OPEN SOURCE AND COMMONS IN DEVELOPMENT

N° ISBN - 978-2-7380-1284-5International audienceThis article discusses the interrelation between open source knowledge development and the production of research commons in four development-oriented research networks with an Indian/Dutch composition. The main objective of the article is to describe the planned research activities aimed to understand the functioning of open source and commons from the perspective of local development. The article discusses three hypotheses which will be further investigated in the coming years by the Open Source and Commons Research Group of CTC1, namely:. • The social-technical dynamics in the knowledge development of genomics and other life sciences technologies transform the private-public research setting into more open source and commons oriented research networks • The open source approach will show a trend towards a blurring of the designer-user dichotomy, as the user will also be challenged to become co-designer, which will create new opportunities and incentives for involving resource-poor client groups and farmers in the process of technology development • Commons represent a new social condition of knowledge production (to be distinguished from private and public). By describing the planned research activities the authors aim to stimulate a critical reflection and debate on the social relevance of scientific commons and the opportunities for inclusive technology development that appear to be emerging due to the changes in knowledge production and property regimes