Science and Story in Development

Given the importance of social location to research practice, a particularly compelling problem for social studies of science is how research activities emerge in a new sector. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in less-developed countries (LDCs) are initiating research, often in a style of `alternative' agriculture. I account for this development using concepts from semiotic and structural network approaches. While many studies stress linkages as the key to technoscientific organization, `delinking' is especially important to the emergence of a new research sector in the Third World. Stories of participation, indigenous knowledge and greening allow NGOs to capitalize on local relationships and tap external resources by offering the technological alternative of `organics'. But such institutions are also buffeted by the opportunities and constraints of resources imported from outside. This development is illustrated by the case of Shamba, an NGO whose research involvements illustrate the promise and pitfalls of both locality and linkages.