Paper short abstract:

This paper explores how the academic actors interact for knowledge production within the Kigali Innovation City (KIC)'s knowledge space, and policy implications of the identified decentring knowledge production dynamics for inclusive publicness of KIC.

Paper long abstract:

Science and innovation ecosystems are important for societal development, and how this nexus plays out is a function not only of who the actors in the ecosystem are, but also how they interact at multiple levels. Instigated in 2016, KIC is being developed in the sub-urban area of Rwanda's capital city of Kigali as a science and innovation ecosystem to inspire Rwanda's development aspirations of development agenda becoming a knowledge-based and technology-driven economy.

The paper reports on doctoral pilot research which focussed on fifteen KIC Knowledge Space actors categorised into: (i) Central actors - five academic entities physically co-located within KIC's geographical boundary; and (ii) Actors in proximity - ten universities located in close proximity to central actors. The study sought to generate contextually-grounded and place-based evidence through the triple helix system (THS) lens to understand actors' interactions in R&I in a developing country setting.

Interactions for R&I in KIC knowledge space were not only influenced by the academic actors, but they also stemmed from STI policy interventions driven by government and/or hybrid actors such as funding and capacity development agencies. Moreover, the academic actors in proximity played a leading role in initiating interactions for knowledge and innovation production. Drawing on that decentring knowledge production dynamics, the study advanced a set of policy implications - as a point of departure to leverage and align the existing efforts and synergies with the KIC's development outcomes, for an inclusive place-based ecosystem, with the potential to inspire inclusive national development.