A Social Network Approach to Analyzing Research Systems: A Study of Kenya, Ghana, and Kerala, India

Describes a social network approach to analyzing science and technology systems, taking into account the primary sectors involved in agriculture and natural resource management. It outlines a methodology for producing an inventory of the set of relationships that actually occur rather than purely formal, “on paper” linkages, which may or may not be operational. It describes the kinds of information sources that may be generated by such an analysis. Summary results are presented from a study of 137 organizations involved in agriculture and natural resource management in Kenya, Ghana, and the Indian state of Kerala. Organizations include state research institutes, universities, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Results of the pilot study focus first on internal organizational linkages, then on external linkages and perceptions of the role of linkages in improving research capacity. Findings suggest that Kerala’s researchers operate in less bureaucratic, more cooperative organizational settings than their African counterparts. Priorities for capacity building, as expressed by the researchers themselves, were improving links with extension, with international research organizations, and with policymakers. Workshops, travel, and electronic communications were seen as less important. Although there is a common belief that universities and national research institutes are insular, study results show that the linkages identified between such organizations are predominantly cross-sectoral. [author]