Probing the interface between technological innovation and economic development - James Smith

I have published widely on the relationship between scientific research, technological innovation and international development. Much of my work has focused on sub-Saharan Africa (especially South Africa and Eastern Africa), but I have also conducted research in parts of South Asia and the Andes of South America.

INZI project

I have recently been awarded an European Research Council Advanced Investigator Grant for a project entitled INZI (Investigating Networks of Zoonosis Innovation). This project examines the evolution of medical and veterinary research surrounding trypanosomiasis across Africa. The aim of this focus is to shed light on how new scientific knowledge has been generated firstly at a continental level and secondly over the late colonial/post colonial boundary through to the present day. This is illuminating how scientific knowledge can be generated to help alleviate poverty and drive development in Africa.  

DfID PISCES project

I am also involved in several large international projects, notably the  DfID PISCES project, which is examining bioenergy security in East Africa and South Africa, and theESRC Innogen Centre, which is exploring the social, political and economic implications of the new life sciences. Other recent projects have included a project funded by the Microsoft Foundation to look at mobile banking in Kenya, and a systematic review, commissioned by DfID, examining the evidence of the impact of aid on maternal and reproductive health. 

DfID PISCES project website

ESRC Innogen Centre website