Annemarie van Paassen

Annemarie van Paassen serves as Associate Professor at Wageningen University's Knowledge, Technology and Innovation group, where she combines academic expertise with extensive field experience in development practice. After years working in community development and agricultural advisory services, she has established herself as a leading voice in participatory innovation and digital agriculture. Her research portfolio spans citizen science, digital platforms for agricultural extension, and inclusive innovation processes, with particular focus on the Environmental Virtual Observatories for Connective Action (EVOCA) project in Africa. She investigates how political-institutional structures influence innovation processes, especially in agricultural food systems, while exploring the potential of digital technologies to promote inclusive development. Her recent publications examine knowledge sharing in agricultural advisory systems, digital farm monitoring through smartphone platforms, and innovation intermediation in Ghana's agricultural extension system. Through her teaching and research, including contributions to the MOOC on Transformative Citizen Science for Sustainability, she continues to advance understanding of how to shape communication, collaboration, and co-creation in ways that serve marginalized stakeholders' interests while promoting responsible innovation in life science domains. Her work emphasizes the importance of monitoring and evaluation approaches that help assess both intended and unintended impacts of research and innovation activities, ensuring improved societal outcomes.