Region
South America
180 entries tagged South America.
Articles — 171
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Nanotechnology in Agriculture: Which Innovation Potential Does It Have?
Nanotechnology offers significant potential to improve agriculture by enhancing productivity and food security while reducing environmental harm. Nanomaterial-based systems—including controlled-release nutrient delivery, pesticide application, and nanosensors for monitoring soil and food quality—can support sustainable intensification and waste management. These innovations address agricultural challenges while promoting economic and social equity.
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Rural entrepreneurship in place: an integrated framework
Rural entrepreneurship requires a different analytical approach than agglomeration-based theories used in urban contexts. The authors develop a place-sensitive framework that identifies the specific conditions enabling entrepreneurship in rural communities. This meso-level framework helps policymakers and researchers understand rural entrepreneurial places holistically, moving beyond generic ecosystem models to address the distinct characteristics of rural contexts.
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Social Innovation and Sustainable Rural Development: The Case of a Brazilian Agroecology Network
The Ecovida Agroecology Network in Southern Brazil demonstrates how social innovation drives rural development. This network of farming families, NGOs, and consumer organizations created innovations in horizontal governance, participatory organic certification, and local market relationships. These innovations influenced public policy and strengthened rural-urban cooperation, showing that collaborative food networks can challenge industrial agriculture while meeting consumer demand for healthy food.
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Agricultural Extension, Collective Action and Innovation Systems: Lessons on Network Brokering from Peru and Mexico
Extension services in Peru and Mexico show that fostering agricultural innovation requires more than collective action alone. Peru's approach, using NGO brokers and trusted local farmers called Kamayoq, successfully built innovation networks among diverse value chain actors. Mexico's linear seed-transfer model created collective action but no innovation networks. The research concludes that extension must combine collective action with active networking to shift from technology transfer toward genuine agricultural innovation systems.
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Diagnostics barriers and innovations in rural areas: insights from junior medical doctors on the frontlines of rural care in Peru
Rural doctors in Peru identify three major barriers to diagnosis: lack of point-of-care diagnostic tools for diseases like malaria, dengue, and tuberculosis; health system failures including limited funding and specialist shortages; and patient barriers to accessing referral care. Doctors propose point-of-care equipment and telemedicine as solutions, but note that technological fixes alone cannot address underlying social, organizational, and policy problems.
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Open Innovation in Agribusiness: Barriers and Challenges in the Transition to Agriculture 4.0
This study examines how open innovation enables Agriculture 4.0 adoption in agribusiness. Internet of Things technology shows the strongest potential for implementation. The main barrier is insufficient operator knowledge and skills, requiring training investment. Existing technology infrastructure and system integration facilitate adoption. The authors recommend agribusiness stakeholders collaborate with engineering solution providers through open innovation frameworks to overcome barriers and accelerate the transition to digitalized farming.
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Rural Entrepreneurship: An Analysis of Current and Emerging Issues from the Sustainable Livelihood Framework
Rural entrepreneurship differs fundamentally from urban entrepreneurship because it operates under resource constraints. This literature review examines rural entrepreneurship through a sustainable livelihood framework, identifying key themes: women entrepreneurs, poverty reduction, youth engagement, social entrepreneurship, and institutional support. Social and human capital emerge as critical resources. The authors highlight research gaps in social entrepreneurship, governance, institutional development, livelihood growth, and eco-entrepreneurship.
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Participatory design of digital innovation in agricultural research-for-development: insights from practice
Participatory design methodologies improve ICT adoption in agriculture, but implementing them in smallholder farming contexts creates real challenges. The authors document tensions between design ideals and project realities in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, including mismatched stakeholder expectations, top-down hierarchies, neglected digital ecosystems, and poor software reuse. They offer practical guidance for agricultural researchers to conduct more effective participatory design processes that produce meaningful digital innovations.
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Evaluating Brazilian Agriculturalists’ IoT Smart Agriculture Adoption Barriers: Understanding Stakeholder Salience Prior to Launching an Innovation
Brazilian agriculturalists who adopted IoT smart agriculture technologies were educated, tech-savvy opinion leaders. Successful innovations were simple, easy to communicate, socially accepted, and highly functional. Observability, compatibility, and low complexity drove adoption decisions. Farmers cited excessive complexity and poor compatibility as main barriers. The study recommends targeting opinion leaders, simplifying technologies, and expanding farmer education programs.
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INNOVATION PLATFORMS IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT
Innovation platforms bring together agricultural stakeholders to learn, negotiate, and solve development challenges collaboratively. However, this study warns they are not universally applicable. The authors provide a decision-support tool for agencies to critically assess when innovation platforms are genuinely needed versus when simpler, cheaper alternatives exist. The tool helps determine what resources and conditions are necessary for platforms to succeed in achieving agricultural development outcomes.
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Addressing the politics of mission-oriented agricultural innovation systems
Mission-oriented agricultural innovation systems are increasingly used to transform agri-food systems, but their political dimensions demand greater attention. This paper argues that MAIS must address four critical areas: directionality (how power shapes innovation direction), diversity (multiple pathways, actors, and knowledge types), distribution (just resource allocation across communities), and democracy (deliberative knowledge production). The authors contend that researchers must recognize how their work influences and is shaped by these political dynamics to ensure transformations are sustainable, equitable, and socially desirable.
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Inter-regional innovation in Brazilian agriculture and deforestation in the Amazon: income and environment in the balance
Agricultural innovation in Brazil between 1985 and 1995 had mixed effects on deforestation and farm income. Innovation outside the Amazon reduced deforestation while innovation inside the Amazon increased it, resulting in no net change to overall deforestation rates. Livestock productivity improvements proved most influential for deforestation outcomes. Technological advances outside the Amazon, particularly for small farms in the Northeast, boosted agricultural income, improved income distribution, and limited forest loss.
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Preinoculation of Soybean Seeds Treated with Agrichemicals up to 30 Days before Sowing: Technological Innovation for Large-Scale Agriculture
Researchers developed a method for preinoculating soybean seeds with beneficial microorganisms up to 30 days before planting, even when seeds have been treated with agrichemicals. This innovation allows large-scale farmers to prepare seeds in advance without losing the benefits of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, improving crop performance and yield.
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Innovation for inclusive rural transformation: the role of the state
Governments in developing countries must actively support rural innovation to achieve inclusive development. Analysis of programs across Algeria, Vietnam, South Africa, Peru, India, and Argentina shows state involvement succeeds most when coupled with local community participation. The state's critical roles include promoting agricultural innovation, building rural capacity, and delivering pro-poor social innovations. Success requires governments to support local capability building and bridge knowledge gaps between innovation producers and rural communities.
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Developing capacity for agricultural market chain innovation: Experience with the ‘PMCA’ in Uganda
The Participatory Market Chain Approach (PMCA), originally developed in the Andes to drive pro-poor agricultural innovation, was successfully adapted and applied in Uganda to stimulate technological and institutional innovation in local commodity chains. The approach requires intensive capacity development that builds social networks, shifts attitudes, and develops both technical and social skills among researchers, farmers, market agents, and policymakers working together across the value chain.
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New challenges for public research organisations in agricultural innovation in developing economies: Evidence from Embrapa in Brazil's soybean industry
Brazil's agricultural research organization Embrapa possesses diverse technological capabilities for soybean innovation, varying in novelty and complexity across different technologies and distributed across multiple units. The paper argues that as global food demand rises and innovation becomes increasingly interdependent, indigenous public research organizations like Embrapa must fundamentally reorganize how they manage these capabilities to better support agricultural innovation and productivity growth in developing economies.
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Intermediation for technology diffusion and user innovation in a developing rural economy: a social learning perspective
Academic research centers can effectively transfer technology to rural small businesses by acting as intermediaries that broker, facilitate, and configure technology for end-users. A study of fish farming businesses in rural Colombia shows that intermediation activities help users adopt and adapt technology through social learning. The research identifies specific design components that optimize technology transfer from universities to rural industries in developing economies.
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Public private partnerships for agricultural innovation: concepts and experiences from 124 cases in Latin America
Public-private partnerships for agricultural innovation in Latin America often lack clear cost-benefit planning despite forming frequently. The paper identifies four conditions for successful partnerships: no single partner can achieve goals alone, partners gain more than they invest, synergy exists, and gains distribute proportionally. Evidence shows private companies participate readily because investments are low or tax-deductible, but both parties need coherent planning to improve partnership viability.
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Hegemony, Technological Innovation and Corporate Identities: 50 Years of Agricultural Revolutions in Argentina
Argentine agriculture experienced two major technological shifts since the mid-1960s: the Green Revolution and the Agribusiness Paradigm. Each period was led by a different agrarian elite that framed technological adoption as essential for agricultural survival. The paper shows how agrarian leaders used technological innovation as ideology to gain political influence, with each era linking specific technologies, business models, and government policies to construct and maintain their power over agricultural development.
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Economic feasibility analysis and optimization of hybrid renewable energy systems for rural electrification in Peru
Hybrid solar-wind-diesel systems provide the most economically viable option for electrifying remote Peruvian villages without grid access. Analysis of three communities in different climatic zones shows hybrid configurations achieve the lowest net present costs while generating 94-97% renewable energy and reducing CO2 emissions to 2.7-9.9% of diesel-only systems. These optimal designs serve as templates for similar rural electrification projects.
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From Urban to Rural: Lessons for Microfinance from Argentina
Rural microfinance organizations in Argentina have adapted urban microfinance practices to rural contexts, but the approach faces significant obstacles. High distances, specialized farming, and elevated wages make microfinance ineffective for reaching Argentina's poorest rural populations. The paper argues that improving rural financial access requires strengthening market-supporting institutions rather than government-mandated lending programs.
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Grassroots Innovation Using Drones for Indigenous Mapping and Monitoring
Indigenous communities in Peru, Guyana, and Panama are adopting drone technology for territorial mapping and monitoring to defend their lands against illegal resource extraction and environmental degradation. Five implemented projects demonstrate that drones enable indigenous peoples to document environmental damage, strengthen territorial claims, and pursue environmental justice. The technology shows promise as a grassroots innovation tool that supports both indigenous rights protection and sustainable land management.
