On producing and sharing knowledge across boundaries: experiences from the interfaces of an international development research network

Abstract

The number of large research networks and programmes engaging in knowledge production for development has grown over the past years. One of these programmes devoted to generating knowledge about and for development is National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North–South, a cross-disciplinary, international development research network funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation. Producing relevant knowledge for development is a core goal of the programme and an important motivation for many of the participating researchers. Over the years, the researchers have made use of various spaces for exchange and instruments for co-production of knowledge by academic and non-academic development actors. In this article we explore the characteristics of co-producing and sharing knowledge in interfaces between development research, policy and NCCR North–South practice. We draw on empirical material of the NCCR North–South programme and its specific programme element of the Partnership Actions. Our goal is to make use of the concept of the interface to reflect critically about the pursued strategies and instruments applied in producing and sharing knowledge for development across boundaries.

Acknowledgements

This article emerges from our research and co-ordination activities in the NCCR North–South, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). We are grateful to our informants and collaborators for sharing their experiences and insights with us. We are grateful to our reviewer for the critical comments they made. Any errors and the views expressed in this paper remain our responsibility.

Notes

1. See http://www.north-south.unibe.ch/.

2. As members of the NCCR North–South we assume different roles as researchers and co-ordinators (knowledge sharing, partnership actions) in this international development research network. The co-authorship allows us to analyse jointly our systematically collected sets of data to provide an analysis from within our own research network. Clearly, there is the issue of subjectivity and positionality in our account, which we cannot elaborate on further in the space provided by this article.

3. For further information on the concept of Partnership Actions and individual projects see also http://www.north-south.unibe.ch/content.php/page/id/228/.