Scaling Week in Latin America and the Caribbean - Report

The Scaling Week in Latin America and the Caribbean was a regional, virtual, multi-actor capacity-building event designed to strengthen a shared understanding of responsible, inclusive, and climate-resilient scaling of agrifood innovations. Convened between September 29 and October 3, 2025, the initiative brought together more than 100 participants from over 20 countries, including researchers, technicians, public institutions, community-based organizations, international cooperation agencies, academia, and private-sector actors.

The event aimed to bridge the gap between scientific innovation and territorial implementation by fostering dialogue, strengthening local and institutional capacities, and promoting collaborative approaches to scaling. Core topics addressed included responsible scaling principles, climate resilience, agrifood knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS), relational approaches to scaling, and the application of CGIAR methodologies such as Scaling Scan and Scaling Readiness. Through a structured sequence of three interactive webinar sessions, the program guided participants from conceptual foundations to systemic perspectives and practical tools for designing and implementing context-specific scaling pathways.

Methodologically, the Scaling Week combined conceptual presentations, multi-actor panels, interactive digital exercises, and experience-sharing across diverse regional contexts. This approach emphasized that scaling is not a linear or purely technical process, but a relational and systemic one, dependent on trust, institutional coherence, local leadership, and inclusive participation, particularly of women, youth, and community actors.

Key conclusions highlighted that sustainable scaling requires more than the dissemination of technologies; it depends on strengthening local capacities, aligning policies and institutions, and embedding innovations within territorial realities. As a major outcome, the Scaling Week laid the foundation for the creation of a regional Scaling Hub, envisioned as platforms to sustain collaboration, consolidate evidence, and support responsible scaling processes across the region.