Making the ‘Evolutionary Leap’: Using Open Knowledge Approaches to Improve Development Outcomes

The starting point of the Open Knowledge Hub project was our belief that the adoption of so-called ‘Open Knowledge’ approaches had the potential to improve the impact of research evidence on development outcomes and address inequalities in the visibility, accessibility and uptake of diverse knowledge about development. This paper describes what we learned about the drivers and motivations for knowledge organisations to engage with Open Knowledge approaches. It also addresses the issues and barriers to engagement that, we have argued, threaten to undermine these potential benefits. The paper looks at both direct learning from the project and external research evidence accumulated during our work.