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Rural Electrification Efforts Based on Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems in the Andean Region: Comparative Assessment of Their Sustainability
Off-grid solar electrification projects in Chile, Ecuador, and Peru fail to achieve sustainability across institutional, economic, environmental, and socio-cultural dimensions. Ecuador and Chile lack maintenance mechanisms, while Peru struggles with community engagement despite having funding schemes. All three countries neglect strong, decentralized institutions needed to support rural electrification, leading to project failures and abandonment.
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Indigenous and local knowledge on social-ecological changes is positively associated with livelihood resilience in a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System
Small-scale farmers in Chile's Chiloé Archipelago who possess greater knowledge about environmental and social changes show stronger livelihood resilience. The study surveyed 100 farmers using agrosilvopastoral systems and found a significant positive relationship between farmers' awareness of atmospheric, physical, biological, and human system changes and their ability to maintain resilient livelihoods across financial, human, social, physical, and natural capital assets.
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Analysis of Hybrid Solar/Wind/Diesel Renewable Energy System for off-grid Rural Electrification
This paper designs a hybrid solar, wind, and diesel power system for an off-grid rural parish on Ecuador's coast. Using HOMER software and local meteorological data, the authors analyze system feasibility and components under two diesel pricing scenarios—subsidized and non-subsidized. The work addresses rural electrification gaps by demonstrating how renewable hybrid systems can meet energy demand in underserved areas.
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Sustainability of rural electrification programs based on off-grid photovoltaic (PV) systems in Chile
Chile's off-grid photovoltaic programs for rural electrification face significant sustainability challenges across institutional, economic, environmental, and socio-cultural dimensions. Despite Chile's solar potential and successful pilot projects, deployment lags due to poor technology choices, inadequate system reliability, and lack of maintenance standards. Indigenous communities remain underserved because the government's approach requires communities to request electrification first, disadvantaging the poorest populations. The paper calls for improved cultural justice, equity, and environmental awareness to ensure sustainable rural electrification.
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Women, equality, and energy access: Emerging lessons for last-mile rural electrification in Brazil
Rural electrification in Brazil's semi-arid Bahia region fails to benefit women equally because installed capacity is too low for household appliances and community services where women work. The study of 19 communities shows that gender inequality persists despite energy access. Solutions include higher capacity systems, affordable pricing for women, and ongoing gender-sensitive local services to ensure electrification reduces rather than reinforces gender gaps.
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Making the right to health a reality for Brazil's indigenous peoples: innovation, decentralization and equity
Brazil's public health system has expanded coverage and improved health indicators since 1988, but indigenous peoples remain marginalized with unequal access to services. The paper examines governance innovations and decentralization efforts designed to address these persistent inequities and extend universal health coverage to indigenous populations across Brazil's vast territory.
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How to Decolonize Democracy: Indigenous Governance Innovation in Bolivia and Nunavut, Canada
Bolivia and Nunavut, Canada have pioneered large-scale Indigenous governance experiments where marginalized Indigenous majorities gained democratic power. Bolivia integrated direct, participatory, and communitarian elements into its democratic system, significantly improving Indigenous representation. Nunavut's Inuit government incorporated Inuit values into Canada's governmental framework. Despite ongoing social and economic challenges, both cases achieved democratic gains by creating new participation mechanisms that expand liberal democracy beyond traditional conceptions.
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Renewable Energy Development and Employment in Ecuador’s Rural Sector: An Economic Impact Analysis
Renewable energy development in Ecuador's rural areas reduces unemployment and strengthens rural population retention, but does not significantly boost agricultural production. The study finds that renewable energy creates jobs directly through construction and maintenance work, and indirectly by lowering energy costs and improving business efficiency. These results demonstrate that renewable energy adoption can strengthen rural economies in developing countries.
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GIS Tool for Rural Electrification with Renewable Energies in Latin America
Renewable energy offers viable alternatives for electrifying isolated rural communities in Latin America. The authors present IntiGIS, a GIS-based methodology that integrates geographical data on renewable resources with social and economic factors to support electrification planning decisions. The tool enables cost comparisons between renewable and non-renewable energy technologies, helping communities select sustainable solutions suited to their specific conditions.
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Tracing the Paths to Sustainable Production and Consumption Through Indigenous Directors, Environmental Innovation, and Sustainability Committees
Indigenous directors significantly drive sustainable production and consumption in Latin American and Caribbean energy firms, with environmental innovation and sustainability committees amplifying this effect. Analysis of 378 firms from 2012–2023 shows indigenous leadership promotes sustainable practices across all performance levels, with stronger impacts at higher quantiles when environmental innovation and committees are present. Regional, policy, and industry factors create substantial variation in outcomes.
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Micro-Scale Wind Resource Assessment for Off-Grid Electrification Projects in Rural Communities. A Case Study in Peru
This study evaluates micro-scale wind resource assessment tools for off-grid rural electrification in remote areas. Researchers tested a computer model in two Andean communities in Peru to determine if standard wind assessment tools could work despite limited data and steep terrain. The model performed well and produced accurate resource maps at the community scale, proving suitable for designing small-scale rural electrification projects in developing countries.
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Rural Micro Credit Assessment using Machine Learning in a Peruvian microfinance institution
A machine learning model using artificial neural networks improves microcredit assessment for rural borrowers in Peru. The model achieved 93.72% accuracy in predicting loan defaults, outperforming the microfinance institution's traditional advisor-based method by 16.91 percentage points. This decision-support tool helps reduce credit risk by analyzing key financial and rural variables when evaluating loan applications from poor rural populations.
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From Social Entrepreneurship to Social Innovation: The Role of Social Capital. Study Case in Colombian Rural Communities Victim of Armed Conflict
Social enterprises in rural Colombian communities affected by armed conflict generate social capital by integrating into social networks. This social capital enables interactive learning, institutional change, and social innovation. The study demonstrates that social entrepreneurs who build strong network connections develop enhanced capabilities that transform their enterprises into successful social innovations addressing community needs.
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A social innovation model for equitable access to quality health services for rural populations: a case from Sumapaz, a rural district of Bogota, Colombia
A social innovation model developed in rural Sumapaz, Colombia demonstrates how to achieve equitable healthcare access for vulnerable populations through community participation and holistic health approaches. The model addresses systemic gaps in care coordination and upstream health factors, enhancing service quality while generating broader community benefits in agriculture and development. The case shows that creative strategies can extend Universal Health Coverage to remote areas.
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Seeing the social capital in agricultural innovation systems: using SNA to visualise bonding and bridging ties in rural communities
This paper uses social network analysis to map information flows in rural Bolivian communities, revealing how bonding ties within community organizations and bridging ties to local institutions shape access to agricultural information. The analysis shows that different ethnic groups have distinct organizational structures, which development agencies can leverage to design targeted strategies for reaching marginalized farmers and improving their awareness of new technologies and market information.
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Social innovation in health: strengthening Community Systems for Universal Health Coverage in rural areas
Three case studies from the Philippines, Malawi, and Colombia demonstrate that social innovation in health strengthens rural community systems for universal health coverage. Community-led initiatives built local capacity through co-learning and leadership, with catalytic agents challenging power dynamics and enabling communities to become active agents rather than passive participants. These approaches improved health service access and quality for vulnerable populations while increasing community agency and empowerment.
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Innovations in Community-Based Tourism: Social Responsibility Actions in the Rural Tourism in the Province of Santa Elena–Ecuador
Community-based tourism in rural Ecuador integrates social responsibility practices that enable local participation, protect cultural heritage, and distribute benefits equitably. This qualitative study identifies how social responsibility actions in tourism operations strengthen local organization and sustainable development. The research reveals that informal community tourism practices embody social responsibility dimensions comparable to formal organizations, establishing indicators for measuring sustainable rural tourism outcomes.
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Towards a path-transformative heuristic in inclusive innovation initiatives: an exploratory case in rural communities in Colombia
This study develops a framework to understand how inclusive innovation initiatives transform rural communities. Using a case study in Cumbal, Colombia, the authors identify institutional entrepreneurs as key change agents who drive innovation supported by national entities. The framework successfully explains the transformation process in local communities by combining insights from inclusive innovation, institutional entrepreneurship, and path dependence theories.
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Evaluating the Efficacy of Social Innovation Programming at Advancing Rural Development in the Context of Exogenous Shocks
A randomized evaluation in rural Peru shows that a social innovation program significantly improved household economic well-being, food security, and community outlook despite COVID-19 disruptions. Participating households shifted income sources away from traditional agriculture toward entrepreneurship and specialized labor in both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. These diversified, value-added activities proved more resilient than traditional farming during the pandemic, generating net income gains that outweighed losses from reduced agricultural earnings.
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Rural social innovation in practices of solidarity economy in the Cooptar collective in Southern Brazil
A Brazilian agricultural cooperative demonstrates rural social innovation through solidarity economy practices. Over 33 years, Cooptar has sustained itself by combining ongoing member training with collective ownership, self-management, and production diversification. The cooperative actively confronts individualism and gender inequality while building transformative social change that addresses rural workers' struggles for dignified livelihoods and social inclusion.
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Social innovation strategies to improve agroecological product marketing: A case study in rural Colombia
This study identifies social innovation strategies to improve agroecological product marketing in rural Colombia. Researchers worked with a women's microentrepreneur association to uncover barriers including limited resources, certification obstacles, and weak promotion. They co-designed solutions with producers: product diversification, digital marketing adoption, and network strengthening. Social innovation proved effective at overcoming structural barriers and boosting competitiveness for rural agroecological producers.
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AGROECOLOGICAL HOME GARDENS AS A STRATEGY FOR EDUCATION AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS: AN INTEGRATED PROPOSAL FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION AND SOCIAL INNOVATION IN RURAL MARANHÃO
Home agroecological gardens in rural Maranhão serve as spaces for sustainable production, environmental education, and income generation. The study proposes protecting traditional knowledge through a digital community platform that combines educational materials, biodata repositories, and legal safeguards. This approach strengthens food security, household income, women's participation, and youth engagement while supporting social and environmental sustainability in rural areas.
