Knowledge for development? : comparing British, Japanese, Swedish and World Bank aid

This book explores what the new approach to aid, based on knowledge means in both theory and practice. It pays special attention to shared proposals to invest in education, to develop the ability to generate new knowledge or acquire it from outside, and the importance of being able to absorb relevant knowledge. It argues that too much of the emphasis of knowledge-based aid has been on developing capacity within agencies rather than addressing the expressed needs of Southern "partners." Moreover, it questions whether knowledge-based aid leads to greater agency certainty about what constitutes good development. The book is the first detailed attempt to analyze this new discourse and practice of knowledge-based aid. It builds an optimistic tension between a positive language of knowledge within agencies and bureaucratic power in place.