Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We transitioned from labour-intensive industries to skills-intensive industries in the 1970s and 1980s, and to a knowledge-based economy in the late 1990s.From 2010, we sought to develop a skills-intensive and innovation driven economy, and to position Singapore as a distinctive global city (Heng, 2024). 1 To many observers, one of Singapore's major accomplishments in past decades has been the development of a knowledge-based economy.Exporting the products of this economy, knowledge and expertise, to the developing world, in the name of the 'Singapore model', has been widely noted (Chua, 2011;Pow, 2014;Woods & Kong, 2017;Lee et al., 2025). 2 This commentary maps the conceptual and spatial dynamics of knowledge transfer projects and initiatives between Singapore and Africa.By articulating these dynamics, we identify some distinctions between Singapore's contribution to African development and other examples of knowledge transfer in Africa and elsewhere.Knowledge transfer refers to the sharing of expertise, skills, and practices with people and institutions.It can lead to policy transfer 3 but may not result in policymaking especially when it happens in the private sector without much involvement of policymakers.Knowledge transfer, as we conceive of it, is typically hierarchical-with the expert providing knowledge to the recipient-and unidirectional-with no countering transfer of knowledge from the recipient to the provider, except perhaps for what is needed to contextualize the provider's knowledge to the recipient.This, we suggest, is different from knowledge sharing, where there is a mutual exchange of expertise.In the case studies that we have examined, Singapore is typically portrayed as adopting the role of knowledge provider, while African countries act as recipients.While instances of 'mutual exchange' do occur, they are often confined to specific times and spaces like conferences and panel discussions.Knowledge transfer occurred extensively through workshops, site visits, and collaborative planning sessions, where Singaporean experts share practices and solutions tailored to the local context.Singaporean organizations have been actively involved in knowledge transfer through creating urban plans and solutions for cities encompassing development, governance and management, housing, transportation, 'smart' technology adoption, and environmental sustainability.
DOI: 10.1111/sjtg.70014
Authors: Allen Hai Xiao, Eric Thomson Kerr
Institutions: National University of Singapore, Asia Research Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,900
Funder: National University of Singapore
Award: G1762469855
OpenAlex ID: W4409826333