NORTH-SOUTH CENTRE - ETH - North-South Centre North-South ...

Research for development – A challenging
approach in the academic environment
Research for development (R4D) is the approach of the North-South Centre, of the NCCR
North-South and of many southern partner institutions, such as the Centre Suisse
de Recherches Scientifiques. However, this approach is still under debate. The following
interview will shed light on common denominators and, to some extent, diverging
opinions as to the effective meaning of R4D. It will also discuss challenges and benefits
seen from different perspectives.
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FOCUS
Research for development
Participants:
Bassirou Bonfoh (CSRS),
Isabel Guenther (NADEL),
Urs Wiesmann (NCCR North-South),
Barbara Becker (North-South Centre)
Interviewer: Ursula Gugger Suter (North-South Centre)
When thinking about research for development (R4D),
what crosses your mind first?
Isabel Guenther: The first thing that crosses my mind is research
that understands or finds solutions to problems of
developing countries. But, R4D does not have to be applied
research directly related to development. Research can
also indirectly have an effect on development.
Urs Wiesmann: The first thing that comes to my mind is that
there are many misconceptions about this term. The misconception
that R4D is only for the South; the misconception
that it is mainly application of Northern knowledge in
the South; the misconception that it is about the power of
knowledge, which can override any other power; and the
misconception that everyone knows what development is.
Bassirou Bonfoh: I agree with Urs. When we talk about R4D,
people believe that it is development for the less-developed
countries. But for me, R4D is related to the more developed
and the less developed countries. It depends in which
areas we want development to take place – development
of knowledge, or as Isabel mentioned, the transformation
of a situation by finding solutions. However, we know that
many areas need to be tackled in the less developed countries.
That is why there is – sometimes – a misconception
on R4D.
Barbara Becker: I got in touch with this concept in the
context of international agricultural research, where the
scientists debated whether R4D was diluting the agenda
of strategic research by shifting it towards applied science.
I think it is a concept which is very valid along the entire
research continuum.
The definition
Having gained a first impression of R4D, I would like to
know what its key characteristics are.
Bassirou Bonfoh: For me, the key characteristic is the continuum.
It starts with knowledge generation, with the understanding
of phenomena, which enables us to embed them
in the environment. The second key element is the solution:
How we want to transform things for the well-being of
humankind. Whereas knowledge generation could be seen
as fundamental or basic research, transformation could be
seen as applied research. These both go together.
Urs Wiesmann: Development is not happening nor needed
at a certain point in space or time, but it is of global concern.
Development in the sense of sustainable development is a
common responsibility of the global community. As a consequence,
R4D cannot be derived from research questions
alone. It has to be embedded in a transdisciplinary discourse,
while at the same time being disciplinary-rooted.
R4D is a recursive process where you cannot start with a
problem, then search for the solution and finally implement
it. It is a circle, which has to go on aiming at more knowledge-based
instead of power-based solutions. In that
sense, R4D has an emancipatory dimension.
Barbara Becker: That is interesting. I also believe that the
environment in which R4D is embedded is very important.
I think there are three main characteristics of R4D. One is its
impact-orientation: R4D is not “art for art’s sake”, it wants
to achieve something in society. The second characteristic
is what Urs called the transdisciplinary discourse. I think, it
needs a network or chain of actors, each with different roles
and responsibilities. Third, I believe it needs an enabling
environment, an environment that supports such a research
approach. For example, R4D cannot be performed at
a university whose only focus is its publication record.
Isabel Guenther: I think it’s difficult to say what the key characteristics
of good R4D are. As already mentioned, R4D can