ILRI PhD Graduate Fellowship: Innovation Portfolio Management in the Public Sector Jobs in Kenya
Scope of Work
The science of scaling is a new, exciting field of study that is concerned with better understanding and guiding the scaling of innovation for achieving positive societal impacts such as those defined under the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The PhD will be action-oriented in that it seeks to conduct scientific research in support of achieving development outcomes and impacts. The design, testing and validation of decision-support tools to advance effective innovation portfolio management with CGIAR and partners will be a central part of the PhD project.
The CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa (Ukama Ustawi) offers a dynamic science and learning environment for data collection and piloting new approaches with CGIAR and partner teams.
This PhD position will play a key role in advancing the science of scaling. The state-of-the-art knowledge, products and experiences are meant to inform curriculum development and strengthen capacity in practice of scaling. The focus of the PhD position will be on advancing the science of scaling.
Innovation portfolio management refers to the strategic management and oversight of a portfolio of innovation and scaling investments (e.g. initiatives and projects). It involves making informed decisions about which innovation to pursue, allocate resources to, and prioritize based on their alignment with the organization’s goals and objectives.
Innovation portfolio management is commonly used in the private sector to ‘stage-gate’ innovations along their pathway from novel idea to use at scale. Innovation portfolio management is less commonly used in the public, non-for-profit sector, although that sector could equally benefit from managing innovation portfolios in a more intentional and systematic way.
An innovation portfolio typically consists of a range of innovations at different stages of development, from early-stage ideas to mature products or services. Innovations may be technological, process, business models, or policy innovations.
The key elements of innovation portfolio management include:
Alignment with strategic objectives: Evaluating innovation projects against the organization’s overall strategic goals and objectives to ensure that they are in line with the organization’s vision and mission, as well as with the needs and interest of innovation users/ clients.
Data, metrics and information: Timely access to quality data, metrics and information on key indicators such as scaling and impact potential, competitive landscape, feasibility, resource requirements and partnerships.
Resource allocation: Allocating resources, including financial, human, and time to different innovation projects based on hard and soft criteria, including strategic importance, potential impact, and cost-benefit and cost effectiveness analysis.
Strategic decision-making: This involves making trade-offs and strategic decisions with regards to significant value and how innovations align with the organization’s capabilities, client/ user needs, resources and strategic objectives.
Monitoring and evaluation: Continuously monitoring the progress and performance of innovation projects, tracking key metrics (e.g. Scaling Readiness), and evaluating their success and impact. This helps in identifying and addressing any issues or challenges that arise during project execution and determining whether to continue, modify, or terminate innovations.
Culture and mindset: An important aspect of innovation portfolio management is the transition from subjective and adhoc towards more systematic, transparent and evidence-based decision-making. In many organizations this means a significant culture change which needs to be carefully nurtured and supported.
By actively managing their innovation portfolios, organizations can optimize their investments in innovation, balance risk and reward, foster a culture of impact, and increase the likelihood of successful outcomes for its clients. It
enables them to strategically navigate the innovation landscape, adapt to changing innovation system dynamics, and drive sustainable growth and impact.
Overall, the goal is to contribute to contribute to critical scholarly perspectives on innovation portfolio management in the public sector, by exploring how the ‘right’ combination of methods, mechanisms and mindsets can foster more intentional, effective and transparent innovation management to achieve sustainable societal outcomes and positive, responsible impact at scale.
The PhD fellow is expected to lead the co-design, testing and validation of methods, approaches and/or tools that can strengthen meaningful innovation management in the public sector in close collaboration with CGIAR and partner teams.
This is expected to generate insights on the conditions, factors and processes that enable or constrain innovation management in CGIAR which will generate lessons for the broader public sector.
Responsibilities of the fellow:
Design, implement and document/ publish scientific PhD research.
Develop a PhD-research proposal to be accepted by the Wageningen School of Social Sciences, that covers various aspects of innovation portfolio management (e.g., from metrics and decision-making criteria to organizational impact culture change).
Develop and conduct a personal Training and Supervision Plan.
Conduct research on the topic described in close collaboration with the CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa (Ukama Ustawi).
Lead the design, testing and validation of approaches and/or tools that can advance effective innovation portfolio management for societal outcomes and impact.
Write scientific articles about the findings and publish them in scientific journals.
Present PhD research findings at seminars and conferences.
Other duties
Collaborate and exchange with other PhD students in the science of scaling domain.
Contribute to Ukama Ustawi activities that align with PhD research.
Collaborate with the CGIAR Scaling Readiness team on topics that align with the PhD research.
Provide periodical reflections and recommendations to Ukama Ustawi Work Package 6 team.
Contribute to strategic communication efforts on the PhD research.
Requirements & qualifications:
A university degree (MSc) in a relevant scientific field that includes considerable social/ innovation science substance.
Strong interest in agricultural research for development, innovation and development impact.
An understanding/appreciation of the socio-economic and political dynamics of agricultural innovation and development in low- and middle-income or specifically SSA countries.
Ability to ‘think out of the box’ and proactively propose creative research ideas (e.g., translating concepts and tools used in other sectors).
Experience in independently designing, implementing and documenting scientific research.
Strong interpersonal, communication and network skills.
Good knowledge of English language, in listening, speaking and writing.
Ability to use advanced data collection and analysis tools, methods and software (e.g., machine learning, R, ODK).
Strong digital skills, including proficiency in presentation, project management and collaboration tools.
Experience in low- or middle-income countries in agricultural/ development settings.
Experience in facilitating events in a multi-cultural environment.
Teamwork – ability to lead work in an agile and fast-paced environment.
How to Apply
For more information and job application details, see; ILRI PhD Graduate Fellowship: Innovation Portfolio Management in the Public Sector Jobs in Kenya
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