Concepts and guidelines for diagnostic assessments of agricultural innovation capacity

This paper is divided into two parts. The first part sets out a conceptual framework for diagnostic assessments of agricultural innovation capacity. It explains that contemporary patterns of agricultural development demand fresh thinking on how innovation can be promoted in ways that can deal with rapidly evolving production and market conditions. The innovation systems concept is presented as a framework for examining the notion of innovation capacity. The second part of the paper provides guidance on how the principles of this conceptual framework can be used in diagnostic assessments. These guidelines include a number of typological tools to explore the qualitative aspects of innovation capacity – particularly patterns of interaction and the habits and practices that inform these.