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Life trajectories and territorial change: the social innovation of Proyecto Utopia in rural Colombia
Proyecto Utopía in rural Colombia combines free agricultural engineering education, housing, psychosocial support, and hands-on learning with philanthropic funding to address rural marginalization amid conflict. A mixed-methods study of 251 graduates found 78% gained formal employment, 47% started businesses, and 74% joined associations. Alumni returned to their territories as leaders practicing agroecology, demonstrating that sustainable rural peace requires hybrid alliances beyond state action.
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The rural in democratic innovations: a comparative proposal between Latin America and Europe
Democratic innovations in rural Europe focus on development, environment, and local economics within existing political structures, emphasizing institutional strengthening and sustainability. Rural Latin America uses democratic innovations differently—as tools for emancipatory struggles including indigenous rights defense and food sovereignty. The paper argues these innovations challenge fundamental notions of development and rights in Latin America, whereas European innovations primarily improve public policies without questioning the political model.
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Social innovation in rural areas to promote Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review
A systematic review of 2010–2020 literature identifies social innovation models applied in rural areas to promote sustainable development and adapt to new agricultural practices. The study finds that information and communication technologies, entrepreneurship, family farming, and transformative practices drive rural innovation. Government entities and rural communities play promoter and facilitator roles through governance structures that enable community participation and leadership to improve socioeconomic conditions.
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SOCIAL INNOVATION AND PEDAGOGICAL TOURISM IN RURAL AREAS
Pedagogical tourism in rural areas combines education with community engagement, transforming villages into learning environments. This study shows that integrating pedagogical tourism with social innovation creates experiential learning for students while strengthening rural economies and addressing local challenges. The approach aligns with sustainable development goals and produces measurable improvements in educational outcomes, community income, and environmental conditions.
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Frugal Innovation and Patent Analysis in Sericulture: Lessons for Sustainable Rural Bioeconomy Systems
Patent analysis of silk-reeling technologies from 2000–2024 reveals that most innovations emphasize energy-intensive industrial methods unsuitable for low-resource rural contexts in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The study evaluated 212 patents against criteria including resource efficiency, accessibility, and social inclusion, finding that current designs marginalize traditional producers—mostly women and smallholders—from emerging bio-based value chains. The authors argue for resource-efficient, modular, socially inclusive innovations to support rural sericulture within circular bioeconomy systems.
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Inclusive Innovation for the Sustainable Strengthening of Prickly Pear Cultivation in Rural Areas of Colombia: A Case Study in Sonsón, Antioquia
This study develops an inclusive innovation model to strengthen prickly pear cultivation in rural Colombia by combining preservation of traditional knowledge, social context, and practical use. Using mixed methods including surveys, focus groups, and agent-based modeling, the researchers identify smallholder farmers and inclusive intermediaries as key actors. The model reduces power imbalances in the value chain, improves farmer associations and market access, and redistributes profits toward producers while protecting traditional knowledge and supporting endogenous rural development.
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Living labs para o desenvolvimento rural: co-construção participativa no município de Altônia, Paraná
Researchers in Altônia, Brazil established a living lab—a participatory innovation space—to strengthen local agricultural systems through co-creation with farmers, municipal officials, and university staff. Through workshops, participatory mapping, and facilitated dialogue, the team developed practical actions for rural development. The work shows that living labs shift development from top-down technology transfer to collaborative problem-solving that values local knowledge, offering a replicable model for rural innovation in agricultural regions.
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Integrating Digital Innovation and Sustainability to Build Resilient NGOs and NPOs in Global Rural Contexts: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Digital innovation and sustainability frameworks together strengthen NGOs and NPOs in rural areas by improving operational efficiency, transparency, and organizational resilience. The study across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America shows that digital tools like blockchain and cloud systems, combined with sustainability goals, enhance governance and community trust. However, digital illiteracy, infrastructure gaps, and data privacy concerns remain significant barriers that require culturally adapted solutions.
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Agricultural literacy in artificial insemination and agribusiness management for social innovation in rural populations affected by armed conflict in Colombia
A training program in artificial insemination, genetic improvement, and rural management significantly increased knowledge levels among 63 rural residents in Colombia affected by armed conflict. Students trained in these areas then taught local farmers, with measurable gains across all topics—general knowledge rose from 46% to 78%, artificial insemination from 39% to 81%, and management skills from 55% to 75%. Rural extension programs effectively close knowledge gaps in reproductive biotechnologies and livestock management.
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Rural Social Innovation: An Exploratory Study in Rural Brazil
Rural social innovations in Brazil emerge from families collectively addressing socio-environmental challenges over time, rather than simply adopting new techniques. Ethnographic research in a Pantanal settlement reveals that social innovation strengthens rural development and tackles problems affecting farming communities. Understanding these innovations requires deep fieldwork to capture how they actually develop through shared problem-solving.
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The Process of Innovation Assimilation by Firms in Different Countries: A Technology Diffusion Perspective on E-Business
This study examines how firms across 10 countries assimilate e-business innovations through three stages: initiation, adoption, and routinization. Competition drives early adoption but hinders effective implementation. Large firms gain advantages initially but face structural barriers later. Regulatory environments matter more in developing countries, while technology readiness dominates there and technology integration dominates in developed economies, showing how innovation assimilation shifts with economic context.
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Combinations of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital for farm innovation: How farmers configure different support networks
Farmers adopt new agricultural technologies and practices through different support networks combining bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. This Chilean study identifies five distinct network configurations farmers use to explore new knowledge while implementing innovations. Rather than a single optimal approach, farmers customize their networks based on personal motivations, innovation goals, and available resources. All configuration types successfully achieve farm innovation, suggesting support strategies must adapt to individual farmer circumstances.
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Co-creation and open innovation: Systematic literature review
This systematic literature review of 168 open-access articles from 2014–2017 examines the relationship between open science, co-creation of knowledge, and open innovation. The research identifies that the United States and Brazil lead in publishing on this topic, primarily in business and academic sectors. The study concludes that collaborative practices and context are essential for driving innovation and open science, while highlighting challenges around opening research and innovation processes.
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Responsible Urban Innovation with Local Government Artificial Intelligence (AI): A Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda
This paper examines how local governments can responsibly adopt artificial intelligence systems to address urban challenges. The authors develop a conceptual framework for responsible urban innovation with AI, arguing that technology deployment must balance costs, benefits, risks, and impacts to avoid creating new problems. They review existing literature and applications, then propose a research agenda to help policymakers understand how to implement local government AI systems responsibly.
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Dynamics of digital entrepreneurship and the innovation ecosystem
This study examines how digital entrepreneurship develops within innovation ecosystems by analyzing an IT company in Brazil. The research reveals that as companies progress through different levels of digitalization, the supporting ecosystem actors and relationships they rely on change significantly. Strategic partners play a crucial role in helping small and medium enterprises transform their business models and create value through digital innovation.
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Innovation in the Mining Industry: Technological Trends and a Case Study of the Challenges of Disruptive Innovation
Innovation drives efficiency and cost reduction in mining while addressing environmental and social concerns. The paper reviews how mining companies pursue innovation through various mechanisms and actors, examines digital transformation trends, and analyzes a case study showing the technical and economic challenges of implementing disruptive innovations in mining operations.
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Responsible innovation across borders: tensions, paradoxes and possibilities
Researchers from Brazil and the UK convened to examine responsible innovation and governance of controversial technologies across cultural contexts. The workshop revealed significant tensions and paradoxes in how responsible innovation is understood and applied differently across regions, highlighting both challenges and opportunities for cross-cultural innovation governance frameworks.
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Intellectual capital, absorptive capacity and product innovation
Intellectual capital drives product innovation through absorptive capacity in firms. A study of 500 Brazilian companies found that structural and human capital most strongly influence how firms acquire, assimilate, and exploit knowledge. Transformation of knowledge benefits equally from structural and human capital. Absorptive capacity dimensions each affect product innovation differently. These findings help managers develop intangible resources and design innovation strategies.
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Knowledge transfer for frugal innovation: where do entrepreneurial universities stand?
Entrepreneurial universities drive frugal innovation in emerging economies through strategic knowledge transfer and university-industry partnerships. The study of Brazil's University of Campinas reveals that universities foster frugal innovations by leveraging internal capabilities, connecting innovations to markets, and embedding themselves within broader innovation ecosystems and institutional frameworks. Universities can advance sustainable development and meet societal challenges by adopting inclusive, frugal innovation practices.
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Anticipating Disruptive Innovation
Organizations must balance efficient current operations with future innovation, managing both disruptive and sustaining innovations simultaneously. The paper identifies three distinct patterns of substitution that show how customer needs and technological capabilities interact to drive innovation. Understanding these dynamics helps companies anticipate and navigate disruptive change.
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Entrepreneurship and open innovation in an emerging economy
This study surveyed Peruvian company managers to examine how entrepreneurial orientation and open innovation affect firm performance. The research found that higher sales growth did not require strong entrepreneurial orientation. However, firms engaged in open innovation reported significantly higher sales growth and used double loop learning more effectively. The findings suggest emerging economy firms can sustain growth through open innovation practices rather than relying primarily on entrepreneurial behavior.
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Green absorptive capacity: A mediation‐moderation model of knowledge for innovation
This study examines how environmental and organizational factors drive green innovation in Brazil's electric power industry. The research finds that organizational factors mediate the relationship between environmental pressures and green innovation performance. Green absorptive capacity—a firm's ability to recognize, assimilate, and apply environmental knowledge—strengthens this entire process. The findings demonstrate that firms better equipped to absorb green knowledge achieve superior innovation outcomes.
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Translocal empowerment in transformative social innovation networks
This paper examines how people gain power and capacity to achieve goals through both local and transnational social innovation networks. The authors analyze five global networks—FEBEA, DESIS, Global Ecovillage Network, Impact Hub, and Slow Food—to understand empowerment mechanisms. They find that translocal connections, linking local initiatives with global networks, enable actors to mobilize resources and drive social change through intrinsic motivation and self-determination.
