail address of lead author: a.duncan@cgiar.org

2. Forum session
Basin message session (2 or more basins together)



3. Title
Local innovation platforms: how do they play out in different basins and what are the key research questions?

4. Key message/highlights
Local innovation platforms are a promising mechanism for fostering rural change by catalysing knowledge exchange among key actors and stimulating joint action for enhanced land and water management. But there is some skepticism around their sustainability and usefulness. In this session we will share varying experiences and understanding of what local innovation platforms are and how they work. We will also use the gathered expertise across CPWF basins to brainstorm on common research questions that can be tested across basin case studies to build some compelling evidence on whether local innovation platforms are the way forward for bringing about significant change in rural systems.


 * //Short abstract//** //(150 words) including://

Innovation platforms are increasingly used as a mechanism to stimulate interaction between various stakeholders to enhance innovation processes. These platforms have some similarities, but their design varies across contexts. For example, across CPWF basins, local innovation platforms in the Limpopo BDC are relatively large local platforms focused on market and value chains. The Volta BDC instead intends to establish relatively small district level platforms around crop and livestock value chains for areas with good opportunities to access to water versus water constrained areas. In the Nile Basin, the focus is more on district level platforms with a focus on both NRM and value chains in three different districts.

In this session we will look at the design of local innovation platforms in different basins and the underlying motives/reasons for variation. The similarities and differences in design may provide new insight and scope for cross-basin research questions and will help to develop a common research agenda across several CPWF basins.


 * //Add a visual representation (i.e. graph, chart or figure to highlight emerging results)//**




 * //Your preliminary highlights for the Forum capitalizing sessions//**
 * //Local innovation platforms are a promising mechanism for stimulating positive change but significant research questions remain//
 * //Target audience is researchers and development agents//

//**Format**//
 * Different basins give a 5-slide presentation on how they have set up the innovation platforms, what their design is, and what motives/reasons have played a role in this.
 * A short discussion for clarification and feedback
 * Cross-basis groups formed to develop some interesting cross-basin research topics and research questions in relation to design and/or innovation in general.
 * Later, agendas from different groups can be merged, and integrated in the research agenda for each basin (maybe priorities need to be set in terms of cross-basin research topics/research-questions, and leave it up to each basin whether they want to include other topics/research questions that emerged into their own research agenda.
 * To start off the discussion, each basin provides some key questions in which they would be interested


 * Would be good to keep this session reasonably small and only those really interested in innovation research would join.