Scaling for Impact: from innovation to real change in agrifood systems
Between what works in pilot settings and what transforms territories, there is a gap. Scaling helps understand how to adapt, connect, and sustain innovations to bridge it.
- Africa
- Climate Action
- CGIAR Scaling for Impact
- impact evaluation
Scaling for Impact: from innovation to real change in agrifood systems
Between what works in pilot settings and what transforms territories, there is a gap. Scaling helps understand how to adapt, connect, and sustain innovations to bridge it.
Over recent decades, agrifood systems have been the setting for significant knowledge generation. New technologies, sustainable practices, digital tools, and methodological approaches have been developed to respond to increasingly complex challenges.
Many of these innovations have shown positive results in pilot contexts, where conditions are controlled and there is constant technical support. However, transferring them to other territories and scales remains a challenge.
As solutions are implemented in real-world contexts, new variables come into play: conditions, actors, and local dynamics change. As a result, outcomes do not always hold in the same way, revealing a gap between what works in specific environments and what can be sustained across different contexts.
In this scenario, scaling is becoming increasingly relevant. More than simply expanding the reach of an innovation, it involves understanding how to adapt it, how to facilitate its adoption by different actors, and how to sustain its impact over time.
Thus, the challenge is no longer only to develop new solutions, but to advance in how existing innovations can function effectively in diverse and changing contexts.