INNOVATION INTERMEDIARIES IN AN EVOLVING SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM IN KENYA

• Title: BEYOND KNOWLEDGE BROKERAGE: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF INNOVATION INTERMEDIARIES IN AN EVOLVING SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM IN KENYA

• Authors: CATHERINE W. KILELU, LAURENS KLERKX, CEES LEEUWIS, AND ANDY HALL
• Description: APRIL 2011, 43 pages.

This document resulted in part from research supported by the Research into Use (RIU) programme, funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries.

The recognition that innovation occurs in networks of heterogeneous actors and requires broad systemic support beyond knowledge brokering has resulted in a changing landscape of the intermediary domain in an increasingly market‐driven agricultural sector in developing countries.

This paper presents findings of an explorative case study that looked at 22 organisations identified as fulfilling an intermediary role in the Kenyan agricultural sector.

The study identified various organisational arrangements of innovation intermediaries with some organisations fulfilling a specialised innovation brokering role, even as other intermediaries take on brokering as a side activity, while still substantively contributing to the innovation process. Based on these findings the authors identify a typology of 4 innovation intermediation arrangements, including:

1. technology brokers, 
2. systemic brokers, 
3. enterprise development support and 
4. input access support.

The results indicate that innovation brokering is a pervasive task in supporting innovation and will require policy support to embed it in innovation support arrangements. The paper is not normative about these arrangements.