Emancipatory scaling: Strengthening locally led AR4D innovation processes

Abstract

Introduction

Agricultural research for development (AR4D) increasingly seeks to scale innovations that can transform food and agricultural systems. Yet scal­ing is still often framed as a technical exercise of replicating solutions, expanding reach, and deliver­ing measurable outputs. This viewpoint argues that such approaches underestimate the political, rela­tional, and context-dependent nature of systems change. They risk privileging funder and institu­tional priorities, overlooking local realities, and positioning communities primarily as adopters rather than as actors with authority to shape inno­vation pathways. In response, we introduce the concept of emancipatory scaling. Drawing on eman­cipatory research traditions, responsible innova­tion, and responsible scaling, the concept shifts attention from scaling solutions to transforming the conditions under which scaling takes place. Emancipatory scaling is characterized by meaning­ful participation as co-control, reciprocal accounta­bility, community agency over research agendas and outcomes, recognition of diverse knowledge systems, and sensitivity to socio-ecological interdependencies. . . .