Research Into Use (RIU)

RIU's underlying strategy is an "innovation systems approach" which highlights the importance of networks, coalitions, and partnerships, and - by extension - the need for effective communication channels among the organisations and individuals that make up the system. This process moves away from the traditional, linear research and development (R&D) model, in which research is completed and the results are then passed on to end users through some form of extension service. Instead, users and suppliers of knowledge interact from the outset to ensure that innovation takes place. The emphasis is on nurturing the demand for knowledge and technologies not just among primary producers but among a range of actors, including equipment manufacturers and suppliers, product and service retailers, traders and processors, financial institutions, private companies and entrepreneurs, government policy bodies and non-government organisations (NGOs). This theme of partnership is also reflected in the RIU programme's efforts to work effectively with national, regional, and international partners, and to promote the key lessons from the RIU to those who make and implement pro-poor policies.

The importance of participation in this platform is illustrated by RIU's endeavour to support the uptake of technologies by strengthening demand for them among the economically poor. This role will be taken on by "national innovation coalitions", which are composed of organisations already involved in renewable natural resources (RNR) innovation. In the first year of implementation, the RIU organised in-person workshops to validate the coalition approach, which also draws on public-private partnerships and their role in stimulating entrepreneurship. Through its investments, RIU will aim to build up a portfolio of private-sector partnerships in the agricultural sector of the developing world.

A key RIU strategic focus is on learning more about why NR research has not been used, why it is not more useful, and how a focus on use can speed up adoption and spread the benefits for the economically poor. Impact evaluation is another core emphasis; organisers claim that there is limited available evidence of the impact on poverty of past RNR research programmes. Monitoring and learning will take place across all RIU initiatives, with a strong focus on participatory monitoring and evaluation (though final authorship of evaluation studies will rest with independent experts). Evaluation-sharing activities will identify and engage with influential evaluation stakeholders at national, regional, and international levels. This reflects a belief that advocacy is necessary to move research into use; this is, according to RIU, "all about changing attitudes and behaviour, not only those of potential technical innovators such as farmers, but also those of policy makers and other influential people."

Participatory modes again come into play in the evaluation-sharing component of RIU, in the sense that "conventional approaches to communication, knowledge management and learning within structured organizations and well-defined audiences are of limited value here. Rather, communication has to support alliances and networks within a dynamic and sometimes chaotic innovation system." Thus, the RIU works with its in-country partners to identify local communication gaps and opportunities, such as the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and drama and other cultural events. Part of this process involves mapping exercises that are designed to determine which segments of the community have a voice, which trusted institutions can articulate local people's needs, and whether other groups or individuals (e.g., shopkeepers) could serve as conduits of technical and other information. The intention is to determine how well economically poor farmers communicate with these "infomediaries", and to test the potential of communication tools for strengthening the voices of the vulnerable during innovation.

The RIU website is a tool for anyone around the world interested in NR research. It includes an RIU Library featuring communications materials in many forms - from the written word in the form of reports, policy briefs, feature articles, and newsletters, to radio broadcasts, videos, photographs, and more. The Databases in the Information Bank include "Natural Resources Knowledge", which features 278 research outputs or clusters of outputs relevant to livestock, aquaculture, fisheries, post-harvest operations, crop protection, crop post-harvest operations, forestry, food microbiology, soil fertility, land use management, and water resource management. (It is also available on a CD, accompanied by a book designed for field practitioners and policy makers.) Still in development as of this writing, the "Capacity Strengthening Providers" database will provide a listing of individuals and organisations providing capacity development services in agriculture. This website also features a variety of useful links organised by category, and an interactive discussion forum.

Natural Resource Management.

Launched under DFID's new Strategy for Research on Sustainable Agriculture (SRSA), this initiative marks a shift in emphasis away from the generation of new knowledge to the ways in which knowledge is put to use. RIU's inception phase ran from July 1 2006 to June 30 2007; full implementation will run from July 1 2007 to June 30 2011.