Have you ever wondered what actually action research is all about, or how to conduct quality action research within the context of your DESIRA project? Are you happy with your knowledge and mastery of some of the most basic methods and tools for conducting action research? Would you be interested to exchange with others about how they are doing in this regard? Then this special session should be quite useful for you and your project.

Registration link here

For more information, see here

Learning objectives

This special session is part of the C4SSIS course on ‘Conducting Action Research interventions for strengthening national Agricultural Innovation Systems’.

The objective of this special session is to provide learning inputs about how to implement an Action Research (A-R) approach and mobilize generic participatory methods and tools to this effect. It can benefit projects with different levels of experience and implementation of A-R approaches: projects which do not have a clear A-R strategy yet, projects which have experience with A-R and a clear idea of how they want to implement it but have not started implementing it, projects that have a clear A-R strategy and have already started implementing it.

Specific objectives will depend on the projects’ profile, but will include several among the followings:

• Provide an overview of what A-R is about and the diversity of methods and tools that can be mobilized
• Equip participants with basic knowledge about key methods and tools for A-R
• Review proposed methods & tools and reaffirm the ones projects may decide to use /adapt
• Adapt and refine projects’ ongoing methodological approaches using some of the proposed methods and tools, or adaptations thereof
• Foster reflexivity about the methods and tools projects have been using
• Provide key take-away messages and attention points to be used within projects

Overall, by the end of the special session, participating project representatives and resource persons will be well aware of what A-R entails and have strengthened their skills to select and adapt a series of basic methods and tools allowing them to design and implement a quality action-research approach within the framework of their respective DESIRA projects or other similar initiatives. In particular, participants will have learned:

• What is action research and how it relates to AIS
• How to design and implement Action-Research using a series of basic methods and tools
• How to implement A-R within a project or organizational context that may present challenges for effective A-R
• What roles researchers and non-researchers may play in an A-R process.

Overview of content

(Exact content to be adapted on the go based on actual participants’ interest & experience)

Session 1 (180 min)

1. Introduction: understanding A-R in a nutshell

• Origins, Definitions, the A-R cycle, example, A-R & participatory research: where to position yourselves / your project, Roles of researchers and non-researchers in action-research

2. Generic participatory methods and tools Part 1

• Semi-structured interviews, Focus group discussions, Facilitation, Organizing a participatory multi-stakeholder event, Systemic diagnosis of a situation,

Session 2 (180 min)

2. Generic participatory methods and tools Part 2

• Engaging with multiple stakeholders, Multistakeholder arenas, Designing participatory experimentation, Identifying & fostering local innovation, Systematizing experiences,

3. Making A-R work in your projects, A-R and AIS, Identifying and overcoming organizational rules & practices that can constitute obstacles to implementing A-R,

4. Synthesis and wrap-up

5. Special session evaluation

Have you ever wondered what actually action research is all about, or how to conduct quality action research within the context of your DESIRA project? Are you happy with your knowledge and mastery of some of the most basic methods and tools for conducting action research? Would you be interested to exchange with others about how they are doing in this regard? Then this special session should be quite useful for you and your project.

Registration link here

For more information, see here

Learning objectives

This special session is part of the C4SSIS course on ‘Conducting Action Research interventions for strengthening national Agricultural Innovation Systems’.

The objective of this special session is to provide learning inputs about how to implement an Action Research (A-R) approach and mobilize generic participatory methods and tools to this effect. It can benefit projects with different levels of experience and implementation of A-R approaches: projects which do not have a clear A-R strategy yet, projects which have experience with A-R and a clear idea of how they want to implement it but have not started implementing it, projects that have a clear A-R strategy and have already started implementing it.

Specific objectives will depend on the projects’ profile, but will include several among the followings:

• Provide an overview of what A-R is about and the diversity of methods and tools that can be mobilized
• Equip participants with basic knowledge about key methods and tools for A-R
• Review proposed methods & tools and reaffirm the ones projects may decide to use /adapt
• Adapt and refine projects’ ongoing methodological approaches using some of the proposed methods and tools, or adaptations thereof
• Foster reflexivity about the methods and tools projects have been using
• Provide key take-away messages and attention points to be used within projects

Overall, by the end of the special session, participating project representatives and resource persons will be well aware of what A-R entails and have strengthened their skills to select and adapt a series of basic methods and tools allowing them to design and implement a quality action-research approach within the framework of their respective DESIRA projects or other similar initiatives. In particular, participants will have learned:

• What is action research and how it relates to AIS
• How to design and implement Action-Research using a series of basic methods and tools
• How to implement A-R within a project or organizational context that may present challenges for effective A-R
• What roles researchers and non-researchers may play in an A-R process.

