The recently published International Development White Paper presents a profound and welcome change in tone in comparison to other UK government pronouncements on international development in recent years.
There is much food for thought in the background analysis. Many are rightly commenting on the positive areas of emphasis in the document whilst also pointing out some significant gaps. Importantly, there remains the critical issue of whether the UK will walk the talk and deliver on its long-term financial commitments, including a timeline to meet the 0.7% ODA contribution.
Partnership principles
Against this broader backdrop, Chapter 2 titled UK International Development and our Approach, stands out. The authors of this blog have been involved in an extensive consultation process by the FCDO in the lead-up to the White Paper being published. An area we emphasised whenever possible was the UK’s position to do more in creating genuine, equitable, strategic and long-term partnerships, working on shared priorities and based on a strong understanding of the context. Notably, the authors of the White Paper included this idea explicitly as a statement of intent.
The White Paper perhaps goes even further when it comes to “partnership principles”, stating that “UK development partnerships will be guided by the principle of mutual respect. A focus on mutual respect will put patient diplomacy and development into practice. It will build long-term reliable and equitable partnerships that work towards common development objectives. It will move us beyond an outdated ‘donor-recipient’ model. We will engage with humility and acknowledge our past.” The Paper describes what mutual respect encompasses, in terms of ownership, mutuality and values.
This is encouraging as these statements resonate with ideas emerging from a series of dialogues on power, equity and authenticity in research partnerships, as part of a project convened by Southern Voice and the Institute of Development Studies, supported by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
North-South Collaborations
The background to this project is informed by the fact that research partnerships between different actors have become a go-to strategy of funding mechanisms in the global development sector. Whilst research collaborations between stakeholders in the global North and South are expanding, there are active debates around how these partnerships ought to be framed, designed, and implemented to encourage power-sharing and increase impact.
There are also concerns that current understandings and guidance on equitable North-South research partnerships do not sufficiently account for the priorities, perspectives, knowledge and experience of Southern-based researchers and institutions. Nor do they address embedded power relations that contribute to different forms of inequity and injustice.
Through our project we seek to contribute to greater equity in research for development by articulating an agenda for change and fostering a community of open dialogue amongst key actors in the research for development space. Over the last year, we have participated in a fascinating range of discussions in both the Global South and Global North with researchers, funders, and a wide array of research for development “intermediaries” about their experiences and perceptions of these issues, and what they feel can lead to concrete action.
We have seen, as the White Paper demonstrates, that the equitable partnerships agenda has gained considerable momentum within the institutions of the Global North that engage in partnerships for research in the Global South. Driven by both the desire to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of research projects, and a non-negligeable moral imperative to decolonize their practices, it has brought about many positive actions. This materialises in the form of further localization, numerous principles and guidelines, and an emphasis on open dialogue – all well-reflected in the White Paper.
However, through Southern Voice’s engagement scholars across the Global South in open discussions, we have heard that equity in partnerships as a focus has limited resonance with them. While all acknowledge the existence of many imbalances that manifest at various stages and levels of North-South partnerships for research, their primary concerns revolve around ways in which these partnerships perpetuate, rather than mitigate, the unequal structures in which they operate.
Reframing the conversation
Our work aims to reframe the conversation by considering efforts to achieve greater equity as a means of strengthening knowledge systems across the Global South. This in turn helps to strengthen global knowledge systems with a foundation in equity and inclusion, and an awareness of the need to tackle power differentials. Practically, this means fostering knowledge production and dissemination processes better aligned with the objectives to influence policy change and enabling the development of science and theories “from the South”.
We acknowledge that our collective ability to promote real change is constrained by the unequal policies, practices, and norms at play within various connected spaces of the Global North and Global South. However, we are seeing three active sites for catalysing a positive change towards a more equitable research architecture. The first of these is the academic subsystem, where universities, think tanks, and other organisations generate knowledge. Secondly the dissemination and publication of knowledge, which drives the ways in which this knowledge may be used, has a significant impact on researchers’ careers. And thirdly, funding arrangements are a key determinant for research agendas, salaries, and the structures of collaborations.
Reconfiguring knowledge systems
To address the deeper structural imbalances and power asymmetries that our engagement has highlighted over the last year, we need a transformative approach which is reflective and action oriented. For this reason, we emphasise the need to first understand the granularity of the research for development space and then look for desirable changes required for shaping an action agenda. A synergic approach is the best possible way to reconfigure the knowledge system towards a shared equitable future.
We acknowledge and commend the emergence of a community of practice within the Global North research for development space which offers an opportunity to encourage efforts towards a positive change. However, more substantive actions towards an equitable knowledge system now require ideas and priorities from the actors in the Global South to be on the table.
Creating partnerships for equity
In short, we welcome the language and tone of the White Paper in terms of the approach it recommends, and its strong emphasis on mutual respect, humility, the patient building of long-term relationships, and attention to equity in partnerships.
As Southern Voice and IDS continue with our initiative, we see these aspirations of great value and look forward to continuing our engagement with the FCDO as “fellow-travellers” on a journey to more inclusive and authentic partnerships for a purpose. And as we go forward, we intend to keep working to reconcile views from stakeholders in both Global South and North, building on the momentum that now exists for change. We are now developing a research and action agenda that further aligns past and ongoing efforts to make partnerships more equitable, with the priorities of Southern researchers and institutions front and centre. We look forward to sharing more of our findings as this work continues.