Alternative Technologies and Organizational Forms: A Review and Typology of Initiatives in Agriculture Dinesh Abrol Delhi Science Forum and All India Peoples’ Science Network Thrissur, India October 2014

Social Movements, Science, Technology and Development: Deploy the lens of Undone S&T When social movements undertake the development of alternative technologies and organizational forms their contribution needs to be understood as “Undone S&T” being organized – The concept of “Undone S&T” needs to be understood as a process of epistemic modernization of S&T fields, which evolves as a countervailing process to its industrialization and neo-liberalization and involves recognition of a specific type of ignorance – Knowable unknown but Undone S&T that the involved scientists and publics also see as positive or desirable to undertake – Undone S&T has even sometimes the potential for surprising the dominant as well as alternative pursuing groups of scientists and social movements);

Undone S&T Closing and Opening of Spaces  Since the conflict between the more and less powerful is obviously fundamental for understanding the role of Undone S&T being undertaken by the social movements, closing and opening of the spaces for Undone S&T being undertaken needs to be analysed in terms of the nature of framings and strategies under development through the agency of social movements  Framings of Undone S&T in India and the structural change affected for alternative technologies and organizational forms How do we understand the configuring of the undone S&T in terms of the dynamics of the nexus of relations among social movements, governments, and industries (the extra-S&T field relations) is critical to working out our future strategies for scaling up (experiment, real world experiment, niche formation, regime change)  Analysis should focus on the role and relationships emerging through the efforts being undertaken for Alternative Technologies and Organizational Forms as historically evolving contributions of “Undone S&T” and the relationships that the social movements have been able to build with science, technology, state, industry, and civil society Complex dynamics of the inter-field relations and the politics of scientific knowledge and non- knowledge needs to be therefore understood in the historical and comparative context of interventions from a political sociological perspective

Alternative Technologies and Organizational Forms: As “Undone S&T” undertaken by Social Movements contributing to Industrial Innovation  “Undone S&T” when embedded in a theory of dynamics of scientific and technological fields and industrial change, the two organizing axis involved in the building of our understanding of the dynamics of undone S&T are the epistemic conflict dimension and the relationships between social movements and industrial-technological change are  the level of epistemic conflict in a research field of S&T and its extra-field relations in terms of relations between scientists, government, industry and people and  the relationship to industrial and technical change in terms of the policy and institutional reforms for (sun-rising) that support the creation of alternative technologies, techniques (practices), and /or organisational structures or the policy and institutional reforms for (sun-setting) that support technology / technique targeted for sunset and those opposed to existing or emergent ones  The level of conflict is variable, based again on the degree of opposition / of alternative to an existing scientific and technological field or to industrial order. The proposed two axis typology for analysis is required to be conceived as a continuum when applied to concrete cases.

Alternative Industrial Order Movements (AIMs): Alternative technologies targeted for Sunrise  Alternative Industrial Order Movements (AIMs), technology-and product- oriented movements (TPMs) and certification movements-the latter may develop out of the former) can indicate high epistemic conflict and involve the emergence of scientific counter-publics particularly when the technology is targeted for Sunrise,  Undone S&T during the emergence phase as research on alternative technologies, products, and production techniques – Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase institutional support and funding granted for research but often limited, (Example of agro-ecology- ‘sunrising’ of agro-ecological approaches by the social movements, LEISA, Biomass based Industrial Production), Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase involve the building of countervailing industrial power(Examples-Open Source Seed Systems, introduction of bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides), Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase evolve into complementation through incorporation & transformation (Examples- IPM or INM, Soil and Water management, drudgery reducing technologies, Or industrial regime transition through transformation ( certification schemes in organics)

Industrial Opposition Movements (AIMs): Alternative technologies targeted for Sunset  AIMs that though indicate high epistemic conflict and involve the emergence of scientific counter-publics but when the technology / technique is targeted for Sunset  Undone S&T during the emergence phase as research on risk, safety, uncertainty; Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase are funding granted / demanded for risk evaluation and partial moratorium with precautionary politics (Examples-Genetically Modified Organisms, NPM), Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase governments respond with public participation mechanisms and softening of technocratic governance S&T (Example- Non-pesticide Management (NPM), Jind Experiment, Karnal; Extra-field S&T relations during the routinization phase industry may block change with contra-public strategies (Examples-Drip irrigation, Power Tillers

Movements for restructuring of state sector, public governance and industrial organization Industrial restructuring movements (IRMs)-indicate though low epistemic conflict but focus more on changing the ownership and organizational dimensions Undone S&T during the emergence phase undertaken as research into the new organizational forms and the development of organizational technologies or techniques Extra-field relations of Undone S&T during the routinization phase involves diffusion of new forms, Extra-field relations of Undone S&T during the routinization phase can involve radical restructuring of relations among the people, government and industry Extra-field relations of Undone S&T during the routinization phase can mean organizational forms remain in niche position, and Or mainstream coopts some aspects of organizational innovation Examples of Peoples’ Planning, Kutumbshree, Green Army

Industrial access movements  Industrial access movements indicate though low epistemic conflict but focus more on access dimension  Undone S&T as support for research on access issues Funding granted for access category Advocacy organizations partner with industry Advocacy organizations shift into service provisioning Contra-public dynamics emerge from neo-liberal ideology  Examples: Access to Water, Energy, Fertilizers, Laboratory and on-farm research (OFR), farmer field schools

Development of Social Carriers FGs, TGs and SGs: Group enterprise formation Stage of development of relations with S&T personnel and institutions Need analysis, User capacity building, Continuous technology improvement, Network formation Relationship with larger political movements