Building local research capacity in higher education: a conceptual model

ABSTRACT

Building local research capacity is an enduring challenge that confronts many higher education systems particularly when aspirations for a knowledge economy dominate policymaking. While research capacity has received tremendous attention among international development agencies and scholars, the discourse is largely oriented towards infrastructure, skills training and best practices. This study interrogates the concept of local research capacity building as a dynamic process. By contrasting the policy rhetoric with the lived experiences of academics based in Kazakhstan, we propose a conceptual model to illustrate the diverse levels of research capacity building: resources, locality, relevance, human capital and culture. This study examines research capacity building in the context of the internationalisation of higher education as researchers become increasingly mobile. We argue that investing in infrastructure and human capital are insufficient for capacity building. Rather, sustainable capacity building requires research that is relevant to the local context and a cultural environment that can nurture a vibrant research community.

KEYWORDS:

• Capacity building
• research capacity
• higher education
• knowledge production
• internationalisation
• local development

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Magzhan Amangazy and Nazym Suleimen for their contributions and resourcefulness as research assistants during the data collection of this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. A city in southern Kazakhstan.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan [4361 Гф415ОТ].