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Knowledge4Policy
Knowledge for policy

Supporting policy with scientific evidence

We mobilise people and resources to create, curate, make sense of and use knowledge to inform policymaking across Europe.

  • Publication | 2024

Activating agricultural transitions to sustainability through participatory research and co-innovation. Stories of change across Africa, Asia and Latin America from the DeSIRA initiative

Global Food and Nutrition Security

Changing the ways research contributes to innovation is part of the new imperative for systems approaches and transition management, which includes prioritising innovation programmes, providing more intentional support for innovation, and greater inclusiveness and responsiveness thanks to user-centered innovation methodologies. Countries need to have Agricultural Innovation Systems with appropriate governance mechanisms, innovation support services, and enabling policies with the objective to facilitate and accelerate the scaling of innovations that address problems faced by farmers, rural communities and vulnerable members of society, while developing more sustainable agrifood systems.

Stories of Change are a powerful tool to illustrate how research engages in these processes to support systemic thinking and action, and more user-driven innovations toward transitions. The stories narrate not only the changes that have occurred but also the reasons why they have occurred, and the processes leading to these changes at various levels of project intervention.

The DeSIRA Initiative is a portfolio of 80 research and innovation (R&I) projects run in over 65 countries across three continents between 2019 and 2026, supported by a European Union contribution of €340,000,000. DeSIRA aims to enhance the contribution of R&I in addressing complex issues relating to sustainability transitions and agrifood system transformation, towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in low- and middle- income countries