The sustainability and success of innovation platforms

Schut, M. (2017). The sustainability and success of innovation platforms. Horticulture in Tanzania, 33-36.

Innovation platforms are fast becoming part of the mantra of agricultural research for development (AR4D) projects and programs. They have become an increasingly popular approach to enhancing multi-stakeholder collaboration in AR4D. Their basic tenet is that stakeholders in the agricultural sector (farmers, government, private sector) depend on one another to solve their problems, and hence need a space where they can learn, negotiate, and coordinate to overcome challenges and capture opportunities through a facilitated innovation process. It is however very important to look at innovation platforms critically in defining their features, key functions, and what they can and, as importantly, cannot do.