From Disciplinary to Interdisciplinary Community Development

SUMMARY This article presents an international university-to-university collaborative project with local communities in Nigeria between 1992 and 2000. The aim is to illustrate a marked shift from a “command and control” framework of the Nigerian state to interdisciplinary practice involving non-state actors in community development. Specifically, the article examines the potentials of interdisciplinarity for realizing an inclusive and networked community development practice in local communities in Nigeria. In particular, the case study shows how collaboration and knowledge shared across disciplines, communities and institution enhances capacity building. Knowledge shared with local communities and other partners helps to maximize opportunities for problem solving, knowledge production, teamwork and sustainability. The article moves existing discussions of local engagement toward programmatic proposals for community-centered practices that promise to cement state-community relationships and promote local ...