LAUSR

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to reflect on the potentialities and limitations of the NIS approach to dealing with development challenges and the role of STI policy in that process. The working thesis is that the approach has conceptual limitations which work against its analytical usefulness to face development challenges, but that it still provides a useful framework for thinking in terms of STI requirements to overcome those challenges. We claim that what the NIS does and what it can do are two equally important sides of the same process of knowledge creation and application at the service of development. We explore the origins and evolution of the NIS approach and the need for a new STI policy framework in the search for conceptual tools to contribute to democratic, sustainable and equitable societies.