Chapter 8
Strategic Partnerships Between Universities
and Non-academic Institutions
for Sustainability and Innovation: Insights
from the University of Ghana
Adelina Maria Mensah and Christopher Gordon
8.1 Introduction
Sustainability science is an emerging academic field that holds great promise for
translating evidence-based research into practical long-term solutions. This is especially at the local level, where unique developmental paradigms and socioeconomic,
cultural and environmental systems co-exist (e.g. Kates et al. 2001; Clark and
Dickson 2003; Komiyama and Takeuchi 2006; Lang et al. 2012; Brandt et al.
2013; Miller 2014; Caniglia et al. 2017) (see Chaps. 4, 8 Vol. 2). In sustainability
science, evidence is generated through inter- and transdisciplinary research
approaches involving both academic and non-academic stakeholders (Komiyama
and Takeuchi 2006; Lang et al. 2012; Caniglia et al. 2017) (Chaps. 4, 8 Vol. 2).
However, different interpretations can affect the manner in which knowledge is
generated, selected and understood for decision-making and implementation, especially where decisions regarding justice, social values and related moral and ethical
choices are concerned (Hadorn et al. 2006; Juntti et al. 2010) (see Chap. 8 Vol. 2).
The effective production and transfer of knowledge therefore requires a shift from
simply producing information (or making information available to decision-makers)
to proactively facilitating the sharing of different forms of knowledge as a means of
improving the problem-solving capacity of stakeholders and decision-makers
(Sheate and Partidário 2010).
A. M. Mensah (*) · C. Gordon
Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
e-mail: ammensah@staff.ug.edu.gh; cgordon@staff.ug.edu.gh
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
A. Gasparatos et al. (eds.), Sustainability Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa I,
Science for Sustainable Societies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4458-3_8
245
Strategic Partnerships Between Universities
and Non-academic Institutions
for Sustainability and Innovation: Insights
from the University of Ghana
Adelina Maria Mensah and Christopher Gordon
8.1 Introduction
Sustainability science is an emerging academic field that holds great promise for
translating evidence-based research into practical long-term solutions. This is especially at the local level, where unique developmental paradigms and socioeconomic,
cultural and environmental systems co-exist (e.g. Kates et al. 2001; Clark and
Dickson 2003; Komiyama and Takeuchi 2006; Lang et al. 2012; Brandt et al.
2013; Miller 2014; Caniglia et al. 2017) (see Chaps. 4, 8 Vol. 2). In sustainability
science, evidence is generated through inter- and transdisciplinary research
approaches involving both academic and non-academic stakeholders (Komiyama
and Takeuchi 2006; Lang et al. 2012; Caniglia et al. 2017) (Chaps. 4, 8 Vol. 2).
However, different interpretations can affect the manner in which knowledge is
generated, selected and understood for decision-making and implementation, especially where decisions regarding justice, social values and related moral and ethical
choices are concerned (Hadorn et al. 2006; Juntti et al. 2010) (see Chap. 8 Vol. 2).
The effective production and transfer of knowledge therefore requires a shift from
simply producing information (or making information available to decision-makers)
to proactively facilitating the sharing of different forms of knowledge as a means of
improving the problem-solving capacity of stakeholders and decision-makers
(Sheate and Partidário 2010).
A. M. Mensah (*) · C. Gordon
Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
e-mail: ammensah@staff.ug.edu.gh; cgordon@staff.ug.edu.gh
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
A. Gasparatos et al. (eds.), Sustainability Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa I,
Science for Sustainable Societies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4458-3_8
245