The consultant’s roles in knowledge production and knowledge exchange

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Exploring Knowledge Production, Ownership, and Exchange in International Development Education Practice and Research

Proposal

Illustrative examples from this presentation will explore the concept of knowledge exchange, production, and ownership in International Development Education (IDE) through the lens and activities of The Consultant. What knowledge does The Consultant create or produce? Who “owns” this knowledge? How does The Consultant engage with other actors in knowledge exchange, and what are the ways in which it is defined for or by The Consultant?

The presentation will examine the concept of knowledge exchange that some International Development Organizations (IDOs) (e.g., UNICEF, the World Bank Group) have defined more narrowly to describe a functionalist approach to sharing experience-based or tacit knowledge among peers. As described in A Results-focused Planning Guide for Development Practitioners (World Bank, 2015) and UNICEF’s (2015) Knowledge Exchange Toolbox, the purpose of knowledge exchange is to connect practitioners in order to achieve improved, measurable results, and to promote innovation. The presenter will offer alternative definitions and counter-examples, and will probe what this narrowed definition can imply for the wider field.

One role for The Consultant in International Development Education (IDE) is as a “knowledge broker” of research and theory to and from practice “in the field.” The Consultant’s work is shaped or delineated by guidelines or requirements outlined in a “Request for Proposals” (RfP) or Terms of Reference (TOR) or similar document issued by the donor or project funder. These guidelines may require the consulting firm or the individual to engage in one-way transmission of “expert” knowledge (e.g., North to South, or South to North). Alternatively, The Consultant may be invited to design an innovation with broader parameters and with greater freedom to design a more creative proposal, which makes space for a more lateral or horizontal approach to knowledge exchange, as in co-designing implementation activities with international project partners. In 2018, the role of The Consultant as a knowledge broker who connects existing research and scholarship with problems of development practice is also increasingly ignored (e.g., when social media is used to mobilize funding for unresearched “innovations,” or when foundations fund likable programs that lack both technical capacity and accounting transparency by failing to conduct due diligence).

IDE practice that is grounded in a commitment to human rights and social justice, shares the understanding of knowledge exchange as a dynamic and fluid process. It also extends beyond this, to encompass knowledge exchange as respectful dialogue among equal partners. It persists in asking questions that challenge dominant, harmful paradigms and in trying out answers that offer new possibilities. To illustrate this, the presentation will conclude with the introduction of an innovative RfP or TOR for audience discussion, which instantiates knowledge exchange in the IDE project design, implementation and evaluation process.


References
UNICEF. (2015). Knowledge Exchange Toolbox https://www.unicef.org/knowledge-exchange/index_82053.html

Ward, V., Smith, S., House, A., and Hamer, S. Exploring knowledge exchange: a useful framework for practice and policy. Social Science Medicine. Soc Sci Med. 2012 Feb;74(3):297-304. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.09.021. Epub 2011 Oct 8.

World Bank. 2015. The Art of Knowledge Exchange: A Results-Focused Planning Guide for Development Practitioners, Second Edition Updated. Washington, DC.https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/17540 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.

Author

• Shirley J Miske, Miske Witt & Associates Inc.