Sustainable Development Through a Cross-Regional Research Partnership

In The Cambridge Handbook of Public-Private Partnerships, Intellectual Property Governance, and Sustainable Development
Margaret Chon, Pedro Roffe & Ahmed Abdel-Latif, eds.
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018), pp. 376-397
Co-authored with Jeremy de Beer

This chapter examines the Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) network as a unique cross-regional research platform. It links empirical and theoretical perspectives on PPPs to the key operational elements of Open AIR, including its core driving factors relevant to the development gap associated with IP and knowledge governance in Africa. In this regard, the chapter finds that insights from Open AIR’s construct and research findings, which flow from its activities as a research-driven rather than a product-driven initiative, can shine light on how PPPs (or cross-sector partnerships in general) can be better exploited and reengineered beyond their current and ad hoc interventionist outlook, in order to make them serve as effective sustainable development vehicles.

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