Knowledge Transfer and Science Transfer

We are all familiar with stories of the daring voyages of discoverers and researchers who braved the seas and severe privation in the service of truth and enlightenment. The title of this article, "Knowledge Transfer and Science Transfer", and the fact that it is included in the "Europe and the World" thread may conjure up similar images but hopefully also the counter reaction: these clichés, which are deeply rooted in the cultural memory of Europe, have lately been fundamentally questioned and replaced by more nuanced concepts of knowledge transfer. On the one hand, this article sketches the history of this change; and, on the other hand, it offers some general principles for approaching the topic of knowledge transfer and science transfer. The article not only discusses the relevant concepts and the historical delineations associated with the topic, but provides a broader perspective including diverse phenomena of knowledge transfer which go beyond the more limited concept of "science transfer". As the primary impetus for more recent literature on the topic, postcolonial theory and its methodological implications are also discussed. Here George Basalla's model of knowledge transfer is taken as the starting and focal point.