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Networks of Innovation: Science, Technology and Development in the Triple Helix Era
Universities, industry, and government must collaborate through triple helix networks to drive knowledge-based development. Universities expand their missions beyond research to include economic and social development, shifting from individual to organizational focus. This networked approach fills technology and social capital gaps. Examples from the European Union, Canada, and Brazil demonstrate how triple helix models support firm formation and innovation incubation.
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Financial Inclusion, Technological Innovations, and Environmental Quality: Analyzing the Role of Green Openness
Financial inclusion in BRICS countries increases CO2 emissions and environmental degradation, but technological innovation and green openness reduce emissions. Economic growth and energy consumption also drive environmental harm. The study finds that financial inclusion, technological innovation, and green openness influence each other and collectively affect emissions. BRICS nations should combine financial inclusion with environmental policies while promoting green technology and openness to meet climate goals.
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The rise of a triple helix culture: Innovation in Brazilian economic and social development
Brazil is shifting from top-down government-controlled innovation to a collaborative triple helix model involving universities, industry, and government. Local and regional initiatives drive national policy while national frameworks support regional development. This interactive, non-linear approach is reshaping Brazil's sectoral and national innovation systems.
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Central Banks Digital Currency: Detection of Optimal Countries for the Implementation of a CBDC and the Implication for Payment Industry Open Innovation
This paper identifies which countries are best positioned to implement Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) by analyzing correlations with pioneer nations like the Bahamas, China, and Uruguay. Using statistical methods, the authors find that Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland in Europe; Brazil and Uruguay in South America; Malaysia in Asia; and South Africa in Africa show the strongest alignment with successful CBDC implementation conditions.
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The role of employee autonomy for open innovation performance
Employee autonomy is essential for firms to realize financial benefits from open innovation. The study of 307 companies shows that giving employees time, freedom, and independence fully mediates the relationship between openness and innovation sales. Both inbound and outbound open innovation practices require high flexibility and experimentation, which managers must enable through discretionary job design to achieve new product introduction and revenue growth.
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Higher Education Response in the Time of Coronavirus: Perceptions of Teachers and Students, and Open Innovation
During COVID-19 lockdowns, universities in Spain, Italy, and Ecuador shifted to virtual learning. Surveys of 573 teachers and students in journalism and communication programs revealed that while both groups acknowledged the necessity of remote education, they preferred in-person instruction. Virtual teaching did not increase teacher-student interaction; tutorials became shorter and less frequent. Students wanted diverse learning resources including podcasts and alternative assessments, but universities relied heavily on text-based materials and traditional exams.
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Innovation Ecosystem framework directed to Sustainable Development Goal #17 partnerships implementation
This paper examines how innovation ecosystems can support the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal #17, which calls for strengthened global partnerships. The authors analyze UN documents and literature to identify four core drivers—geographical governance, collaboration, knowledge transmission, and value co-creation—that enable multi-stakeholder networks to address sustainability challenges. The framework positions SDGs as the unifying purpose that engages diverse stakeholder groups in co-creating solutions.
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The structure of an innovation ecosystem: foundations for future research
This systematic review examines how innovation ecosystems are structured by analyzing 26 years of peer-reviewed research. The authors identify three main structural classifications: ecosystem life cycles (birth through self-renewal), hierarchical levels (macroscopic to microscopic), and layered architectures including core-periphery and triple-layer models. The review reveals that ecosystem structure research remains concentrated among few authors and proposes the triple-layer core-periphery framework and 6C framework as benchmarks for future studies.
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Curiosity on Cutting-Edge Technology via Theory of Planned Behavior and Diffusion of Innovation Theory
This study examines what drives consumer adoption of smartwatches by combining two behavioral theories. Researchers surveyed 291 smartwatch users and found that both psychological factors (like perceived control and curiosity) and technical factors (compatibility and complexity) shape whether people intend to use the technology. Compatibility emerged as the strongest predictor of adoption intent, while curiosity and complexity showed the highest performance impact.
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Universities as orchestrators of the development of regional innovation ecosystems in emerging economies
Universities in Porto Alegre, Brazil orchestrate regional innovation ecosystems by coordinating multiple stakeholders beyond traditional teaching and research roles. Three competing universities jointly foster knowledge mobility, manage innovation appropriability, and stabilize networks to support entrepreneurship. Unlike firm-based networks, university-led ecosystems distribute benefits across the broader region, not just participating organizations. Universities drive collective action by assuming leadership positions and delegating power to other actors.
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The Role of Stakeholders in the Context of Responsible Innovation: A Meta-Synthesis
This meta-synthesis of seven empirical studies examines how stakeholders participate in responsible research and innovation (RRI) projects. The authors find that stakeholders typically join late in the innovation process, during market launch, limiting their influence on design. Academic researchers and multi-institutional project leaders orchestrate participation. The paper argues that innovation management practices—particularly early user involvement—should be integrated into RRI governance to enable more responsible outcomes and meaningful stakeholder influence.
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Association between Innovative Entrepreneurial Orientation, Absorptive Capacity, and Farm Business Performance
This study examines how innovative entrepreneurial orientation and absorptive capacity drive farm business performance among banana farmers in Ecuador. Using structural equation modeling on 199 farmers, the researchers found that trust and entrepreneurial orientation strengthen absorptive capacity, which in turn boosts innovation. However, innovation outcomes did not directly improve farm business performance, suggesting other factors mediate this relationship.
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Knowledge sharing and absorptive capacity: interdependency and complementarity
This study resolves contradictions about how knowledge sharing and absorptive capacity relate to each other. The authors show that absorptive capacity has two dimensions—potential and realized—and that knowledge sharing bridges between them. Knowledge donation emerges as an output of absorptive capacity rather than just an input. The findings apply to team and firm-level management, emphasizing knowledge collection's central role in leveraging organizational learning.
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Variety of national innovation systems (NIS) and alternative pathways to growth beyond the middle-income stage: Balanced, imbalanced, catching-up, and trapped NIS
This study analyzes national innovation systems across 32–35 economies using patent data to identify pathways for growth beyond middle-income status. The research identifies five distinct innovation system clusters and confirms two successful catching-up pathways: balanced systems (Ireland, Spain, Hong Kong, Singapore) and imbalanced systems (Korea, Taiwan, China). Other economies remain trapped in middle-income status due to opposite characteristics in technology cycle time, originality, localization, and diversification.
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The interactive effect of innovation capability and potential absorptive capacity on innovation performance
This study examined how innovation capability and absorptive capacity work together to improve firm performance. Researchers surveyed 238 firms in Peru's cultural tourism destinations and found that the combination of these two factors significantly boosts innovation performance. The findings help companies in tourism-dependent regions develop strategies to enhance competitiveness and sustainability.
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How controversial innovation succeeds in the periphery? A network perspective of BASF Argentina
BASF's Argentine subsidiary, despite being geographically and organizationally peripheral, successfully developed and implemented controversial innovations. Through interviews and network analysis of employee knowledge sharing, the study identifies contextual and network conditions that enable peripheral subsidiaries of multinational corporations to create and enforce innovations, challenging assumptions that innovation concentrates at corporate headquarters.
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RETRACTED ARTICLE: Startups and the innovation ecosystem in Industry 4.0
Startups incubated at a Brazilian innovation center drive digital manufacturing through open innovation partnerships with companies, universities, and government agencies. These collaborations operate informally and remain at early maturity stages, yet the complex ecosystem of knowledge sources functions as a strategic asset. The study reveals how startup partnerships advance Industry 4.0 adoption while exposing significant implementation challenges in Brazil.
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3D Printing of Thermoplastic Elastomers: Role of the Chemical Composition and Printing Parameters in the Production of Parts with Controlled Energy Absorption and Damping Capacity
This paper investigates how chemical composition and 3D printing parameters affect thermoplastic elastomer parts. Researchers tested different infill densities and patterns to measure energy absorption and damping capacity. They found that a honeycomb infill pattern at 50% density produced optimal performance for both energy absorption and damping properties.
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A Holistic Model of Building Innovation Ecosystems
This paper systematizes the lifecycle processes required to build innovation ecosystems. The authors review existing knowledge and identify key factors that influence how these ecosystems evolve over time. They highlight open questions and suggest future research directions for understanding ecosystem development.
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Fostering Scaleup Ecosystems for Regional Economic Growth (<i>Innovations Case Narrative</i>: Manizales-Mas and Scale Up Milwaukee)
This paper examines how regions can build scaleup ecosystems to drive economic growth. Using case studies from Manizales, Colombia and Milwaukee, USA, the authors analyze strategies for fostering entrepreneurship and scaling businesses as alternatives to traditional economic development approaches like direct investment attraction and cluster development. The work demonstrates practical methods for creating regional conditions that support growing ventures.
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The Triple Helix Model and the Future of Innovation: A Reflection on the Triple Helix Research Agenda
The Triple Helix model explains how academia, industry, and government interact to drive innovation and economic growth in knowledge-based economies. This paper reflects on the model's core concepts and boundary conditions, asking whether it applies universally or only under specific circumstances. The authors examine the model's usefulness for understanding innovation dynamics in changing societies and identify key concepts embedded within Triple Helix research.
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Beyond Education: The Role of Research Universities in Innovation Ecosystems
Research universities drive innovation ecosystems in Brazil's São Paulo state, generating patents, software, and knowledge-intensive startups. The study finds universities' effects are geographically localized to cities rather than broader regions. While human capital formation matters, research excellence at major institutions proves more influential. Policymakers face challenges: peripheral areas gain little from proximity to successful hubs, and building innovation ecosystems requires long-term investment in high-quality universities rather than short-term interventions.
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From Responsible Research and Innovation to responsibility by design
This paper examines how Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) can create lasting impact beyond funded projects. Drawing on eight years implementing RRI in the Human Brain Project, the authors propose 'responsibility by design'—embedding ethical considerations directly into research outcomes and infrastructure so responsibility becomes inherent rather than temporary.
