Electric cooking in Kenya: an actor-network map and analysis of a nascent socio-technical innovation system

In this paper, we report findings from our project in which we provide a first attempt to map several characteristics of Kenya’s e-cooking socio-technical innovation system. The ‘map’ consists of visualisations of the actor-networks and actor-relations in the system along with elaborations on who the actors are, the extent and nature of their interactions, sketches of significant projects, and discussion of emerging issues relevant to the further development of the innovation system. It also includes some summary attention to the system’s context and enabling environment. Based on this characterisation, we conduct a socio-technical innovation system analysis to determine the system’s strengths and weaknesses, and we derive
several recommendations we argue the MECS Programme could implement to further its aims more effectively.

Our socio-technical innovation system concept has been developed using insights from several academic literatures that share a common interest in understanding how technology and innovation interact interdependently with society to produce the social and technical systems upon which we rely for meeting human development needs. The concept refers to the complex configuration of several elements including a variety of actors, their capabilities and relationships, core technologies, policy context, and social practices (especially those involving the core technologies). Within this complex of interacting and interdependent elements, we see the diffusion of technologies and other innovations. And, depending on the nature of the interactions among the elements, we can also see further technological development and new innovations emerge.