Producing Knowledge to Raise Rural Living Standards: How Universities Connect with Resource-Poor Municipalities in South Africa

Peter T. Jacobs (), Alexis Habiyaremye, Bhekiwe Fakudze (), Kgabo Ramoroka () and Siyanda Jonas ()
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Peter T. Jacobs: Economic Performance and Development, Human Sciences Research Council
Bhekiwe Fakudze: Economic Performance and Development, Human Sciences Research Council
Kgabo Ramoroka: Economic Performance and Development, Human Sciences Research Council
Siyanda Jonas: Economic Performance and Development, Human Sciences Research Council

The European Journal of Development Research, 2019, vol. 31, issue 4, No 8, 901 pages

Abstract: Abstract This article explores the extent to which South African universities partake in science and innovations designed to raise the living standards of poor rural residents. It concentrates on how well universities have fulfilled their knowledge-production for societal benefit missions in practice, through a comparison of the performance of universities across three relevant initiatives. It contributes to the existing research by showcasing how user-oriented innovation value chains operate and the crucial roles of stakeholders along such chains to optimise benefits for people in resource-poor rural municipalities. Our findings suggest that the science-for-society value chain is non-linear, rather than a straight line as presumed by much of the existing research. As the government department leading South Africa’s innovation policy, the Department of Science and Technology has been instrumental in fostering a user-oriented mission among knowledge producers.

Keywords: Innovation; Universities; Co-learning; Communities; Participatory; Developmental (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1057/s41287-019-0192-5

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