Those who become involved and commit themselves to bring forward an innovative process become agents of change in their organizations. Innovation in an organization comes about as a result of the individual contributions of its members. Concepts such as “intrapreneurs”, “idea generators” and others demonstrate how individuals and groups of individuals bring new ideas and focuses to institutional tasks.

This process implies the necessity of a rupture, given that organizations tend to protect themselves against instability and variation and, as a result, it is seldom the organization, from its knowledge and accumulated experience, that decides that its policies or regulatory statutes are inacceptable. The role of the agent of change is to challenge and refocus the traditional institutional methods, and propose ideas which aim toward improvements and a transformation of the organizational reality and/or the rural community where its actions are developed.

Those individuals who generate interesting problems, who discover new forms with which to view the organization, the rural community or the society, are the true discoverers of niches for the development of innovations. They are of great value to an organization and are as such primary creative capital, and who’s contribution to the organization is incalculable.

Knowing how to capitalize on opportunities is knowledge most relevant at the hour of innovation in the rural medium. The ability to visualize new problems and needs in the organization and its context which demand the introduction of innovations is an ability basic to the impulse for processes of innovative change. It is important to have the opportunity to generate rural innovations. To achieve this, spaces for reflexive and critical thought must be provided so as to envisage a different order of problems, which escape those of the most routine labours, which rarely provide room for creative ideas.

The Path to Learning strives to be an active and efficient space where the strengthening of capacities for change among these agents can occur. Following is the list of participants who form part of this pioneering initiative.