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Catching up in the global wine industry: innovation systems, cluster knowledge networks and firm-level capabilities in Italy and Chile
Wine producers in Italian and Chilean clusters learn technology differently based on their knowledge resources and network positions. Strong geographic proximity alone doesn't create effective knowledge networks. Knowledge transfer from research institutions to firms succeeds only when firms occupy gatekeeper and broker roles within their clusters. Policy should strengthen these internal network connections rather than assuming proximity automatically generates innovation.
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In search of the frugal innovation strategy
This paper systematically reviews frugal innovation literature to establish it as a coherent business strategy for resource-constrained environments. Through co-citation analysis and systematic review of 42 papers, the authors clarify the scattered concept, define boundaries between frugal innovation and related approaches, and develop a framework with four strategic positions. They propose testable assumptions and explain when and how companies can apply frugal innovation strategy.
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Disruptive innovation and circularity in start‐ups: A path to sustainable development
Brazilian start-ups are implementing disruptive innovations that advance circular economy principles in their business models. Through interviews with 50 start-up leaders, researchers found that these companies are partially adopting circular resource initiatives—including data management, supply chain partnerships, digitization, and new market opportunities—that support sustainable development. The study reveals varying adoption levels across market segments and identifies pathways for accelerating circular economy integration.
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Regional innovation systems: Systematic literature review and recommendations for future research
This systematic literature review examines academic research on Regional Innovation Systems from 1997 to 2017. The authors analyze how RIS is defined across top-ranked journals, identify its key components, and establish methods for measuring RIS performance. They reveal knowledge gaps in the field and propose directions for future research on how innovation operates within regional contexts.
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Redefining the Relationship between Intellectual Capital and Innovation: The Mediating Role of Absorptive Capacity
This case study of a Brazilian paper and cardboard company demonstrates that absorptive capacity—the ability to assimilate new technologies, leverage internal knowledge, benchmark practices, and register patents—mediates the relationship between intellectual capital and innovation. The research shows that absorptive capacity strengthens how intellectual capital drives innovation, making it a critical mechanism for firms developing new products and processes.
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Incentivizing biodiversity conservation in artisanal fishing communities through territorial user rights and business model innovation
The authors designed a market-based program in Chile that gives artisanal fishers territorial user rights and financial incentives to establish no-take marine areas. The program commodifies biodiversity benefits created by fishers' conservation actions, using simple transactional infrastructure that can scale while remaining attractive to investors. Success requires matching supply, infrastructure, and demand components to local social-ecological conditions, potentially generating significant marine conservation gains.
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Innovation systems and local productive arrangements: New strategies to promote the generation, acquisition and diffusion of knowledge
The paper argues that less developed countries face mismatches between old analytical frameworks and the emerging knowledge economy. It proposes innovation systems and local productive arrangements as better conceptual tools for understanding how knowledge and innovation spread in development contexts. These frameworks emphasize learning, local tacit knowledge, agent interaction, and power dynamics. The paper recommends policies that mobilize local productive systems while coordinating across local, regional, national, and supranational levels.
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The dynamic contribution of innovation ecosystems to schumpeterian firms: A multi-level analysis
This study examines how proximity to innovation ecosystem agents affects Schumpeterian firms' innovation performance. Using firm-level data from 2002–2014 covering 3,074 observations, the authors apply knowledge spillover theory to show that geographical closeness to ecosystem agents drives innovation outcomes. The research clarifies how firm size moderates these effects and identifies specific mechanisms through which knowledge spillovers enhance firm performance.
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Bricolage as capability for frugal innovation in emerging markets in times of crisis
Brazilian companies develop frugal innovations more effectively during crises when they possess bricolage capability—the ability to creatively combine available resources in unconventional ways. This study of 215 Brazilian firms confirms that bricolage is a required managerial capability for emerging market companies to innovate under resource constraints. The research identifies bricolage skills as essential for managers seeking to drive frugal innovation during economic downturns.
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The role of marketing capabilities, absorptive capacity, and innovation performance
This study examines how absorptive capacity influences organizational performance in Brazilian manufacturing firms. The research finds that absorptive capacity does not directly affect performance. Instead, marketing capabilities—including innovative capability and new product development—and innovation performance fully mediate this relationship. Managers should invest in absorptive capacity and marketing capabilities to improve competitive performance.
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Research on Financial Technology Innovation and Application Based on 5G Network
5G technology enables financial institutions to innovate services through faster, more secure transactions and real-time mobile trading. The paper examines how 5G networks support fintech applications including backbone network evolution, drone-based facility inspection, and cash transport monitoring. These capabilities reduce financial sector risks, increase productivity, and improve customer satisfaction while strengthening transaction security.
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Innovation ecosystems: a meta-synthesis
This metasynthesis synthesizes six qualitative case studies to build a unified theory of innovation ecosystems. The authors find that no conceptual consensus exists on the term, but identify core elements: organic, dynamic interrelationships between organizations that enable faster creation of innovative products. They propose a framework integrating global-local perspectives, showing how companies interact with dispersed strategic partners across industry dynamics and multiple organizational levels to produce innovations.
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Impact of innovation strategy, absorptive capacity, and open innovation on SME performance: A Chilean case study
Absorptive capacity significantly influences how Chilean manufacturing SMEs adopt open innovation practices and develop innovation strategies. Innovation strategy fully mediates the relationship between absorptive capacity and inbound open innovation, while partially mediating the relationship with outbound open innovation. Open innovation practices directly improve SME performance. The findings offer guidance for policymakers and managers seeking to enhance competitiveness through strategic innovation.
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Frugal innovation and sustainability outcomes: findings from a systematic literature review
This systematic review of 130 empirical studies examines how frugal innovation drives sustainability outcomes. The authors find that frugal innovation's potential to improve social, environmental, and economic conditions depends on who develops it—whether large firms, small firms, or non-profit actors, and whether they are foreign or local. Collaboration across innovation stages proves critical. The review identifies gaps in understanding when and where frugal innovation most effectively produces sustainability benefits.
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Reconceptualising responsible research and innovation from a Global South perspective
Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has been developed primarily in wealthy northern countries with little consideration of how it operates in the Global South. This paper examines RRI practices across three countries—the Netherlands, Malawi, and Brazil—and finds that while some activities are comparable, important differences exist in motivations and structures. The authors propose a new theoretical framework that accounts for these regional differences, positioning RRI as a continuum rather than a fixed concept.
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The Role of a Local Industry Association as a Catalyst for Building an Innovation Ecosystem: An Experiment in the State of Ceara in Brazil
An industrial association in Brazil's Ceara state successfully catalyzed innovation ecosystem development where government alone failed. The federation of industries' UNIEMPRE program increased actor awareness, shared knowledge, strengthened firm capabilities, built regional innovation capacity, and created sustainable long-term change through five key mechanisms.
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Chile as a key enabler country for global plant breeding, agricultural innovation, and biotechnology
Chile has become a global leader in seed production, particularly for counter-season markets and research. Between 2009 and 2018, Chile conducted over 1,000 seed-planting events for crop development and multiplication, including genetically modified seeds. Every major commodity crop with global cultivation status has undergone field testing in Chile. The country's new regulatory framework for plant breeding techniques positions it to maintain its role as a hub for agricultural biotechnology innovation.
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Seeking unconventional alliances and bridging innovations in spaces for transformative change: the seed sector and agricultural sustainability in Argentina
Argentina's seed sector demonstrates how unconventional alliances between diverse actors—including farmers, researchers, and civil society—drive transformative agricultural innovations toward sustainability. The paper identifies bridging innovations that connect conventional and alternative farming systems, showing how collaborative networks create spaces for systemic change in food production practices.
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Serving rural low‐income markets through a social entrepreneurship approach: Venture creation and growth
Social entrepreneurs in rural Latin America create and grow ventures serving low-income communities by continuously revising goals and building capabilities, embedding operations deeply in communities, and innovating business models suited to resource-constrained environments. The study of three ventures reveals that success requires treating communities as resource sources, not just customers, and adapting distribution, marketing, and management practices to local conditions.
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Knowledge management for agricultural innovation: lessons from networking efforts in the Bolivian Agricultural Technology System
Farmers in Bolivia who participated in agricultural innovation projects using multi-agent knowledge management networks adopted innovations more successfully than those in traditional technology transfer programs. Farmer adoption rates depended on both the project's knowledge management approach and how embedded farmers were in local learning networks. The study confirms that farmers need intensive relationships with multiple agents—not just one extension agency—to access sufficient knowledge, build confidence, and jointly learn to apply innovations.
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IMPORTÂNCIA RELATIVA DE CANAIS DE COMUNICAÇÃO NO PROCESSO DE DECISÃO SOBRE INOVAÇÕES AGRÍCOLAS. ZONA DO TRIÂNGULO DE MINAS GERAIS RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELS IN THE DECISION PROCESS OF AGRICULTURAL INNOVATIONS. TRIANGLE OF MINAS GERAIS ZONE
This study examined how cotton farmers in Brazil's Minas Gerais region make decisions about adopting agricultural innovations. Researchers surveyed 155 producers and found that technical advisors were the most influential communication channel across all decision stages, followed by peers and neighbors. Farmers were heavily exposed to radio and television but not print media, and change agents rarely used mass media to promote innovations.
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On (Dis)Connections and Transformations: The Role of the Agricultural Innovation System in the Adoption of Improved Forages in Colombia
Colombia has developed 23 improved forage cultivars with superior quality and environmental benefits, yet adoption remains low. This study examines the agricultural innovation system to understand why. Researchers found that weak connections between research institutions, poor coordination, and misaligned objectives create barriers to technology adoption. The study recommends restructuring institutional relationships and improving R&D funding allocation to enable effective forage technology scaling.
