Bridging Knowledge Boundaries: A Challenge for S& T Policy in Mozambique

This paper presents a developing economy perspective of 'knowledge-based development'. The observation is made that in order to avoid some of the negative consequences of globalisation, developing countries need policy instruments quite different from those that prevailed among developing countries through the 1980s and 1990s. The current development of science and technology policy in Mozambique is presented as an example of how national S& T policies in developing economies might be redirected toward achieving this. The Mozambique case suggests a way forward for developing countries to adopt alternative S&T policy approaches from those that have generally prevailed elsewhere. This is essentially an inclusive rather than exclusive approach to science and technology, and one that serves to bridge 'knowledge systems' rather than simply building links between scientific institutions and industry.