Technologies, innovation and development
I study innovation and access in sectors that are critical for human welfare and development: vaccines, biologics, and seed systems. The question is centered in how different types of actors in resource-constrained countries can build the technological, institutional, and socio-political capabilities to produce and access what their populations need rather than depending entirely on what others supply.
A central argument in my work is that technological capabilities alone are not enough: firms and countries also need complementary organisational capabilities and political capabilities. This is, the ability to navigate power asymmetries, build legitimacy, and shape the institutional environment in which innovation happens. This work connects directly to my broader interest in how capability-building drives structural transformation.
Projects
Evaluating Chile’s Sustainable Productive Development Programme (DPS) (2025)
Lead Researcher. IDB & Chile’s Ministry of Economy.
Designed and implemented theory of change and evaluation framework for transformative industrial and sustainability policy.
Background Paper for FAO on Democratising Science, Technology and Innovation in Agrifood Systems (2024)
Co-Investigator. IDS. Funder: FAO.
Produced analytical paper on inclusive STI approaches for agrifood transformation.
UK’s Drug Discovery Innovation System: Initiatives and Functionalities (2023–2024)
Co-Investigator. IDS (UK) and GRIPS (Japan). Funder: University of Warwick.
December 2023 – April 2024.
Mapped initiatives and system functions in the UK drug discovery ecosystem; conducted targeted interviews and desk research to identify coordination gaps and policy options.
Bolero: Improving Coffee and Cocoa Rootstocks for Low-Input Farming (2022–2026)
Researcher. CIRAD (France) with European partners. Funder: European Commission.
Led research on institutional and social innovations to scale impact of agricultural technologies.
Digital Health Innovations with and for Young People (2022–2023)
Researcher. IDS. Funders: Lancet & FT Commission, Covid Collective.
Analysed pathways to implement digital health solutions at scale in LMICs.
Innovation and Complementary Capabilities for Vaccines (2022–2025)
Project Leader. IDS with CENIT (Argentina), GRIPS (Japan), University of Sussex. Funders: ESRC, JSPS.
Directed £800k international study on vaccine innovation systems across eight countries.
Selected publications
Cremaschi, A., & Marín, A. (2025). From Commons to Commodities: Seed Regimes Consolidation and Implications to Sustainability Transitions. Review of Political Economy, 1–31.
Bortz, G.; Marin, A. and Stubrin, L. (forthcoming) “Steering the Wheel to Deliver What? Innovation, Coalitions and Directionality in Biologics in Latin America”, Science and Public Policy. Link
Marin, A., Stubrin, L. and Vanzwanenberg, P. (2023) ‘Technological Lock-in in Action: Appraisal and Policy Commitment in Argentina's Seed Sector’, Research Policy, 52.2, 104678. Link
Marin, A. (2026) Preparedness after Covid-19: Global Responses or National Sovereignty, IDS Policy Brief, in press. Link
Marin, A. and Morales, J. (2025). Technological Autonomy or Global Integration: Navigating Vaccine Dependency in LMICs. IDS Working Paper 2024/000. Institute of Development Studies, Brighton. Link