The Concept of Knowledge Co-production in the Context of Arctic Research

Abstract

The review article focuses on the concept of knowledge co-production, which began to be developed at the beginning of the 21st century. Its appearance is associated with the transition to a new paradigm of scientific research, the need for which was caused by the complexity and social significance of global problems. The principle of transdisciplinarity was taken as a basis, which involves going beyond the limits of normative science and including various media and types of information in the production of knowledge. As a result, an approach to scientific research based on the joint production of knowledge was formed. Currently, the concept of “knowledge co-production” is debatable. A review of theoretical and methodological approaches to its definition made it possible to identify the main stages of the knowledge co-production process and the methodological difficulties faced by scientists. In most cases, they are associated with the presence of many different stakeholders in the process of knowledge co-production, differences in understanding of the purpose and objectives of research between representatives of the academic and non-academic community, lack of organizational and financial support. It is shown that the concept of knowledge co-production has received the greatest application in research on the sustainable development of the Arctic, where special attention is paid to the knowledge of indigenous peoples and their co-production.

Keywords

• knowledge
• co-production
• concept
• methodological approach
• transdisciplinarity
• sustainable development
• indigenous peoples
• arctic