1. Knowledge production in a capacity-building network

2. Southern Africa

3. Modes of knowledge production • Gibbons, Limoges, Nowotny • Bawa, Jansen, Kraak • Mode 1: disciplinary, small teams, peer-review, hierarchical • Mode 2: transdisciplinary, transinstitutional, contextual, democratic

4. Research arises in the context of application • We deal with development challenges • Research problem is justified by a science gap in the impact pathway to development

5. Transdisciplinary • Research team is varied in composition across disciplines and the knowledge produced is part of an evolving framework • Capacity building network is a complex system of many different fields • Teams to address emergent problems

6. Transinstitutional • Partnerships - MCC • Researchers are in several institutions, of diverse types • Universities core of network • Research institutes • Teams include govt & NGO • Teams work directly with communities eg FFBAR • End users

7. Embedding end users • Conventional research requires outreach or transfer of results • Mode 2 KP embeds the end user in the research process so that results are also their product • Mzingwane Catchment Council • Farmers • NGOs

8. Dissemination • Research findings are communicated to the participants in the project, and via networks, but are not necessarily reported in the manner of Mode 1 disciplinary journals • Findings are available in the community, not just in journals

9. Multiple sources of funding • Not a single grant to fund a project • Everyone brings something to the table • Co-financing • Indirect financing

10. Democratic organisation • Collaborative team not my research team • Knowledge is produced under negotiation, when the needs of a variety of actors is included

11. Thank-you