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- Convenors:
-
Emmanuel Ejim-Eze
(National Centre for Technology Management)
Deborah Ejim-Eze (Obafemi Awolowo University)
Kehinde Oluwaseun Omotoso (University of South Africa)
Gordon Bubou (University of Pretoria)
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- Format:
- Paper panel
- Stream:
- Agents of development: Communities, movements, volunteers and workers
- Location:
- L2.15
- Sessions:
- Wednesday 8 July, -
Time zone: Europe/Dublin
Short Abstract
Innovations may unfold amid persistent uncertainties & predictable policy shifts. By highlighting how power and agency are negotiated in volatile environments, this panel seeks contributions that re-imagine development as a process rooted not in stability, but in resilience & creative adaptation.
Description
Innovation processes in the Global South increasingly unfold in contexts marked by deep uncertainty, economic instability, policy inconsistency, currency fluctuations, and governance fragility. This panel seeks contributions on studies that have explored how firms, research institutions, and intermediaries navigate and adapt to such unpredictable environments. Drawing on perspectives from innovation systems theory, evolutionary economics, and development studies, the panel interrogates how uncertainty shapes learning dynamics, collaboration, and technological trajectories. We seek
Contributions on diverse cases across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to highlight how innovation actors devise coping strategies; ranging from informal knowledge networks and flexible partnerships to frugal and non-technological innovations that enable survival and adaptation. We also need to how state and non-state institutions mediate uncertainty through policy experimentation, digitalization, and international linkages.
By juxtaposing experiences from developing and emerging economies, the panel aims to illuminate the mechanisms through which innovation occurs despite instability, and how these mechanisms reconfigure notions of resilience, agency, and institutional learning within innovation systems. Ultimately, it asks: How can innovation systems be re-imagined to thrive under volatility rather than be constrained by it? The discussions in the panel will contribute to the Development Studies Association’s 2026 theme of “Power, Agency, and Futures” by uncovering how innovation actors exercise agency and negotiate power asymmetries in crafting alternative futures amidst structural uncertainty.
Accepted paper
Session 1 Wednesday 8 July, 2026, -Paper short abstract
This research examines how humanitarian aid can support locally-led education systems by leveraging their complex adaptive traits. It explores middle-tier capacity building and localization efforts on the Thai-Myanmar border to strengthen sustainable educational responses during protracted crises.
Paper long abstract
As protracted conflicts escalate globally, over 473 million children now live in crisis-affected contexts (Østby & Rustad, 2024), demanding education responses that move beyond interim solutions toward sustainable, locally-led systems (Burde et al., 2017; Winthrop & Matsui, 2013). This presentation investigates how humanitarian aid approaches can more effectively support education systems operating as complex adaptive systems (CAS) during emergencies, drawing on research in four settings on the Thai-Myanmar border. The analysis builds on comparative case studies which synthesize the perspectives of Karen and Karenni education authorities, teachers, teacher trainers, and international non-government organizations. Building on research demonstrating that locally-led education systems sustain effective programming through decentralized governance and adaptive feedback mechanisms (Tyrosvoutis, 2025; Rinehart, Layi Chan, and Tyrosvoutis, 2025), this presentation examines organizational features enabling resilience during crises. However, these systems often remain undermined by centralized donor requirements and rigid compliance frameworks (Haines & Buchanan, 2023; Décobert, 2020) that fail to recognize their complex adaptive capacity. This presentation addresses two critical questions: How can aid approaches support long-term strengthening of education systems and the redistribution power by leveraging systems’ complex adaptive traits? What agency do middle-tier actors exhibit in emergency settings and what, if any, capacity building is needed to move beyond mere responsibility transfer? This presentation seeks to challenge neocolonial aid practices (Menashy & Shields, 2017) by centering local agency and contested educational futures emerging from communities' own contexts, needs, and aspirations, ultimately providing actionable guidance for decolonizing humanitarian education service delivery.