ICRA stimulates building national level partnerships (innovation platforms) – involving educational and research organisations, extension services, NGOs, farmers’ unions and actors in the private sector. Partners collectively strengthen their institutional capabilities to build capacity in new multi-actor approaches to rural innovation and interactive learning. They also stimulate the use and institutionalization of these approaches. In response to requests for capacity building, ICRA initiates collaboration amongst key partners, helps to raise awareness and stimulates the development of a joint national vision on ways of building capacity for, and institutionalising the use of, new approaches to rural innovation. Up-front capacity building of inter-institutional core teams of change agents and trainers representing key partners can be arranged through ICRA’s programmes in which participants learn to work as a team, apply new approaches to rural innovation with other actors, involve their institutions in innovation platforms and design and adapt learning programmes and materials to local, national and regional needs. ICRA then engages with the capacitated core teams to secure funding, implement national and local learning programmes for teams engaged in innovation processes and change educational curricula. |
