The latest research shows that we really should do something with available research outcomes: overcoming the “Valley of Death” to enhancing commercialization of research outputs

This article was inspired by a dialogue that transpired during the 5th All Africa Higher Education Week and Biennial Conference of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), held in October 2016. The conference gathered over 850 participants from 72 countries and is usually a convening event that brings together several stakeholders in the two key sectors of Higher Education and Agriculture. The theme was “Linking Agricultural Universities with Civil Society, the Private Sector, Governments and other Stakeholders in support of Agricultural Development in Africa”. From the seven plenary sessions and 49 parallel/side meetings a key concern that stringed through all the deliberations was that of the “valley of death” (also referred to as translational research) in relation to enhancing the usability of research outputs by translating knowledge to practice. It was apparent that the stakeholders in attendance was a good mix, in terms of the different walks of life, designation and vocation, for articulating the urgency of moving research outputs from bookshelves to application in the hands of end-users. The observation was that there is limited application of otherwise useful research-generated interventions to key challenges in Africa’s agrifood systems. This Volume 14 (2) of The RUFORUM Working Document Series, (a peer-reviewed serialized publication, ISSN 1607-9345), features 147 articles accepted for publication mainly from university-based research and clearly if a fraction of the recommendations were put to use there would be less hunger and poverty in Africa than is currently the case. Apparently, there is not just one death valley but for any give technology and/or intervention to reach the end-user (s) there are many potential deathvalleys between research and outcomes. In light of this, the convening considered a different conceptualization of knowledge translation (KT) as a dynamic and interactive process that includes synthesis, dissemination, exchange and ethically sound application of knowledge to improve uptake on interventions and thereby strengthen livelihoods. It is widely recognized that the process of KT takes place within a complex system of interactions between researchers and knowledge users which may vary in intensity, complexity and level of engagement depending on the nature of the research and the findings as well as the needs of the particular knowledge user. This Editorial provides selected actions among others that would help unlock the inertia from knowledge to practice, and enhance research-into-use practices in an innovation ecosystem.