Overview of content

(Exact content to be adapted on the go based on actual participants’ interest & experience)

Session 1 (180 min)

1. Introduction: understanding A-R in a nutshell

• Origins, Definitions, the A-R cycle, example, A-R & participatory research: where to position yourselves / your project, Roles of researchers and non-researchers in action-research

2. Generic participatory methods and tools Part 1

• Semi-structured interviews, Focus group discussions, Facilitation, Organizing a participatory multi-stakeholder event, Systemic diagnosis of a situation,

Session 2 (180 min)

2. Generic participatory methods and tools Part 2

• Engaging with multiple stakeholders, Multistakeholder arenas, Designing participatory experimentation, Identifying & fostering local innovation, Systematizing experiences,

3. Making A-R work in your projects, A-R and AIS, Identifying and overcoming organizational rules & practices that can constitute obstacles to implementing A-R,

4. Synthesis and wrap-up

5. Special session evaluation

Module 2: Acting at the innovation support level

Some DeSIRA projects may struggle to find an operational way to better figure out the existing offer of organisations that provide innovation support services to farmers or to rural entrepreneurs. The objective of this special session is to provide learning inputs about innovation support services (ISS), and guidance about how to map ISS diversity in order to inform the Action-Research strategy of DeSIRA projects. Insights will be useful for researchers or project managers for having a visual overview of the offer of ISS, for identifying potential organizations to work with or for adapting the project strategy accordingly.

This module is replicated two times on April 14th, 2023:

• 10.00-12.00 a.m. CEST: English-speaking session
• 3.00-5.00 p.m. CEST: French-speaking session (Spanish-speaking session can be organised on demand)

Registration link here. Registration closes on the 11th of April

Once registration is closed, you will receive a confirmation by email and information to access the course.

• Expert: This special session will be given by the senior experts in AIS and Action-Research.
• Target audience: We invite the project coordinators, managers and M&E officers of the interested DeSIRA projects to attend together.
• Contact for more information: service@desiralift.org
• For detailed course information, please see here

Module 2: Acting at the innovation support level

Some DeSIRA projects may struggle to find an operational way to better figure out the existing offer of organisations that provide innovation support services to farmers or to rural entrepreneurs. The objective of this special session is to provide learning inputs about innovation support services (ISS), and guidance about how to map ISS diversity in order to inform the Action-Research strategy of DeSIRA projects. Insights will be useful for researchers or project managers for having a visual overview of the offer of ISS, for identifying potential organizations to work with or for adapting the project strategy accordingly.

This module is replicated two times on April 14th, 2023:

• 10.00-12.00 a.m. CEST: English-speaking session
• 3.00-5.00 p.m. CEST: French-speaking session (Spanish-speaking session can be organised on demand)

Registration link here. Registration closes on the 11th of April

Once registration is closed, you will receive a confirmation by email and information to access the course.

• Expert: This special session will be given by the senior experts in AIS and Action-Research.
• Target audience: We invite the project coordinators, managers and M&E officers of the interested DeSIRA projects to attend together.
• Contact for more information: service@desiralift.org
• For detailed course information, please see here

This module will start on March 23d, 2023, in two slots from 10:00-12:00 a.m. CEST and 3:00-5:00 p.m. CEST

Registration link for all modules here

Please mark your calendar for the other modules as well: 

• Module 4: Acting at the level of policies, institutions and regulatory frameworks – Approaches and methods to make action-research work for the design and development of innovation policies and instruments: researchers’ skills and postures, AIS assessment, policy influence, evidence-based decision-making, policy dialogues, etc. This module will start on March 28, 2023, in two slots from 10:00-12:00 a.m. CET and 3:00-5:00 p.m.  CET
• Module 5: Conclusive reflexive workshop: refinement of DeSIRA projects’ contributions to AIS strengthening– consolidation of projects’ experience, capacities and learning per geographic DeSIRA clusters. This module will start in September 2023.

The module “Identifying your (potential) contributions to AIS strengthening and related challenges” was the first one in a series of activities of the course “Conducting Action-Research for strengthening Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS): Successes and challenges of DeSIRA projects”, implemented by DeSIRA LIFT SA1.

Two sessions were carried out on March 21st with the aim to provide for lively interactions between English speakers in the first session and French and Spanish speakers in the second session. 

During these intense two-hour discussions, 73 professionals from DeSIRA projects shared their significant contributions to improve AIS, as well as the challenges they face at the niche level when working with service providers, and in their endeavors to influence policy.

To introduce the topic, Aurelie Toilier, DeSIRA LIFT´s project leader, indicated that the purpose of AIS thinking is to approach innovation from a systemic perspective by paying attention to the way in which innovation emerges from complex interactions between a wide range of actors in particular conditions. 

The project’s representatives remarked on their activities to increase farmers’ capacities to deal with the challenges they face at the niche level. Thus, several projects provide training to farmers and their organizations (IRFFS in Liberia, ESSA in Ethiopia and Kenya, InACC in Nigeria, ABRIGUE in Colombia, TRANSFORMA-INNOVA in Costa Rica) and to the extension services (IRFFS). ABRIGUE and  ESSA carry out participatory research, and Malawi DeSIRA is developing and deploying climate-smart agriculture technologies. 

