Knowledge, innovation and re-inventing technical assistance for development

This paper traces the evolution of Technical Assistance to Technical Co-operation alongside more recent concepts of Knowledge Management and Innovation Systems. Originally conceived as transfer from a knowledge-rich North to a knowledge-poor South, the later terminology represents a more co-operative and dialogic conception. The evolution has been driven by persistent issues concerning capacity and knowledge-in-context and by changing approaches to development practice. The paper argues, however, that a further epistemological turn is needed that conceives of co-operative learning as ‘learning with’, where difference between actors is conceived as a resource, rather than a problem, for knowledge production.