Forestry research uptake in Cameroon: causes and threats of informal communication and knowledge sharing

Abstract

This article links research (the area in which knowledge is generated) and knowledge management (the area devoted to promoting the value and sharing of knowledge). The objective of the study was to understand the conditions whereby communication and knowledge-sharing strategies contribute to research uptake. The results emerging from a qualitative analysis of data collected from research centres, public administrations, donor agencies and NGOs in the forestry sector in Cameroon allowed us to confirm the link between the effectiveness of these strategies and their consistency with the context and with researchers? theories of change. The analysis also finds disconnections between the official discourse of public decision-makers and what they concede in more informal settings. There are many reasons for this double discourse. Its main consequence is the predominance of informal relationships between researchers and decision-makers. While these informal relationships are effective in influencing policies, they present a number of risks that are also set out in this article.