Capacity to innovate: what does that mean??

CAPACITY TO INNOVATE

What does that mean??

The old Chinese proverb

“To grant a man a fishis not as good as

to grant him fishing”Lao Tsu

is better known as….

Give a man a fish…

…you feed him for a day.

Teach him how to fish…

… you feed him for a lifetime?

BUT What happens if… ??

Technical problemsencountered…

Market prices fall…

Policiesare changed…

Fix it ifmaterials are available

Purchase another ifcapital is available

Learn new ways iftraining is available

Technical problems are encountered…

Sell elsewhere ifalternative market is available

Trade locally ifother food items available

Learn ways to store ifknowledge is available

Or…Market prices fall…

Continue anyway if there areways of not getting caught

Protest ifthe support is available

Become independent ifthe expertise is available

Or…Policies are changed…

So, you can catch, store, sell fishin new ways or even forget fishing

and do something new- INNOVATION !

How do you go about it?

Where do you go?

Who do you talk with?

So, you can catch, store, sell fishin new ways or even forget fishing

and do something new- INNOVATION !

But…

DepartmentOf Fisheries

I could go to the gov’t official for advice butI don’t know him very well – besides,he doesn’t understand my situation.

How do you go about it?

Where do you go?

Who do you talk with?

But…

DepartmentOf Fisheries

I could go to the gov’t official for advice butI don’t know him very well – besides,he doesn’t understand my situation.

I could go to my neighbor – he knows a traderwith whom I can discuss other possible markets.Is there any other way to get that information?

How do you go about it?

Where do you go?

Who do you talk with?

But…

DepartmentOf Fisheries

I could go to the gov’t official for advice butI don’t know him very well – besides,he doesn’t understand my situation.

I could go to my neighbor – he knows a traderwith whom I can discuss other possible markets.Is there any other way to get that information?

I could ask for a loan to buy fingerlings andstart my own business, but there is no loan

available to buy the feed.

How do you go about it?

Where do you go?

Who do you talk with?

But…

DepartmentOf Fisheries

I could go to the gov’t official for advice butI don’t know him very well – besides,he doesn’t understand my situation.

I could go to my neighbor – he knows a traderwith whom I can discuss other possible markets.Is there any other way to get that information?

I could ask for a loan to buy fingerlings andstart my own business, but there is no loan

available to buy the feed.

VillageCouncil

I could ask the village committee to invite the various gov’t departments for discussions

but the officials don’t talk to each other.

How do you go about it?

Where do you go?

Who do you talk with?

But…

DepartmentOf Fisheries

I could go to the gov’t official for advice butI don’t know him very well – besides,he doesn’t understand my situation.

I could go to my neighbor – he knows a traderwith whom I can discuss other possible markets.Is there any other way to get that information?

I could ask for a loan to buy fingerlings andstart my own business, but there is no loan

available to buy the feed.

VillageCouncil

I could ask the village committee to invite the various gov’t departments for discussions

but the officials don’t talk to each other.

I could interact with the researcher who visitsbut he’s just interested in me growing mushrooms.

How do you go about it?

Where do you go?

Who do you talk with?

But…

DepartmentOf Fisheries

I could go to the gov’t official for advice butI don’t know him very well – besides,he doesn’t understand my situation.

I could go to my neighbor – he knows a traderwith whom I can discuss other possible markets.Is there any other way to get that information?

I could ask for a loan to buy fingerlings andstart my own business, but there is no loan

available to buy the feed.

VillageCouncil

I could ask the village committee to invite the various gov’t departments for discussions

but the officials don’t talk to each other.

I could interact with the researcher who visitsbut he’s just interested in me growing mushrooms.

How do you go about it?

Where do you go?

Who do you talk with?

I could follow national market prices but how?

But…

And… Will this change the way things are done?

If so, how would they change?

And what would be the incentive?

