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

FOCUS:
Research for development
What are the key characteristics of research for development (R4D)? When is research
relevant for development in the North-South context? Is the R4D approach compatible
with a scientific career? The concept of R4D is accepted in the development community.
In the university environment, however, the evaluation system needs to be revised
in order to attach academic value to R4D.
At first sight, the niche of the North-South Centre within
the research portfolio of the ETH Zurich appears to be geographically
determined, as the terms North and South suggest.
However, these words are simply meant as a proxy
for describing countries or regions with different economic
conditions. Content-wise, the approach of the North-South
Centre can best be defined as “Research for development”
(R4D). The R4D concept has received broad acceptance in
the development community over the last few years. For example,
the British Department for International Development
(DFID) maintains a research portal (www.research4development.info)
with 25 000 project and document records,
including more than 4000 peer-reviewed articles.
Amongst others, Samih Sawiris (Egyptian entrepreneur),
Anton Stadler (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation),
and Urs Wiesmann (NCCR North-South) – representing
the private sector, development cooperation and
science – discussed the interface of research and development
and the necessary conditions for implementing
results. We hope that the following chapters will further
contribute to a constructive debate on this issue.
In this year’s “Focus” section, colleagues of the research
community discuss the R4D concept and its characteristics
from different perspectives. They position R4D in the context
of academic research and the university environment.
They emphasise the interface with development and the
limited role of research agents. All contributions highlight
the complementarity of researchers and other stakeholders,
including their different knowledge systems. They are also
explicit on the appropriate time horizon for R4D. While it
takes time to establish mutually trustful cross-cultural
research partnerships and to generate relevant research
findings, at some point the researchers have to withdraw
and let other stakeholders carry on with the implementation
of the results. It is becoming increasingly apparent that
the implementation of research results needs an enabling
environment to make the “4D” happen, to engender development.
This can only be achieved by functioning institutions
and under conditions of good governance.
The North-South Centre strives for introducing the concept
of R4D in the academic debate at the ETH Zurich and in the
wider scientific community. For this purpose, we organised
a North-South Forum on the topic of how to transfer research
findings into policy and practice in May 2009.
Researchers visiting the project partners, Madagascar
Research for development –
The North-South Centre approach
R4D is characterised as being demand-driven by the
Southern partners, of direct relevance for development,
and solution-oriented. The research design calls for
envisioning the potential impact pathways, looking beyond
the immediate research results or outputs such as publications.
R4D integrates various players along the knowledge
generation chain from basic to applied research, and to
implementing agencies and institutions. It is thus transdisciplinary
in nature. The ETH Zurich contribution is
usually close to the basic research end of this chain and
involves strategic partners who connect this contribution
to the implementation side.
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FOCUS
Research for development