Aid and Academia: An Uneasy Relationship

Abstract

In this article, the author sets out to identify some of the main causes behind the tensions between the research and aid communities. The observation is made that Nordic development research has come to be perceived as primarily within the domain of development co-operation rather than within the domain of overall research policy. This raises issues about the drawing rights of those who fund ongoing research. The author warns against a narrow instrumentalist view of research (the instrumentalist fallacy), but also against a view that does not sufficiently recognise the practical pay-offs from research, which can be both immediate and substantial (the irrelevantist fallacy). However, interaction between researchers and policy-makers is likely to lead to frustration if it is not recognised that research and policy-making are different activities requiring different skills. Consultancy is often not research, but must have its own specificities and standards if it is to be credible. The quality of consultancy, however, is likely to be enhanced if there is a close relationship between the two. Towards the end of the article, the author calls for a larger role for research as an intervention area in its own right.