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Alternative Technologies and Organizational Forms: A Review and Typology of Initiatives in Agriculture Dinesh Abrol Delhi Science Forum and All India Peoples’

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Presentation on theme: "Alternative Technologies and Organizational Forms: A Review and Typology of Initiatives in Agriculture Dinesh Abrol Delhi Science Forum and All India Peoples’"— Presentation transcript:

1 Alternative Technologies and Organizational Forms: A Review and Typology of Initiatives in Agriculture Dinesh Abrol Delhi Science Forum and All India Peoples’ Science Network Thrissur, India 13-16 October 2014

2 Social Movements, Science, Technology and Development: Deploy the lens of Undone S&T When social movements undertake the development of alternative technologies and organizational forms their contribution needs to be understood as “Undone S&T” being organized – The concept of “Undone S&T” needs to be understood as a process of epistemic modernization of S&T fields, which evolves as a countervailing process to its industrialization and neo-liberalization and involves recognition of a specific type of ignorance – Knowable unknown but Undone S&T that the involved scientists and publics also see as positive or desirable to undertake – Undone S&T has even sometimes the potential for surprising the dominant as well as alternative pursuing groups of scientists and social movements);

3 Undone S&T Closing and Opening of Spaces  Since the conflict between the more and less powerful is obviously fundamental for understanding the role of Undone S&T being undertaken by the social movements, closing and opening of the spaces for Undone S&T being undertaken needs to be analysed in terms of the nature of framings and strategies under development through the agency of social movements  Framings of Undone S&T in India and the structural change affected for alternative technologies and organizational forms How do we understand the configuring of the undone S&T in terms of the dynamics of the nexus of relations among social movements, governments, and industries (the extra-S&T field relations) is critical to working out our future strategies for scaling up (experiment, real world experiment, niche formation, regime change)  Analysis should focus on the role and relationships emerging through the efforts being undertaken for Alternative Technologies and Organizational Forms as historically evolving contributions of “Undone S&T” and the relationships that the social movements have been able to build with science, technology, state, industry, and civil society Complex dynamics of the inter-field relations and the politics of scientific knowledge and non- knowledge needs to be therefore understood in the historical and comparative context of interventions from a political sociological perspective

4 Alternative Technologies and Organizational Forms: As “Undone S&T” undertaken by Social Movements contributing to Industrial Innovation  “Undone S&T” when embedded in a theory of dynamics of scientific and technological fields and industrial change, the two organizing axis involved in the building of our understanding of the dynamics of undone S&T are the epistemic conflict dimension and the relationships between social movements and industrial-technological change are  the level of epistemic conflict in a research field of S&T and its extra-field relations in terms of relations between scientists, government, industry and people and  the relationship to industrial and technical change in terms of the policy and institutional reforms for (sun-rising) that support the creation of alternative technologies, techniques (practices), and /or organisational structures or the policy and institutional reforms for (sun-setting) that support technology / technique targeted for sunset and those opposed to existing or emergent ones  The level of conflict is variable, based again on the degree of opposition / of alternative to an existing scientific and technological field or to industrial order. The proposed two axis typology for analysis is required to be conceived as a continuum when applied to concrete cases.

5 Alternative Industrial Order Movements (AIMs): Alternative technologies targeted for Sunrise  Alternative Industrial Order Movements (AIMs), technology-and product- oriented movements (TPMs) and certification movements-the latter may develop out of the former) can indicate high epistemic conflict and involve the emergence of scientific counter-publics particularly when the technology is targeted for Sunrise,  Undone S&T during the emergence phase as research on alternative technologies, products, and production techniques – Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase institutional support and funding granted for research but often limited, (Example of agro-ecology- ‘sunrising’ of agro-ecological approaches by the social movements, LEISA, Biomass based Industrial Production), Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase involve the building of countervailing industrial power(Examples-Open Source Seed Systems, introduction of bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides), Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase evolve into complementation through incorporation & transformation (Examples- IPM or INM, Soil and Water management, drudgery reducing technologies, Or industrial regime transition through transformation ( certification schemes in organics)

6 Industrial Opposition Movements (AIMs): Alternative technologies targeted for Sunset  AIMs that though indicate high epistemic conflict and involve the emergence of scientific counter-publics but when the technology / technique is targeted for Sunset  Undone S&T during the emergence phase as research on risk, safety, uncertainty; Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase are funding granted / demanded for risk evaluation and partial moratorium with precautionary politics (Examples-Genetically Modified Organisms, NPM), Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase governments respond with public participation mechanisms and softening of technocratic governance S&T (Example- Non-pesticide Management (NPM), Jind Experiment, Karnal; Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase industry may block change with contra-public strategies (Examples-Drip irrigation, Power Tillers

7 Movements for restructuring of state sector, public governance and industrial organization Industrial restructuring movements (IRMs)-indicate though low epistemic conflict but focus more on changing the ownership and organizational dimensions Undone S&T during the emergence phase undertaken as research into the new organizational forms and the development of organizational technologies or techniques Extra-field relations of Undone S&T during the routinization phase involves diffusion of new forms, Extra-field relations of Undone S&T during the routinization phase can involve radical restructuring of relations among the people, government and industry Extra-field relations of Undone S&T during the routinization phase can mean organizational forms remain in niche position, and Or mainstream coopts some aspects of organizational innovation Examples of Peoples’ Planning, Kutumbshree, Green Army

8 Industrial access movements  Industrial access movements indicate though low epistemic conflict but focus more on access dimension  Undone S&T as support for research on access issues Funding granted for access category Advocacy organizations partner with industry Advocacy organizations shift into service provisioning Contra-public dynamics emerge from neo-liberal ideology  Examples: Access to Water, Energy, Fertilizers, Laboratory and on-farm research (OFR), farmer field schools

9 Development of Social Carriers FGs, TGs and SGs: Group enterprise formation Stage of development of relations with S&T personnel and institutions Need analysis, User capacity building, Continuous technology improvement, Network formation Relationship with larger political movements


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