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Agroecology and communal innovation: LabCampesino, a pedagogical experience from the rural youth in Sumapaz Colombia
Rural youth in Colombia's Sumapaz province participated in LabCampesino, a collaborative laboratory combining agroecology, co-creation, and community organization. Through exploration, experimentation, and prototyping sessions, young farmers built and documented innovations for territorial management and sustainable development. The initiative demonstrated that rural laboratories enable practical, situated education and communal innovation while strengthening agroecological practices and local social organization, offering an alternative to rural-to-urban migration.
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Citizen Science as Democratic Innovation That Renews Environmental Monitoring and Assessment for the Sustainable Development Goals in Rural Areas
Citizen science offers a democratic approach to environmental monitoring that strengthens the legitimacy of data used for sustainable development in rural areas. Traditional environmental monitoring fails to adequately support local implementation of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. By incorporating citizen science into environmental assessment, rural communities can produce and use data more effectively for transformative governance, particularly for protecting land and natural resources while addressing resource conflicts.
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Characterization of Technological Innovations in Photovoltaic Rural Electrification, Based on the Experiences of Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina: Third Generation Solar Home Systems
Solar Home Systems have evolved through three generations since 1980, with third-generation systems now offering efficient LED lighting, lithium batteries, and microelectronic controls that require minimal maintenance. These newer systems cost less and enable users to manage their own electricity, making rural electrification more affordable and reliable for off-grid populations in Latin America. The research characterizes technological advances to support developers and policymakers in achieving universal energy access.
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Saving as a Path for Female Empowerment and Entrepreneurship in Rural Peru
Women's savings programs in Peru's Highlands empower female entrepreneurs more effectively than microcredit. The study found that savings interventions enable women to plan ahead, expand social networks, and start businesses while improving their economic, personal, and relational well-being. Savings programs deliver broader empowerment benefits beyond financial inclusion.
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International Comparison of the Efficiency of Agricultural Science, Technology, and Innovation: A Case Study of G20 Countries
This study measures agricultural science, technology, and innovation (ASTI) efficiency across G20 countries using data envelopment analysis. Developed G20 nations show declining efficiency trends but stronger innovation capacity, while developing G20 countries demonstrate rising efficiency but lower capacity. R&D spending redundancy and insufficient agricultural research output constrain efficiency gains. Technological change drives most productivity improvements across both groups.
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Young People’s Perceptions about the Difficulties of Entrepreneurship and Developing Rural Properties in Family Agriculture
Young rural entrepreneurs in Brazil identify economic constraints as the primary barrier to investing in family farms, cited in 34% of cases. Workforce shortages and low qualification rank second at 12.6%, while unfavorable producer prices account for 7.6%. The study surveyed 98 young entrepreneurs at a rural youth sustainability event in Santa Catarina, combining qualitative and quantitative analysis to reveal the practical challenges facing the next generation of family farm operators.
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Successful agricultural innovation in emerging economies: new genetic technologies for global food production
This edited volume examines how genetic technologies and crop biotechnology drive agricultural innovation in emerging economies to address food security. It covers the scientific basis for genetically modified crops, their adoption across Africa, Argentina, China, and India, regulatory frameworks enabling innovation, and social and ethical considerations. The work argues that new genetic technologies offer practical solutions for improving food production and nutrition in developing regions.
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Organization of Research and Innovation: a Comparative Study of Public Agricultural Research Institutions
This paper examines how four public agricultural research institutes reorganized their management models and structures. The authors compare their experiences to identify common patterns and differences in how these institutions manage research and innovation processes, policies, and workflows. The goal is to develop better approaches and tools for improving research and innovation management in public agricultural institutions.
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Moving beyond tourists’ concepts of authenticity: place-based tourism differentiation within rural zones of Chilean Patagonia
Rural tourism zones in Chilean Patagonia can differentiate themselves by leveraging local cultural practices and customs as endogenous assets rather than adopting standardized, commodified approaches. The study found that local service providers possessed authentic place-based practices that visitors failed to recognize or value, representing untapped resources for sustainable, place-based development strategies that distinguish emergent destinations from competitors.
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Rural innovation chains. Two examples for the diffusion of rural innovations
Rural innovation spreads through social networks where prestigious community members serve as economic models. Peasant societies adopt innovations through imitation rather than independent innovation, following respected figures within their networks. Two case studies—one from the Peruvian Andes and one from Hungary—demonstrate that economic changes and new technologies can be adopted while local social networks remain stable and intact, reinforcing rather than destroying existing community bonds.
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A Techno-Economic Framework for Installing Broadband Networks in Rural and Remote Areas
This paper develops a techno-economic framework for deploying broadband networks in rural and remote areas, addressing the challenge of high infrastructure costs versus low operator revenue. Using cost-of-ownership analysis and financial feasibility techniques, the authors demonstrate how to reduce subscription costs for end-users while maintaining operator profitability. A case study in the Brazilian Amazon shows the framework can deliver equitable digital access by lowering deployment expenses.
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Can an innovation platform support a local process of climate-smart agriculture implementation? A case study in Cauca, Colombia
An innovation platform in Cauca, Colombia brought together farmers, NGOs, local authorities, and associations to implement climate-smart agriculture. The platform improved stakeholder interactions, increased farmer knowledge about climate change, and led to adoption of practices like crop diversification and reduced fertilizer use. Innovation platforms can effectively enable farmers to understand and adopt climate-smart agriculture suited to their local conditions.
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Migration, Remittances and Entrepreneurship: The Case of Rural Ecuador
Using Ecuador's 2005-2006 living conditions survey, this study examines how international migration and remittances affect entrepreneurship in rural areas. The findings show that migration and remittances do not increase the likelihood of rural households owning family businesses. Instead, education, access to credit, and basic services availability significantly boost entrepreneurial activity. The analysis rejects the common assumption that remittances drive rural business creation.
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Opportunities and tensions in supporting intercultural productive activities: The case of urban and rural Mapuche entrepreneurship programs
Entrepreneurship programs in Chile targeting Mapuche people in rural and urban areas create both opportunities and tensions. Based on interviews with 17 Mapuche entrepreneurs, the study finds that programs support business development but reveal conflicts between mainstream business practices and Mapuche cultural values. Success depends on programs recognizing cultural identity and adapting to intercultural contexts rather than imposing standardized approaches.
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Socio-cultural factors and the entrepreneurship of youths in rural regions
This paper examines how socio-cultural factors influence entrepreneurial activity among young people in rural regions. The authors demonstrate that specific cultural and social conditions significantly impact whether rural youth engage in entrepreneurship, identifying key socio-cultural drivers that shape entrepreneurial behavior in these communities.
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Innovative Rural Entrepreneurship in Chile
Rural areas in Chile show high entrepreneurship rates despite economic disadvantages, challenging stereotypes that innovation requires high-tech sophistication. The paper argues that middle-income countries can foster more innovative rural entrepreneurship through systemic, amenity-based territorial policies that improve local public goods and living conditions, rather than assuming rural entrepreneurship must remain unsophisticated.
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Energy planning model with renewable energy using optimization multicriteria techniques for isolated rural communities: Cajamarca province, Peru
This paper develops SEPLAN, an energy planning model using multicriteria optimization to balance economic, environmental, and social objectives for isolated rural communities in Peru. Applied to Cajamarca province, the model evaluates renewable energy alternatives against six competing goals including emissions reduction, cost minimization, and universal energy access. Results show photovoltaic solar energy emerges as the priority solution when prioritizing rural electrification, offering decision-makers a practical tool for sustainable energy planning.
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Sustainability and Rural Empowerment: Developing Women’s Entrepreneurial Skills Through Innovation
Rural women entrepreneurs in artisanal sectors face success factors and barriers shaped by individual, social, structural, and innovation elements. Digital technologies and social innovation drive entrepreneurial success, while gender roles, poor infrastructure, and discrimination remain significant obstacles. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified these challenges, spurring innovative resilience strategies. Holistic approaches addressing skills development, resource access, and innovation promotion are essential to empower rural women and advance sustainable community development.
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Impulsores, barreras y motivaciones para el emprendimiento rural de los millennials en Antioquia-Colombia/ Drivers, barriers and motivations for rural entrepreneurship of millennials in Antioquia-Colombia
Researchers developed and validated a measurement instrument to assess drivers, barriers, and motivations for rural entrepreneurship among millennials in Antioquia, Colombia. Using expert judgment and the Delphi method with 16 specialists, they confirmed the instrument's reliability across three domains: motivations (93.7% adequate), drivers (92% adequate), and barriers (84% adequate). All Cronbach's Alpha values exceeded 0.9, demonstrating the instrument's validity for measuring factors influencing young people's rural business ventures.
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A hybrid energy system based on renewable energy for the electrification of low-income rural communities
This paper proposes a hybrid renewable energy system to electrify low-income rural communities in Peru without grid access. Researchers surveyed Monte-Catache village in Cajamarca to assess energy demand and renewable resources. Simulations showed isolated photovoltaic systems with battery storage as the most viable solution. The approach offers a practical pathway for bringing electricity to remote, impoverished areas using cost-effective renewable technology.
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Solar-Wind Renewable Energy System for Off-Grid Rural Electrification in Ecuador
This paper analyzes and designs an off-grid solar-wind renewable energy system for rural electrification in Ecuador. The authors measured local energy consumption and solar and wind resources in a remote county, then used simulation tools to estimate the community's electrical load profile and propose a complete hybrid system. They present the technical and economic specifications of the resulting wind-solar installation.
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Sustainability Assessment of Food Waste Biorefineries as the Base of the Entrepreneurship in Rural Zones of Colombia
Food waste biorefineries can drive rural economic development in Colombia by converting agricultural residues into valuable products. Researchers analyzed six food wastes from three Colombian regions and designed biorefinery processes for each. Organic kitchen food waste conversion to levulinic acid proved most sustainable and economically viable, while other residues could produce bioactive compounds, oils, flour, and biogas. These biorefineries reduce greenhouse gases while creating local income opportunities.
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Intersectoral collaboration for the development of rural entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean
Intersectoral collaboration between governments, companies, NGOs, and local communities drives sustainable rural entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study finds that such partnerships overcome barriers to rural entrepreneurship and promote innovation. Educational policies, gender equality support, and institutional backing prove essential. Intersectoral collaboration emerges as critical—not merely supplementary—for rural entrepreneurship success and regional socioeconomic development.
