What is a Knowledge Program?
Knowledge Integration
The Pluralism Knowledge Program is part of a broader knowledge program of Hivos. A knowledge program is an academic-practitioner collaboration. While the generation of knowledge through research is an important component, knowledge development is perceived as a broader process. It includes three elements:
- knowledge production (research and transformation of existing knowledge)
- knowledge dissemination (outreach and capacity building activities)
- knowledge application (utilisation of knowledge for societal problem-solving)
By integrating various forms of knowledge - academic knowledge, activist knowledge, educational and cultural expressions of knowledge – new insights can be created and strategies formulated that contribute to the development of new policies and practices for the development sector. This is not a linear process of knowledge production, but rather a continuum of integrated interactions.
A collaborative network
During our specific Knowledge Program, a network will be created in which all participants can collaborate at the various levels of the program: (1) four Regional Working Groups, (2) the Steering Committee and its Daily Management Committee, as well as (3) international experts and consultants. All participants work on specific aspects of ‘promoting pluralism’ through an approach of (comparative) theorisation, analysis and knowledge application.