To the same extent, the projects are aware of the need for flexibility in their tasks and the roles they perform: researchers will need to step outside of their area and respond to concrete problems in the niches; agricultural advisory service providers have to switch from extending research outputs to users and to facilitate collaborations among multi-stakeholder partners. These changing roles require a set of new skills to navigate the complexity of AIS.

All projects seemed to agree that connecting with development actors, including NGOs, is a must in order to better understand and respond to realities regarding how innovation and change occur. For this purpose, several projects are setting-up multi-stakeholder innovation facilities, such as Living Labs, innovation platforms and innovation poles, such as the projects Santés&Territoires (in Laos, Cambodia and Benin), Malawi, and INV-Niger. Various initiatives work in non-formalized multistakeholder processes (GRAPE in Nepal, FO4RI, ABRIGUE), while others are facilitating dialog among AIS actors (InACC, ABRIGUE). Also, several projects indicated that they have sought specific partnerships through contractual arrangements of the involvement of private sector providers to facilitate support to farmers for acquiring inputs such as seeds and small machinery.

Several challenges at the managerial level were highlighted. For example, the project ABRIGUE, indicated the need for methodologies and tools to promote the exchanges to better incorporate diverse local knowledge. Also, FO4RI, a global project with 13 subprojects working in very dissimilar conditions, stressed the necessity to work more effectively to strengthen capacities for agroecological transition. Several projects are promoting dialogue among AIS stakeholders (ABRIGUE, TRANSFORMA-INNOVA) in an attempt to help coordinate the many interventions that frequently occur in the territories, which often have similar objectives but are disconnected. 

There were also multiple action points pointed out during the webinar, for example: using communication about AIS thinking and the development and dissemination of AIS-related knowledge products to enhance the embracement and implementation of AIS thinking in the future.

Finally, several of these topics will be further discussed during the upcoming modules: 

• Module 2: Acting at the innovation niche level (28th of March)
• Module 3: Acting at the level of innovation support services (4th of April)
• Module 4: Acting at the level of institutional and policy environments of innovation (20th of April)
• Module 5: Conclusion and joint reflection on action research strategies to strengthen AIS in the DeSIRA Initiative (TBD)

For more information and registration to these modules, please see here

For more information: community@desiralift.org

Please see the PowerPoint presentations from the session below

Conducting Action-Research interventions for strengthening national Agricultural Innovation Systems: ​successes and challenges in DeSIRA projects​. INTRODUCTORY MODULE –French/Spanish-speaking session​ 

Image 1: Screenshot Spanish group discussion, photo Ricardo Ramirez

The course consists of five modules. By attending the first module (Module 1) you will be able to identify the follow-up training modules that fit your needs.

Module 1: Identifying your (potential) contributions to AIS strengthening and challenges

This module is replicated two times on March 21st, 2023 (also see our training and coaching calendar)

• 10.00-12.00 a.m. CET: English-speaking session for projects based in Asia and Eastern and Southern Africa
• 3.00-5.00 p.m. CET: French and Spanish speaking session for projects based in Latin America and West Africa

Registration link here

Once registration is closed you will receive a confirmation by email and information to access the course.

This first module will be given by the senior experts in AIS and Action-Research of the DeSIRA-LIFT team. The follow-up training modules will be delivered by a pool of international experts specialized in specific Action-Research methodologies for AIS strengthening.

We invite the project coordinators, managers and M&E officers of the interested DeSIRA projects to attend together.

Contact for more information: service@desiralift.org

For detailed course information, please see here

This module will start on April 20th, 2023, in two slots from 10:00-12:00 a.m. CEST and 3:00-5:00 p.m. CEST

Registration link for all modules here

Please mark your calendar for the other modules as well: 

• Module 5: Conclusive reflexive workshop: refinement of DeSIRA projects’ contributions to AIS strengthening– consolidation of projects’ experience, capacities and learning per geographic DeSIRA clusters. This module will start in September 2023.

This module will start on April 20th, 2023, in two slots from 10:00-12:00 a.m. CEST and 3:00-5:00 p.m. CEST

Registration link for all modules here

Please mark your calendar for the other modules as well: 

• Module 5: Conclusive reflexive workshop: refinement of DeSIRA projects’ contributions to AIS strengthening– consolidation of projects’ experience, capacities and learning per geographic DeSIRA clusters. This module will start in September 2023.

This module will start on March 23d, 2023, in two slots from 10:00-12:00 a.m. CEST and 3:00-5:00 p.m. CEST

Registration link for all modules here

Please mark your calendar for the other modules as well: 

• Module 4: Acting at the level of policies, institutions and regulatory frameworks – Approaches and methods to make action-research work for the design and development of innovation policies and instruments: researchers’ skills and postures, AIS assessment, policy influence, evidence-based decision-making, policy dialogues, etc. This module will start on March 28, 2023, in two slots from 10:00-12:00 a.m. CET and 3:00-5:00 p.m.  CET
• Module 5: Conclusive reflexive workshop: refinement of DeSIRA projects’ contributions to AIS strengthening– consolidation of projects’ experience, capacities and learning per geographic DeSIRA clusters. This module will start in September 2023.