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Studying Discourse Innovations: The Case of the Indigenous Movement in Ecuador
Ecuador's indigenous movement underwent major discursive innovation in the 1970s and 1980s by reframing indigenous peoples as nationalities entitled to self-determination and autonomy. This conceptual shift introduced demands for plurinational and intercultural state reorganization, fundamentally reshaping national political discourse and giving the movement lasting influence in Ecuadorian politics.
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Institutional entrepreneurship and professionalization of the rural development of the sisal region in Brazil
Professionalization of rural development in Brazil's sisal region created entrepreneurship opportunities by transforming how funding bodies operated. Professional practices spread through informal networks rather than formal institutions, allowing local entrepreneurs to adapt and reinterpret these practices to fit their specific contexts. This process generated new organizational formats and legitimized professional approaches tailored to regional needs.
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Influence of social and spatial embeddedness on rural entrepreneurship in the Amazon: a study with a Brazilian tribe' enterprising Indians
Social and spatial embeddedness significantly shape indigenous entrepreneurship in the Brazilian Amazon. The study of fourteen Paiter-Suruí entrepreneurs reveals that dense social networks and deep territorial connections jointly influence business creation and development decisions. Social and spatial embeddedness reinforce each other, suggesting integrated approaches are essential for understanding and supporting rural entrepreneurship in developing economies.
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Integrated Renewable Energy System Based on IREOM Model and Spatial–Temporal Series for Isolated Rural Areas in the Region of Valparaiso, Chile
This study proposes a smart integrated renewable energy system for isolated rural areas in Valparaiso, Chile, using locally available resources like solar, wind, biomass, and biogas. The researchers modified an optimization model to identify which areas could benefit from this approach and designed systems that minimize energy generation costs. Results show that renewable systems cost roughly three times less than extending the electricity grid to remote locations.
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Innovation in Services: The Case of Rural Tourism in Argentina
Rural tourism in Argentina succeeds when providers identify distinctive attributes through collective action and self-discovery. Because rural tourism combines multiple services, coordination among small and micro producers is essential. Public policies can facilitate this cooperation, though poor connectivity in remote areas creates obstacles. Local economic effects are significant but difficult to measure.
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Viability of renewable energies and industrialization of rural areas using high-performance concrete
High-performance concrete enables construction of solar thermal collectors and water retention structures that integrate renewable energy sources in tropical rural areas. The system combines solar heating with biomass-fired boilers, increases biomass production on degraded land, and generates biogas from agricultural waste. This integrated approach provides reliable electricity, thermal energy, and fuel while supporting livestock production and attracting industrial development to rural regions.
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Strategic orientations and cooperation of external agents in the innovation process of rural enterprises
Market orientation drives incremental innovation in rural enterprises, while entrepreneurial orientation supports both incremental and radical innovation. Specific external partners like suppliers and consultants help with incremental improvements, whereas universities and public research organizations primarily support radical innovation. The study of 208 rural firms reveals that strategic orientations and external collaboration patterns differ from urban business models due to rural market structures and product characteristics.
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Credit unions and rural banks reaching down and out to the rural poor through group-based microfinance
Credit unions and rural banks in West Africa, Ecuador, Madagascar, and the Philippines successfully deliver microfinance to poor rural populations by adopting group-based village banking models. This approach costs less than building new microfinance institutions from scratch and reaches extremely poor women in remote areas. While individual credit unions and rural banks are fragile, spreading risk across many small institutions creates a sustainable system.
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Application of artistic design innovation in promoting rural cultural brand construction
This study uses AI and text mining to analyze how users in 15 countries respond emotionally to rural cultural brand designs. The researchers built a virtual simulator and recommendation system to match design elements with regional preferences. Brazilian users preferred vibrant, festive folk art styles, while Russian, Japanese, German, South Korean, and Thai users showed strong emotional responses to rural architecture, handicrafts, and performing arts designs. The findings help tailor rural cultural brand promotion to different international markets.
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Disputed futures: rural entrepreneurship and migration in postsecondary trajectories on the Ecuador–Colombia Border
This ethnographic study examines how schools in the Ecuador-Colombia border region use rural entrepreneurship projects to shape young people's futures and align their aspirations with state priorities. The research reveals tensions between institutionalized entrepreneurship initiatives and students' actual desires for geographical and social mobility, showing how the future functions as a tool of government control over youth.
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Innovation as translation in Indigenous entrepreneurship: lessons from Mapuche entrepreneurs in Chile
Innovation in Indigenous entrepreneurship operates as cultural translation, not Western adoption. Mapuche entrepreneurs in Chile transform traditional daily practices into market-valued products by reconfiguring commercial practices through their own cultural frameworks. This process challenges homogenized innovation discourse and reveals how Indigenous enterprises strategically adapt rather than simply adopt external innovation models.
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Comprehensive Country Ranking for Renewable Energy Based Mini-Grids Providing Rural off-Grid Electrification
Renewable energy mini-grids can bring electricity to rural areas without grid connections. The authors identify key conditions needed for sustainable business models in this sector and rank countries globally by their suitability. Rwanda and Peru emerge as top candidates with favorable conditions for deploying renewable mini-grids to rural populations. The ranking helps entrepreneurs and investors identify where to launch electrification projects.
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The Long Tail of Loop Distance for Broadband over Power Lines: Finding a New Niche for Rural Telecommunications in Brazil
Broadband over power lines (BPL) technology transmits internet signals through existing electrical infrastructure, offering a cost-effective alternative to cable and DSL for rural areas. This study evaluates BPL's potential as a telecommunications solution for remote regions in Brazil, examining how it can deliver high-speed backbone connectivity and last-mile access through residential power distribution networks.
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Sensitivity analysis for a hybrid off-grid PV/DG/BATT system for the electrification of rural communities
This paper evaluates a hybrid solar-diesel-battery power system for electrifying rural communities in Ecuador. Using optimization software, researchers designed a system combining 23 kW solar panels, a 27 kW diesel generator, and battery storage, achieving an energy cost of $0.359 per kilowatt-hour. Sensitivity analysis shows the system's viability depends heavily on fuel prices and component costs, with pure solar-battery systems becoming preferable when diesel exceeds $0.83 per liter.
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Assessing the Impact of Off-grid Solar Electrification in Rural Peru
Engineers Without Borders-USA partnered with a rural Peruvian community to install off-grid solar photovoltaic systems, addressing electricity access that limited students' study time and device charging. A monitoring visit one year after implementation revealed the project's sustainability and identified key lessons about training, communication, socioeconomic impact, and community empowerment in rural electrification work.
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Agroecology and integral microfinance: recommendations for the Colombian post-conflict avoiding the financialization of rural financing
Colombia's post-conflict recovery requires sustainable rural development for peasant families affected by armed conflict. The paper argues that agroecology combined with integrated microfinance—rather than financialized microfinance—offers the most effective approach to support small producers. This combination creates sustainable scenarios for rural livelihoods while avoiding extractive financial practices that undermine agricultural communities.
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Technical-Economic Electrification Models Rural with Renewable Energies: Systematic Review of Literature
This systematic review examines technical and economic models for electrifying rural areas using renewable energy sources. The authors analyze existing literature on how renewable energy systems can be designed and deployed cost-effectively to bring electricity to rural communities, synthesizing approaches that balance technical feasibility with economic viability.
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Off-grid PV system to supply a rural scholl on DC network
Researchers designed an off-grid photovoltaic system to power a rural school in northeastern Brazil. The system uses solar panels to charge lead-acid batteries, which store enough energy to supply the school for two days even during low sunlight. A microcontroller manages power extraction, battery charging, and voltage conversion to meet the school's electrical demands.
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Design Methodology of Off-Grid PV Solar Powered Systems for Rural Areas in Ecuador
This paper presents a design methodology for off-grid solar photovoltaic systems tailored to rural Ecuador, where grid access is limited or impractical. The authors developed simulation models in Matlab/Simulink for systems combining photovoltaic modules, charge controllers, batteries, and inverters. They created a maximum power point tracking algorithm and battery control system, then built a practical sizing tool in Excel to help implement these systems in rural communities.
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Análise aplicada a sistemas fotovoltaicos off-grid em processos industriais na zona rural
Rural industrial organizations in Brazil face frequent power supply interruptions due to inadequate grid infrastructure investment, causing production losses. This paper analyzes the technical and financial viability of off-grid photovoltaic systems as an alternative energy solution. The study demonstrates that solar photovoltaic systems can effectively replace conventional diesel generators, providing a reliable, efficient, and renewable energy source for rural industrial operations.
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Place-based rural health professional pre-registration education programs: a scoping review
Place-based health professional education programs train students in rural communities to address healthcare workforce shortages. A review of 138 programs across 12 countries identified four training models: short-term placements, extended placements, rural campuses, and distributed blended learning. Programs recruit local students, engage communities in selection and delivery, and evaluate graduate work locations and access outcomes. Successful programs combine widening educational access, comprehensive design, and community engagement aligned with social accountability.
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Assessment of rural credit in the Brazilian Amazon: role of the Northern Constitutional Financing Fund in rural development
Rural credit from Brazil's Northern Constitutional Financing Fund (FNO) does boost agricultural production and rural income, but the money concentrates in a few municipalities along the expanding agricultural frontier in Pará, Tocantins, and Rondônia. Western Amazonian regions remain financially isolated due to structural and institutional barriers. The FNO fails to reduce financial inequality across northern municipalities, suggesting that credit alone cannot drive development without infrastructure, technical support, and improved banking access.
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Access of rural youth to higher education: An international perspective
Rural youth worldwide view higher education as a path to social advancement, but face significant barriers including limited academic offerings in rural areas and disconnects between rural culture and higher education systems. Scholarships alone cannot address these inequalities. The paper argues for a differentiated higher education model that respects rural socio-cultural capital, offers location-appropriate programs, and connects learning to local contexts rather than forcing cultural assimilation.
