ABSTRACT
The Community Action Research Platform (CARP) approach arose as a homegrown response from African universities to the challenges of engaging with communities to produce relevant research for rural development. CARPs are multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder innovation platforms facilitated by universities to galvanise research and capacity building in targeted agricultural value chains. They build on classical Participatory Action Research (PAR) approaches, bringing a new collaborative focus towards transformation in rural communities. Essentially, the CARP model establishes platforms of engagement that link farmers and universities to wider systems, support selected commodity value chains in ways that strengthen experiential learning and produce more relevant graduates and research.. The approach stimulates change in the universities – among students and in rural areas – through opening relationships and pathways for uptake. Holistic and collaborative, the CARPs integrate knowledge from across different disciplines – from agronomy to plant protection and soil science to agricultural entrepreneurship and food processing – and involve users in the co-design and co-production of innovations. This chapter highlights how the approach developed and shares early lessons which have informed the CARPs’ further evolution.
