How does institutional embeddedness shape innovation platforms? A diagnostic study of three districts in the Upper West Region of Ghana

Figures & data

Fig. 1 Institutional embeddedness of innovation platforms.

Fig. 2 Location of research sites.

Table 1 Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents (n = 30).

Parameters		Jirapa (n = 10)	Lawra (n = 10)	Nandom (n = 10)
Position in platform	Member	6	6	8
	Leader	4	4	2
Function	Traditional authority	1	4	1
	Government agency	3	2	2
	District Assembly	2	1	2
	Civil society/NGO	3	2	4
	Farmer representative	1	1	1
Age	Under 30	0	0	2
	31–50	6	5	5
	Over 51	4	5	3
Sex	Male	9	9	8
	Female	1	1	2
Education	No school	2	0	0
	Primary	0	0	3
	Secondary	3	6	5
	Post-secondary	5	4	2
Origin	Upper West Region	9	9	9
	Elsewhere in Ghana	1	1	1

Fig. 3 Constitutive meeting participants in study districts.

Fig. 4 Platform composition in study districts.

Fig. 5 Key criteria for selection mentioned by participants.

Table 2 Characteristics of facilitating agents.

	Jirapa	Lawra	Nandom
Facilitating agent	Department of Agricultural Extension, Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA)	Traditional Council	Nandom Deanery Rural Integrated Development Project (NANDIRDEP)
Type	Government agency	Traditional (customary) authority	Non-governmental organization
Origin	District MoFA office established when Jirapa district was created in 1988	Established by British colonial administration as part of Indirect Rule structure in early 1930s	Created by the Catholic Church dioceses in 1973
Sources of funding for general activities	Government budget allocated to district MoFA	District Assembly provides some resources, though most revenue come from fees and contributions	Government budget, District Assembly, foreign donors (CARE, Oxfam UK)
Mandate	Coordinating, implementing climate-related projects and activities	Enacting and enforcing bylaws, mediating interaction between community and government, NGOs, and outside entities	Promoting improved crop and livestock production, income-generation, gender empowerment, environmental protection
Coverage	Jirapa district	Lawra district	Lawra and Nandom districts

Fig. 6 Members’ vision for platform role.

Fig. 7 Timeline of platform activities.

Table 3 Platform activities according to platform members’ vision.

	Jirapa	Lawra	Nandom
Education and awareness raising	Scenarios visioning workshop to define development goals and strategies	Scenarios visioning workshop to define development goals and strategies	Scenarios visioning workshop to define development goals and strategies
	Radio broadcasts on climate change challenges and policies	Radio broadcasts on climate change challenges and policies	Radio broadcasts on climate change challenges and policies
		Awareness raising campaign on forest conservation
Regulating and preventing natural resources abuses	Training 42 fire volunteers	Developing and enforcing bylaws to protect natural resources	Training for 40 fire volunteers
		Developing district forest protection plan
		Training 15 fire volunteers
Supporting climate change mitigation	Tree seedling distribution to 5 schools		Supporting establishment of commercial seedling business
			Promoting community woodlots
Promoting adaptive practices and technologies	Training on land management (e.g., slope ridging, stone barriers)		Training on soil fertility management (composting) and dry season gardening
			Training on livestock management
			Connecting inputs dealers and farmers
Coordinating climate change interventions			Linking farmers to information service provider (Esoko)
			Facilitating partnership between District Assembly and Oxfam

Fig. 8 Perceived impacts of platform activities.