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Digital divides and youth cultural participation in rural contexts in Ecuador
Rural youth in Ecuador's Zone 5 face digital divides that prevent cultural participation. Young people with stable internet and digital skills training show higher technological confidence and engage more in online cultural communities. Those with unstable connections and basic devices struggle to access digital cultural opportunities. The study reveals digital exclusion involves more than infrastructure—it requires addressing education, cultural barriers, and symbolic access through targeted public policies.
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The Role of Advanced Biofuels in Promoting Energy Access and Economic Growth in Rural Areas
Advanced biofuels from agricultural residues, algae, and waste can reduce energy poverty and create economic growth in rural developing countries. Case studies from India and Brazil show that decentralized biofuel plants improved energy access, generated local jobs, and strengthened agricultural value chains by converting crop residues into farmer income. Key barriers include limited infrastructure, financing, and policy support. The authors recommend scaling adoption to enhance energy security and rural development.
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Spatial embeddedness in indigenous rural entrepreneurship: a systematic literature review
Indigenous entrepreneurs succeed by building strong internal ties within their close social networks while simultaneously creating external connections across different networks. The paper reviews 14 years of research and finds that spatial embeddedness—how location shapes entrepreneurial networks—remains largely unexplored in indigenous entrepreneurship literature. The authors argue that understanding entrepreneurs as spatially embedded agents offers new insights for indigenous rural business development.
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The spatial interplay between productive and destructive entrepreneurship: do institutions meet expectations in rural areas?
In rural Colombia, destructive entrepreneurship (coca cultivation) and productive entrepreneurship (coffee cultivation) directly displace each other. Despite the presence of coffee-supportive institutions like extensionists, these institutions fail to prevent destructive entrepreneurship from crowding out productive activities. The study reveals that institutional support alone is insufficient to control this substitution effect in weak institutional environments.
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Reframing Electricity Access in Rural Latin America: An Energy Justice Analysis
This paper analyzes electricity access in rural Latin America through an energy justice lens. The author examines how power systems are distributed and who benefits from energy infrastructure, revealing inequities in rural electrification. The work reframes electricity access beyond simple availability metrics to address fairness, participation, and control over energy resources in rural communities.
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Modeling the Performance of Glass-Cover-Free Parabolic Trough Collector Prototypes for Solar Water Disinfection in Rural Off-Grid Communities
Researchers developed a numerical model to optimize glass-free parabolic trough collectors for solar water disinfection in rural off-grid communities. Testing the design in Colombia's Caribbean region, they found that compact collectors can reach temperatures above 70°C and effectively kill pathogens quickly. The model identifies which design features—rim angle, focal length, optical properties—matter most for performance, providing a practical tool for communities to build and adapt low-cost water treatment systems locally.
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Satellite promises: An open-source investigation and footprint analysis of SGDC-1’s quest in delivering broadband to public rural schools in Brazil
Brazil launched the SGDC-1 satellite in 2017 to deliver broadband to rural public schools. This study analyzes government documents, news coverage, and satellite footprint maps to reveal how the project functions both as infrastructure and as a political narrative. The satellite serves underserved rural populations but faces challenges from public-private partnerships, militarization, and outage risks. The authors call for stronger civic oversight and new policies to ensure the project's long-term viability.
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Bridging the Digital Divide in Rural Peru: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Educational Technology Access, Infrastructure Barriers, and Teacher Preparedness in Andean Communities
Rural Peru faces severe barriers to digital education, including poor internet infrastructure, geographic isolation, and teacher unpreparedness. Teachers lack ICT skills and receive no government training in technology integration. The study examines pandemic impacts on educational access in Andean communities, finding that distance, poverty, and infrastructure gaps perpetuate educational inequality despite some university subsidies and government connectivity initiatives.
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Achachay App: a community-driven innovation for flood data collection in urban and rural areas
Achachay App is a mobile application that enables communities to report real-time flood events with photos, videos, and location data. Researchers analyze these crowdsourced reports to understand flood patterns and identify flood-prone areas. Piloted in Ecuador, the app successfully mapped flood risks and secondary water flows, providing policymakers with data to design disaster prevention strategies and support sustainable development.
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Policies of Access to Higher Education: Perspectives and Experiences of Rural Youth from Orobó-Valença/BA
This study examines how higher education access policies affect rural youth in Orobó-Valença, Brazil. Researchers surveyed and interviewed young people from this farming community who entered higher education. They found that improvements in basic education directly increased young people's success in continuing to university compared to previous generations. Brazil's recent policies expanding public universities and access programs have boosted public higher education enrollment in the region, though most rural youth still attend private institutions.
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Sistema fotovoltaico off-grid com baterias em zona rural – estudo de caso
Rural producers in Goiás, Brazil face significant losses from power outages that spoil stored food and kill livestock. This case study compares three energy systems for a rural property: grid electricity with backup generator, grid with off-grid solar, and grid with off-grid solar plus batteries. Financial analysis using NPV, IRR, and levelized cost of electricity shows that solar with battery storage delivers the best long-term viability despite requiring nine times higher initial investment than traditional grid-plus-generator systems.
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INTEGRAÇÃO DE UM SISTEMA FOTOVOLTAICO OFF-GRID NA ESCOLA MUNICIPAL SANTO ANTÔNIO NA ZONA RURAL DE MANAUS
This study designs and tests an off-grid photovoltaic system for a rural school near Manaus, Brazil, powered by diesel generators. The researchers surveyed the school's electrical load, designed a solar system with batteries and controls, built a prototype, and modeled performance. Results show the solar system can reduce diesel emissions and operating costs while improving daytime power reliability, providing evidence for implementing renewable energy in isolated Amazonian schools.
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Grid extension vs. off-grid systems in rural Areas: Methodologies, tools, and criteria for decision-making
This scoping review of 136 studies examines how decision-makers choose between grid extension and off-grid systems for rural electrification in developing countries. The authors find that current methodologies treat these options separately despite their coexistence in real planning scenarios. Existing frameworks fail to integrate technical, economic, social, environmental, and institutional dimensions comprehensively, and lack unified indicators for meaningful comparison. The review calls for more integrated decision-making tools that address the complexity of electrification choices in grid-adjacent rural areas.
Media stories — 9
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The Next Generation of Agtech in Brazil
Agrosmart, a Brazilian agtech startup founded in 2014, uses artificial intelligence and sensor technology to help over 100,000 farmers across nine countries optimize irrigation, planting, and crop care decisions. The company's app monitors 48 million hectares and provides real-time weather forecasts and soil data. As Latin America's agtech market grows toward $10.4 billion by 2033, Agrosmart exemplifies how integrated data platforms address climate unpredictability in tropical agriculture.
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Rural Tourism, Afro-Tourism and Cultural Experiences Highlight Minas Gerais Presence at WTM Latin America 2026
Minas Gerais state government is promoting rural and Afro-tourism at WTM Latin America 2026, launching an expanded Rural Tourism Experiences Catalog with 266 itineraries and establishing the Quilombo São Domingos Afro-tourism route. The initiative emphasizes local empowerment, cultural preservation, and sustainable tourism development across regional territories.
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New narratives for rural transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean: towards a renewed measurement and classification of rural areas
CEPAL presents new methods for defining and measuring rurality in Latin America and the Caribbean, moving beyond outdated agricultural-focused definitions. The study recognizes that rural areas now encompass diverse economic and social activities shaped by rural-urban interactions. These redefined measurement approaches enable governments to design innovative rural development policies better aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
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EAVISION to Showcase Autonomous Drone Solutions for Complex Farming at Agrishow 2026
EAVISION will demonstrate its J150 autonomous drone system at Agrishow 2026 in Brazil, addressing farming challenges in complex terrain. The drone adjusts to uneven landscapes in real time, maintaining consistent pesticide application across dense crop canopies while reducing drift and waste. The system also handles seed and fertilizer spreading, supporting more efficient operations in regions where terrain restricts traditional machinery.
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IFAD Opens New Office in Salvador and Boosts Rural Development in Brazil
The International Fund for Agricultural Development opened a new office in Salvador, Brazil, to strengthen rural development operations in the country's northeastern region. IFAD has invested approximately $1.1 billion across Brazil, supporting nearly one million families through programs focused on sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, food security, and agroecology. The expansion enhances IFAD's capacity to coordinate initiatives addressing poverty and environmental challenges in Brazil's vulnerable Nordeste region.
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In Brazil, regenerative farming advances but deforestation still pressures ecosystems
Brazil's agribusiness sector drives over 90% of deforestation through cattle ranching and soy production. The REVERTE program and similar initiatives aim to restore 40 million hectares of degraded pastureland by 2030 using regenerative farming techniques. However, experts warn that without stronger forest governance and binding private-sector commitments, productivity gains may simply enable further agricultural expansion rather than reduce pressure on the Amazon and Cerrado ecosystems.
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What Brazil Can Teach the World About Agricultural Innovation & Sustainability
Brazil's agricultural sector drives economic growth through free-market policies, investment, and innovation in biologicals, AI, and sustainable practices. The country exported $169.2 billion in agricultural goods in 2025. Brazilian agtech startups are expanding rapidly, with biologicals becoming a billion-dollar market. Trade deals like EU-Mercosur will boost market access while Brazilian farmers assert their sustainability credentials.
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Innovative practices in rural gender transformation: Lessons from Brazil and Uruguay
A study examines women-led rural development initiatives in Brazil and Uruguay supported by IFAD. Using agroecological and inclusive production methods with minimal resources, these women drove transformative results, strengthened local policies, and spurred economic growth. Empowered women became community role models, fostering sustainable and equitable rural development through active participation in local governance.
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Brazil's ag sector responds to very tough moment with innovation
Brazil's agriculture sector faces severe economic pressures including high interest rates and low commodity prices, with 8.3% of farmers delinquent on payments. Rather than retreat, the sector diversified export markets and expanded into new regions, growing beef exports 39.9% in 2025. Brazilian agriculture also drives innovation in biofuels and bio-methane production, converting agricultural residues into sustainable energy and animal feed.