Innovation Asia-Pacific Symposium

The Innovation Asia Pacific Symposium (IAPS) will bring together researchers and practitioners in innovation systems in smallholder agriculture and natural resource management (NRM) to share their latest experiences and insights. Particular attention will be given to supporting the initiatives of women, men, households and communities to climb out of poverty in environmentally sustainable ways.The symposium will allow knowledge sharing by integrating plenary keynotes, small-group discussions and joint reflection on experience including case studies – with a balance between theory and practice. Mini-workshops will offer opportunities for exchange and learning around the main symposium themes. During an interactive marketplace, further information and on-the-ground experiences will be exchanged in an open-space mode. The workshop will open with a local innovation fair celebrating the creativity of rural women and men in Nepal.

The main focus will be on innovation processes in southern and eastern Asia, but experiences from other parts of the world relevant for these areas will also be welcomed.

Objectives

The Symposium seeks to:

Provide an opportunity for researchers, academics, development practitioners, social and commercial entrepreneurs, and local innovators to share and learn from recent research and development experiences in innovation systems in agriculture and NRM
Demonstrate the importance of building on local initiatives in experimentation, involving both locally developed innovations as well as adapting outputs from formal research to local conditions and purposes
Develop a better understanding of the implications of an innovation systems approach for research, development and education in agriculture and NRM
Identify policy options, organisational solutions and capacity needs to enhance gender-sensitive and pro-poor innovation
Catalyse new partnerships and “communities of practice” for learning and networking of professionals working on innovation in agriculture and NRM.

Themes

Within the framework of agricultural and NRM research and development, contributions and discussions will be grouped into the following themes:

1. Concepts and methods in innovation systems approaches
2. Building and maintaining partnerships in innovation
3. Strengthening adaptive capacities through local innovation processes
4. Private-sector engagement for market-oriented innovation
5 Building capacity and mainstreaming innovation systems approaches
6 .Policy dialogue and institutional change to support pro-poor innovation
Issues of gender and social inclusions cut across all themes. Contributions that give serious attention to these issues will be given priority during selection.

Outputs and dissemination

Accepted abstracts for papers and marketplace exhibits will be posted on the Symposium website (www.innovation-asia-pacific.net), and participants will receive a printed booklet of abstracts. After the meeting, all presentations, discussion highlights and recommendations will be posted on the website, with links to this from the websites of the co-organising and funding institutions. Selected key contributions will be compiled in a peer-reviewed book to be distributed to all participants and more widely through a commercial publisher. Opportunities will also be explored to publish selected papers in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, and shorter and more easily accessible articles in a development-oriented magazine.

Funding and sponsors

Partially funded by the organisers and Research Into Use (RIU) / UK Department for International Development (DFID); several other donors are considering funding. A limited number of travel grants will be available for invited participants from Southern research and development organisations and farmer organisations.

Registration fee USD 120. Waivers can be arranged on request.

Symposium organisers

International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)Asia
POB 783, Vientiane, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic www.ciat.cgiar.org/asia

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
GPO Box 3226, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal www.icimod.org

Prolinnova (Promoting Local Innovation) c/o ETC EcoCulture
POB 64, 3830 AB Leusden, Netherlands http://www.prolinnova.net

Prolinnova Nepal:

Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD)
POB 324, Pokhara, Kaski, Nepal (www.libird.org)
Practical Action Nepal Office
Pandol Marg, Lazimpat, POB 15135, Kathmandu, Nepal (www.practicalaction.org)
For more information
Mr Suman Manandhar, IAPS Secretariat at LI-BIRD

Tel: +977-61-526834 / 535357

Email: smanandhar@libird.org
Ms Chesha Wettasinha, Prolinnova International Secretariat

Tel: +31-33-432-6000

Email: c.wettasinha@etcnl.nl

Symposium Secretariat: info@innovation-asia-pacific.net

Website: www.innovation-asia-pacific.net

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