CLIC - SR: Combining Local Innovative Capacity with Scientific Research: strengthening community resilience to change

Building on its experiences of promoting farmer-led joint innovation, the international Prolinnova network seeks to apply this approach in building local adaptive capacities and strengthening community resilience to change, including climate change (CC). The proposed project in eastern Africa aims to: 

 

1. Strengthen the resilience to change of smallholders and their communities, especially the women among them, by enhancing their innovative capacity and thus their livelihood security through participatory innovation development (PID) 

2. Build the capacity of organizations working on agriculture and natural resource management (NRM) so that they can effectively work with and support smallholder communities in their efforts to adapt 

3. Increase insights and awareness on relevance and effectiveness of PID through sharing and learning 

4. Mainstream PID as an accepted approach within targeted national and international policies and programs related to agricultural development, NRM and climate-change adaptation (CCA). 

 

The activities will be carried out in two districts vulnerable to climate change in each of four countries in eastern Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. 

 

Field studies will be made to assess how communities try to respond to changes in their environment and adapt on their own initiative. Farmer-led joint innovation that involves interested research scientists and builds on local initiatives will be implemented and documented. Community groups as well as local government organizations and civil-society organizations (CSOs) that are supporting them will be trained in implementing joint experimentation to address effects of change. The multi-stakeholder Prolinnova Country Platforms (CPs) in the countries have experience in supporting a farmer co-managed mechanism known as Local Innovation Support Fund (LISF) to catalyze locally defined experimentation and innovation. Project partners will use the LISF to support and fund farmer-led joint experimentation and innovation. Where relevant, communities and supporting agencies will also be trained in aspects of CCA to be able to strategize their own work and to influence use of national funds earmarked for support to CCA. In this, the project partners will work closely with the Climate Change Units in the agricultural research institutes and other key resource people in their respective countries. 

 

The findings and lessons learnt in the project will be shared through the existing multi-stakeholder Prolinnova platform in each country as well as through printed, audiovisual and electronic media and through participation in other networks on agricultural innovation and on CCA. Dissemination at international level will be though Prolinnova and other international networks and various printed and electronic publications, including a booklet with case studies of enhancing community resilience to change through PID. 

 

In order to influence national and international policies to recognize the importance of strengthening community resilience by building local adaptive capacities through PID, the partners will engage in policy dialogue at national and international level. They will make inputs into selected policy processes, based on the evidence generated through this project, and will organize a high-profile event (e.g. conference, innovation fair) in each country. 

 

The activities at country level are coordinated by experienced NGOs working closely with research institutes and other stakeholders in the Prolinnova CPs. The existing Prolinnova National Steering Committee of each CP will oversee the project activities and provide policy guidance at country level. ETC Foundation in the Netherlands will be responsible for overall project management and coordination of international policy dialogue. The International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) in the Philippines will coordinat e the internal monitoring and evaluation. An independent Africa-based organization will carry out an external evaluation in the final year of the project. At international level, the Prolinnova Oversight Group serves as the overall governance mechanism.