Progressing from Science Communication to Engagement: Community Voices on Water Quality and Access in Makhanda

Linda Khumalo, Martin Mickelsson, Ronen Fogel, Nhamo Mutingwende, Lwazikazi Madikiza and Janice Limson ()
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Linda Khumalo: Rhodes University Biotechnology Innovation Centre (RUBIC), Rhodes University, Makhanda 6140, South Africa
Martin Mickelsson: Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
Ronen Fogel: Rhodes University Biotechnology Innovation Centre (RUBIC), Rhodes University, Makhanda 6140, South Africa
Nhamo Mutingwende: Rhodes University Biotechnology Innovation Centre (RUBIC), Rhodes University, Makhanda 6140, South Africa
Lwazikazi Madikiza: Rhodes University Biotechnology Innovation Centre (RUBIC), Rhodes University, Makhanda 6140, South Africa
Janice Limson: Rhodes University Biotechnology Innovation Centre (RUBIC), Rhodes University, Makhanda 6140, South Africa

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: The EU’s Responsible Research and Innovation framework advocates for engagement between communities and scientists, creating opportunities for scientific research and processes to be informed and shaped by community voices. To date, few examples in the literature explore this in practice. Hence, key questions remain as to the role that communities play in this framework and the nature of and extent to which community voices and localised perspectives inform research and innovation. This paper explores how a collaborative community engagement process, facilitated at the outset, could meaningfully inform the establishment of a water quality testing facility. In Makhanda, a water-scarce region of South Africa, focus group discussions as well as site visits/observations integrated community and researcher knowledges to shape the community-engaged water testing facility. This study details how the daily assessment of water by the community provided valuable insights to the researchers on the nature and extent of factors affecting water quality and informed the sites and timing of water testing in subsequent scientific measurements of the same. Furthermore, it opened pathways to sustained, longer-term engagement between scientists and communities around water quality, highlighting the need for a multi-stakeholder focus to support community agency around access to safe water.

Keywords: science engagement; responsible research and innovation; community; knowledge integration; biotechnology; water quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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