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Dr Matias Ramirez

The Chilean Ministry of Agriculture has commissioned Dr Matias Ramirez (Senior Lecturer in Management, SPRU) and two SPRU post-doc researchers based in Chile - Cecilia Ibarra and Veronica Roa - to undertake a diagnostic study of small producer agricultural networks in two southern provinces of the country. 

The objective of the project, titled 'Inclusion, Development of Capabilities and Social Networks', is to understand how processes of inclusion of hitherto marginalised and heterogeneous actors are taking place through the adoption of new types of varieties of plants promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture.

The methodology used was developed by Dr Ramirez and uses social network analysis and the governance of decision-making (participation). The project hopes to shed light on the changing nature of social networks provoked by the intervention, the role of key intermediaries in both technological diffusion and inclusion and how innovation policy can influence processes of inclusion in innovation programmes.