Development Labs: University Knowledge Production and Global Poverty

• Published in: Review of higher education Vol. 41; no. 1; pp. 113 - 139
• Main Author: Collins, Christopher S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 01.09.2017
• Subjects: Agricultural Skills; Case Studies; Corporate culture; Criticism; Developed Nations; Developing countries; Economic Development; Educational Technology; Ethnography; Federal Aid; Foreign Countries; Globalization; Higher education; Interviews; Knowledge; Knowledge Economy; LDCs; Organizational Culture; Poverty; Presidents; Program Descriptions; Public Agencies; Public good; Qualitative Research; Task forces; Universities; North Carolina; Uganda; California; Virginia; Massachusetts; Texas; New York; Washington DC; Thousand Oaks California; United States > US; Oklahoma
• ISSN: 0162-5748; 1090-7009; 1090-7009
• DOI: 10.1353/rhe.2017.0035

In 2012, the United States Agency for International Development allocated $137 million to fund seven universities to create "development labs" to advance social/economic progress and reduce poverty. International economic development has become a booming field and industry but is also highly contested. The function of the university as a development strategy has great potential but can also be subject to criticism. This qualitative study included a visit to all seven universities and generated findings related to a development lab model and mentality, including: the importance of failure, knowledge co-creation, and the role of the academy in constructing culture.