Paper short abstract:

Internationalizing biomedical research has introduced new publics to ongoing discourse interested in new ways of conceptualizing innovation and governance. This paper reflects on how local African clinical trial stakeholders imagine these concepts and potential contributions to policy development.

Paper long abstract:

The expansion of biomedical research to diverse settings across the globe has opened up new possibilities for scientific and technological advancement. Beyond manifesting as breakthroughs in the development of novel pharmaceuticals and treatment regimens, it has also provided diverse publics the opportunity to become involved and contribute to discourses that (re)imagine concepts such as innovation and governance in global science. As such, stakeholders often relegated to the periphery of such conversations - LMIC investigators, REC members, trial participants - have now been afforded a platform to express alternative views on how innovation and governance can be conceptualized, while exposing the underlying values shaping these views. Our empirical research on international clinical trials and knowledge production, utilizing in-depth interviews and field observation, analyze how stakeholders have used this platform to articulate, both implicitly and explicitly, their perspectives on innovation and governance against the background of access to health and social justice.

It is widely recognized that the continued expansion and sustainability of international biomedicine depends on the development of new policies for the governance of international research and innovation that are inclusive and responsive. This entails seriously engaging with the perspectives, expectations and opinions of a number of stakeholders. In this paper we use STS to present how local stakeholders (investigators and participants) involved in internationally sponsored clinical trials conducted in Tanzanian and Ghanaian have shaped their ideas of innovation and governance, the underlying values and norms embedded in them, and their potential impact on future participatory policy making.