Learning and research
RIU is a research and development programme designed to put agricultural research into use for developmental purposes. It also conducts research on how to do put research into use. RIU follows earlier investments by DFID in agricultural and natural resources research supported through its renewable natural resources research strategy (RNRRS). While this strategy delivered high quality research the uptake of this research and its impact on social and economic progress was modest.
The RIU seeks to supporting activities that put RNRRS research products into use, but also by investigating the wider question of the relationship between agricultural research and innovation. This wider investigation responds to extensive evidence that suggests that agricultural innovation is very often not the result of the simply transferring research products to farmers, entrepreneurs and policy makers. More usually, research promotes innovation only when it is embedded in the wide set of relationships and processes involved in diffusing, combining and adapting ideas and put them into use.
Understanding the configurations of actors, policies and institutions that allow agricultural research to contribute to innovation and development in different circumstance is the central research task of RIU.
The programme's research design is largely inductive seeking to learn from an analysis of RIU own experiments in putting research into use. This will be coupled with contrasting comparator case studies as well as case studies of other promising research into use type approaches not covered by RIU.
RIU's Central Research Team (CRT)
CRT has overall responsibility for designing and implementing the research. The LINK programme of the United Nations University Maastricht Economic and Social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT) lead the CRT work.
CRT work plan
RIU knowledge outputs
RIU's knowledge outputs have been placed on the website in one of three categories.
Final publications - including summative reports of the learning from the programmes and some specially commissioned publications.
Emerging lessons - this is a quick summary of papers and links within the website which offer a work in progress where RIU is thinking out loud about what it has learned.
Discussion papers - 26 discussion papers have been produced by the CRT and other members of the RIU team, the research fellows and invited academic. Many of these relate directly to RIU funded activity but additional papers have been commissioned to compare the learning of RIU with experiences from other programmes and areas.
Key personnel
RIU is a research and development programme designed to put agricultural research into use for developmental purposes. It also conducts research on how to do put research into use. RIU follows earlier investments by DFID in agricultural and natural resources research supported through its renewable natural resources research strategy (RNRRS). While this strategy delivered high quality research the uptake of this research and its impact on social and economic progress was modest.
The RIU seeks to supporting activities that put RNRRS research products into use, but also by investigating the wider question of the relationship between agricultural research and innovation. This wider investigation responds to extensive evidence that suggests that agricultural innovation is very often not the result of the simply transferring research products to farmers, entrepreneurs and policy makers. More usually, research promotes innovation only when it is embedded in the wide set of relationships and processes involved in diffusing, combining and adapting ideas and put them into use.
Understanding the configurations of actors, policies and institutions that allow agricultural research to contribute to innovation and development in different circumstance is the central research task of RIU.
The programme's research design is largely inductive seeking to learn from an analysis of RIU own experiments in putting research into use. This will be coupled with contrasting comparator case studies as well as case studies of other promising research into use type approaches not covered by RIU.
RIU's Central Research Team (CRT)
CRT has overall responsibility for designing and implementing the research. The LINK programme of the United Nations University Maastricht Economic and Social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT) lead the CRT work.
CRT work plan
RIU knowledge outputs
RIU's knowledge outputs have been placed on the website in one of three categories.
Final publications - including summative reports of the learning from the programmes and some specially commissioned publications.
Emerging lessons - this is a quick summary of papers and links within the website which offer a work in progress where RIU is thinking out loud about what it has learned.
Discussion papers - 26 discussion papers have been produced by the CRT and other members of the RIU team, the research fellows and invited academic. Many of these relate directly to RIU funded activity but additional papers have been commissioned to compare the learning of RIU with experiences from other programmes and areas.
Key personnel
- Andy Hall - head of CRT
- Jeroen Dijkman - until February 2011
- Rasheed Sulaiman - CRT Asia, based in Hyderabad, India
| On his four point plan for getting research into use. March 2011 (01:37) |  |
Related information
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Brokering in practice: The experience of the RIU Malawi Country Programme Author: Maija Hirvonen July 2011 (PDF 2MB) |
External resources
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Entrepreneurs. What sort do we really need? A new class of entrepreneurs, often operating below the market and policy radar. Author: Andy Hall and Kumuda Dorai Source: LINK. June 2010 (250KB) |
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Research into use: An experiment in innovation Impact at last. Author: Andy Hall and Kumuda Dorai Source: LINK. March 2010 (350KB) |
Related information
- Brokerage needs fixing across developing world says RIU
News: 26 April 2011
