1. An Ethnographic Examination of
Innovations
in the VBDC
Karen Greenough, PhD
V5 Coordination & Change
Social Anthropologist

2. Contents


Who am I?
Why ethnographic
innovation research?

Ethnographic methodology

Some anthropological principles

What does this have to do with Innovation Research?

What is innovation and how do we
find it?

Will we find innovations?

Where are we?

Where do we want to go?

Where we hope to end up …

3. Who am I?
I joined the Peace Corps in
1985 ... ... and I’ve lived off and
on in Niger for 15+ years ...
living in
villages, on the
range, and
conducting
ethnographic
research.

4. Why Innovation Research?
Why Ethnography?

Because “Management” said so?

Because Funke decided that “ethnography” sounded good?

http://aloxecorton.wordpress
Through ethnographic methodology, the researcher
understands another “life world” by experiencing that world
together with the research subjects.
http://stirling.kent.ac.uk

5. Why Innovation Research?
Why Ethnography?

This understanding by experience
leads to a unique form of story-telling:

Narrative structure

http://aloxecorton.wordpress
Native point of view (researcher, villager, extension agent) …

With information about the ethnographer’s position, relationships to
subjects, etc.

Focus on everyday life as lived in real time

Context and background in terms of the literature, history, theory, etc.
Adapted from Carole McGranahan’s Savage Minds blog post, 31May 2012
End goal: A story of VBDC
research and innovation that
encompasses the whole program.
http://stirling.kent.ac.uk

6. Methodology:
Gathering Data

Talking to people



In-depth interviews
Surveys: semi-structured &
structured
Conversations

Gathering histories

Participation-Observation

Mapping

Participatory Methodology

Reading

Documentation

7. Methodology: Analysis

Coding

Statistics

Networks

Maps

Charting: e.g. household budgets
Goats
Sheep
Cows
Bulls
Donkeys
Camels
Chickens
1
5
6
1
7
1
10
5
2
4
3
1
1
1
7
6
2
2
3
2
15
20
1
6
1
0
3
4
6
3
15
2
1
0 14
39 19
29 11
1 1
6 6
2 1
0 1
50
50
20
3
5
4
7
2
4
3
2
10
16
5
4
3
2
40
40
34
1
4
1
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
2
1
2
4
3
7
1
3
4
0
0
0
5
2
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
2
3
0
0
1
0
2
0
1
4
6
4
0
4
2
2
0
0
1
2
1
2
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
2 nd daughter
Eldest daughter
Eldest son (~7)
Wife
T
12
7
13
1
11
0
0
Husband
Youngest son (~5)
Eldest son (~8)
Youngest daughter (~12)
Oldest daughter (~15)
Wife
T
46 42
43 43
35 27
1 1
7 8
1 1
3 3
Yahaya
AVE Exclusive Pastoralists Kk (N= 19)
Eldest son
2nd Wife
1st Wife
T
78
75
25
3
7
0
2
Nuhu
Great grand son
Great grand son
Grandson
2nd Wife
1st Wife
Mohamedou
T
AVE Mobile Cultivators (N=88)
2nd Son
Eldest son
Wife
T
19
19
11
2
8
1
10
Bashir
2nd Son
Eldest son's wife (~22)
Eldest son ~25)
2nd Wife
1st Wife
Abdou
Depends on the research: research question, data
collected, results obtained, and the presentation desired
1
0
1
0
1
T
10
9
8
0
7
0
0

8. Some Anthropological Principles

Cultural Relativity
~ what people believe and do
makes sense within their culture ~

Holistic Approach
~ looking at as much of the
whole picture as possible ~

Processual Perspective
~ examining the evolution
– changes over time –
of artifacts, practices, societies, cultures ~

Entrée
~ becoming mutually familiar with research
subjects so that they are comfortable
enough to tell what they know ~

9. Scientific Research on/with
People:
Rigor & Validity


People can only tell us what
they know
Their information will be limited by (at least):

what questions we ask

how we ask/present the questions



the amount of time they have to answer those
questions
the people who are around them
when they are asked the questions
They may also, for various reasons


give us only answers that they think
we want to hear
and/or purposely mislead us

10. Scientific Research on/with People:
Rigor & Validity


Some of the information that we
obtain may be some of the truth;
none of it will be the whole truth.
To obtain more complete data we
triangulate:
~ gather data from different sources,
using different methods ~


We probe for more and better data
We constantly question the data
that we’ve collected.

11. What does this have to do with …
Innovation Research in the VBDC

To carry out rigorous research & collect valid data:




Interviews: semi-structured
Conversations
Reading: reports, etc.
Participation-Observation





Researchers’ work


Meetings & workshops
Stakeholders’ work
Charting and networking : e.g. data on stakeholders
Mapping
Documentation
Most of this must be carried out “in the field”

12. What is innovation?

Someone takes information and/or technology and …


Changes their practices
Creates something new:





New practice
New technology
New organization
What does innovation
mean to you?
How do we find innovation?



Talking to people: local stakeholders, researchers, research
partners at all levels
Observing & participating in (experiencing) practices
Talking to more people

13. How do we find innovation?
Rigor & Validity

Careful interviewing




Talking to people individually,
where they feel comfortable
Using a translator who is not part of the project
Probing
Triangulation




Seeing what people are talking about
Participation when possible
Talking to other people: Verifying information
Understanding the context, background
& history



Reports, papers
Meetings/workshops
Asking about village histories

14. Will we find innovations?


Null hypothesis?
Assume that they are out there?
Opportunities

There are many project
sites and stakeholders



Challenges
 There are many project
sites and stakeholders
Many places to look
Many people to talk to
Most people like to talk
about and show their
project or
livelihood work





Too many places
Too many people
All widely dispersed
Need entrée
Will people stretch the
truth?

15. Where are we?

So far we know who many of
you are and what you do …

Background information on all
of the projects




Limited information on stakeholders






Proposals & semi-annual reports
Some activity reports
Observation & limited participation at meetings/workshops
Many questions remaining, e.g.:
Who are they all?
How are they linked to project partners?
How do you define “end user”, “next user”, “boundary partner”?
Entrée with some local researchers
But we have a long way to go …

16. Where we want to go …



Interviews with team
researchers at all levels
Interviews with key
stakeholders
Observation-participation:





Seeing and “experiencing”
various project interventions
Conversations
Measuring, mapping &
documentation
Next spring, possible
innovation workshops
with key stakeholders from
different levels
Analysis & writing

Need help from project
leaders and researchers







Conversations
Identifying key project
stakeholders at all levels for
further investigation
Entrée to key stakeholders
Participation-observation of
project work
Activity reports … more!
Information about possible
innovations
Corrections, filling holes, etc.

17. Where we hope
to end up



A story about change and
innovation as a result of
VBDC research & interventions
More than a “Most Significant Change Story”
An analysis of the process of particular changes and
innovations:






What happened where?
Who was involved?
How did the change or innovation come about?
Why did it come about?
How does it correlate with past and current changes
happening in the same milieu?
What does it mean for the future?

18. Thank you! Merci!