I should start spending more timein the villages to understand better

what the farmers are doing- I do want to make a differenceas Director of this department

And… Will this change the way things are done?

If so, how? - why?

I should start spending more timein the villages to understand better

what the farmers are doing- I do want to make a differenceas Director of this department

I should introduce him to the traders I meet with regularly- maybe he will stop coming over

and bothering me all the time

And… Will this change the way things are done?

If so, how? - why?

I should start spending more timein the villages to understand better

what the farmers are doing- I do want to make a differenceas Director of this department

I should introduce him to the traders I meet with regularly- maybe he will stop coming over

and bothering me all the time

We should raise the issue of loans forfish feed at the next board meeting-the increase in potential customers

should impress head office

And… Will this change the way things are done?

If so, how? - why?

Instead of meeting in the village every week,lets meet in town with the government officials– that should link us directly with resources

and make our job easier

I should start spending more timein the villages to understand better

what the farmers are doing- I do want to make a differenceas Director of this department

I should introduce him to the traders I meet with regularly- maybe he will stop coming over

and bothering me all the time

We should raise the issue of loans forfish feed at the next board meeting-the increase in potential customers

should impress head office

And… Will this change the way things are done?

If so, how? - why?

Instead of meeting in the village every week,lets meet in town with the government officials– that should link us directly with resources

and make our job easier

I should start spending more timein the villages to understand better

what the farmers are doing- I do want to make a differenceas Director of this department

I should introduce him to the traders I meet with regularly- maybe he will stop coming over

and bothering me all the time

We should raise the issue of loans forfish feed at the next board meeting-the increase in potential customers

should impress head office

I should start working withthe Department of Fisheries on this- can probably get a research grant

And… Will this change the way things are done?

If so, how? - why?

Instead of meeting in the village every week,lets meet in town with the government officials– that should link us directly with resources

and make our job easier

I should start spending more timein the villages to understand better

what the farmers are doing- I do want to make a differenceas Director of this department

I should introduce him to the traders I meet with regularly- maybe he will stop coming over

and bothering me all the time

We should raise the issue of loans forfish feed at the next board meeting-the increase in potential customers

should impress head office

I should start working withthe Department of Fisheries on this- can probably get a research grant

He is the 5th farmer today to askabout fish prices

- I should set up a service and chargean annual fee for market information

And… Will this change the way things are done?

If so, how? - why?

So - Using something old in new ways, or applying something new to successfully produce a positive social and economic outcome

is INNOVATION

So - Using something old in new ways, or applying something new to successfully produce a positive social and economic outcome

is INNOVATION

This is embedded in a network of those interacting to produce, distribute and use knowledge to do so

-an INNOVATION SYSTEM

So - Using something old in new ways, or applying something new to successfully produce a positive social and economic outcome

is INNOVATION

This is embedded in a network of those interacting to produce, distribute and use knowledge to do so

-an INNOVATION SYSTEM

Improving interactionsbetween the actors in the system

changes habits and practices, facilitates learning, contributes to knowledge and builds

“CAPACITY TO INNOVATE”

THANK YOUPlease feel free to use this presentation or any variation for non-profit, but please ensure that the authors and organization are acknowledged. To help us assess impact, we request that when using this presentation (or parts of) that you inform us using the e-mail address below indicating how the presentation is being used and your target audience. For further information contact:

Dr. Peter Bezkorowajnyj, Project Manager, Fodder Innovation Project, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) c/o ICRISAT, Patancheru –502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India.Phone: +91 40 30713653/4, Fax: +91 40 3071 3074, E-mail: p.bezkorowajnyj@cgiar.org, Web: cgiar.org/ilri.Dr. Dannie Romney, Enabling Innovations Acting Theme Leader, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), PO Box 30709 Nairobi, Kenya.Phone: +254 20 422 3000, Fax: +254 20 422 3001, E-mail: d.romney@cgiar.org, Web: cgiar.org/ilri.