Experiences in the dissemination and utilisation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) research findings from three southern African Universities

Abstract

The dissemination and utilisation of research knowledge produced at universities has been debated in recent times. Recent changes and developments at universities suggest an entrepreneurial model of academic research production in which universities have the responsibility not only to carry out research and teaching but also to disseminate research outputs directly to the users for economic growth of the society. In this paper, we present findings on the nature of ICT research studies conducted, the dissemination and utilisation of the research findings in the past five years at the three universities in Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. A major finding of the study was that many ICT studies conducted at these universities did not target particular community groups for dissemination of knowledge generated and consequently, research outputs from these projects were not delivered to their potential end-users. The ICT research knowledge findings remained located mostly in university departments, libraries, and donor or government ministry offices. The main challenge was that of effective dissemination and utilisation of research knowledge outputs by these academic institutions. The main recommendation emerging from the study was on policies and strategies to monitor research outputs and to intensify dissemination and utilisation of academic knowledge produced.