CGIAR and Wageningen University Develop Online Course on Innovation and Scaling
CGIAR and Wageningen University have developed an online course to support organisations, project teams and their partners in developing a common understanding of innovation and scaling in the context of international development.

Achieving impact at scale is one of the greatest challenges facing the research and development community, and ‘scaling of innovation’ is increasingly popular in the world of public research and development. However, innovation and scaling often mean different things for stakeholders representing research, development organisations, private sector and government organisations. To support organisations, project teams and their partners in developing a common understanding of innovation and scaling in the context of international development, an online course was developed.
The course covers 6 Modules that answer questions such as:
- What do we mean with innovation?
- How do innovations scale as part of packages?
- How do we ensure (gender-)responsible scaling?
- How do we measure the Scaling Readiness of innovations?
- How to develop evidence-based scaling strategies with partners?
- Why invest in innovation portfolio management?
The online course was developed by innovation and scaling experts representing Wageningen University and the CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food secure future dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources (www.cgiar.org). The course introduces basic innovation and scaling concepts, and applies these concepts to a real case study. The course has been designed for students, scientists, development experts, and research/ innovation managers. Content is provided through short video snippets, reading materials and quizzes.
The course approximately takes 3 hours, is free, and those who successfully complete the course receive a certificate. The course can be directly accessed through: https://innovationandscaling.thinkific.com/courses/innovation-and-scaling.
An animated video explaining the course in 2 minutes can be found here: https://www.scalingreadiness.org/courses/.
Please contact Dr Marc Schut (m.schut@cgiar.org), CGIAR and Wageningen University Innovation and Scaling Advisor and Scientist for any questions or feedback.