摘要:This article
examines some of the tensions in the generation of knowledge about water
governance and poverty, and the translation of this knowledge into policy and
practice. It draws on the experience of the authors in developing a framework
for understanding water governance and poverty, their work on a project in
Tanzania and their attempts to engage with policy makers. The authors propose
that the negotiation of knowledge is a political process shaped both by power
relationships and (often implicit) normative values. Such negotiation may be
impeded by the contrasting positions of academics as uncertainty creators and
policy makers seeking unertainty reduction. The authors critique instrumental
approaches to the generation of knowledge and policy based on the amalgamation
of perceived success stories' and 'good practice'. They favour instead
approaches that attempt to understand water governance arrangements and outcomes
for the poor within widerframeworks of negotiations over the allocation of
societal resources. This implies the need to rethink the research – policy
relationship and to build reflexive knowledge generation into the
research‐policy interface.