Pamela Katic
(University of Greenwich)
Bhaskar Vira
(University of Cambridge)
Tania Martinez-Cruz
(Free University of Brussels)
Michael Bravo
(University of Cambridge)
Sarah Radcliffe
(University of Cambridge)
Format:
Panel
Streams:
Knowledge production
Sessions:
Thursday 7 July, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Developing equitable Indigenous and non-Indigenous research partnerships.
Panel P09a at conference DSA2022: Just sustainable futures in an urbanising and mobile world.
This panel explores opportunities to support Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers planning research collaborations to think about their methods, assumptions, and behaviour.
Long Abstract:
All research questions and methodologies are grounded in the specificities of people's world views, and research as an activity occurs in a set of historical, political, and social contexts. But some world views, methodologies and methods are accorded more legitimacy and privileged over others. International research initiatives that seek to address global challenges may reproduce colonial approaches to knowledge production and use, ignoring local relations and context, and with accompanying power imbalances. Developing equitable Indigenous and non-Indigenous research partnerships means challenging perceptions of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledges, and what counts as knowledge and appropriate research practice.
In this panel we welcome contributions from those who explore opportunities of just development futures, and who offer examples of progressive and equitable engagement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous research partnerships. Issues covered may include:
- Stepping outside comfort zones;
- Continuing impact of colonialism on research;
- Dangers and risks in research partnerships;
- Indigenous researchers' experience of partnerships;
- What methods and approaches work and what doesn't; and
- What equitable collaborations look like in practice.
We welcome both empirical and theoretical contributions, in different styles (video, slides with audio, podcast/audio only and text only) and at various stages of development.
How can researchers apply concepts which are spatially and temporally produced in a non-indigenous setting to an indigenous setting? How can development studies on indigenous people be decolonized and indigenous knowledge be acknowledged?
Paper long abstract:
Epistemological concepts and ideas have a historical timeline through which they developed over a period of time. All knowledge is historically and locally produced. To apply these temporal and spatially produced knowledge universally would not only be erroneous to the resultant research but also unjust to the local knowledges. The locality of knowledge production helps us to place the concepts in a socio-historical context. But the question of how do we present indigenous knowledge without falling into the trap of colonialism remains.
The paper suggests that the division surrounding the dichotomy of indigenous and non-indigenous is proposed to further reinforce segregation and division between the two groups. Based on the idea of 'difference', indigenous knowledge and experiences have always been presented in a comparative framework alongside Eurocentric versions of the same. Recent understandings (like that of Gurminder K. Bhambra and Denise Ferreira da Silva) have proposed difference to be the basis of discrimination. With an emphasis on the need to decolonize methodology and theoretical concepts, the paper attempts to suggest that such dichotomies need to be re-evaluated.
With the purpose of building just development futures for Indigenous populations in Latin America, a recent research project grew from initial conversations with diverse Indigenous female leaders. In this paper, I critically reflect on the subsequent research process and its contradictory outcomes.
Paper long abstract:
Research with Indigenous groups in Latin America has largely occurred within colonial approaches to knowledge production. Recent initiatives to challenge and decolonize research dynamics, with collaborations across lines of nationality, race-ethnicity, class and educational qualifications, have made important inroads into shifting power relations. This paper describes the process of attempting an equitable research collaboration with Indigenous women elected leaders and grassroots communities in Ecuador, with the aim of centering their experiences and knowledges in development. The paper describes the methods, as well as my assumptions and behaviours, used in the research process, and highlights the importance of key interlocutors and pre-existing relationships with key organisations. The paper provides an opportunity to reflect on what worked and what didn't, as well as a critical self-reflection on how my approach to decolonizing objectives has been transformed since that research 15 years ago. The paper highlights the need for deliberate and considered decolonial objectives at every stage of the research cycle and full transparency, while keeping in mind that decolonizing processes are inherently dynamic and context-specific.
Establishing partnerships is a demanding task that requires commitment, patience, mutual respect, trust and a willingness to share decision-making power. In this paper, we analyse the process of developing research partnerships between First Nations communities in Australia and researchers.
Paper long abstract:
As higher education institutions, universities put strong emphasis on the need to create partnerships and synergies with other sectors, including the private sector, government, and community groups. Establishing partnerships is a demanding task that requires commitment, patience, mutual respect, trust and a willingness to share decision-making power. In this paper, we analyse the process of developing research partnerships between First Nations communities in Australia and researchers. We compare the views of two groups of researchers (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) and how they have established and developed research partnerships and research programmes. Through this discussion, we explore the imperatives and motivations for developing research partnerships with First Nations groups as well as the challenges and opportunities involved. We examine the need to 'negotiate' the existing 'clash' between the expected outputs of the institutions and those of the researchers and communities as well as how to navigate the differences between the institutional research protocols and the community research protocols and cultural systems. We draw on primary data from in-depth interviews with 14 researchers as well as document analysis of research protocols and literature.
Indigenous-led project results reveal how key partnership competencies challenge mainstream institutional decision-making processes by providing the space to confront and re-distribute power in support of equitable research engagement.
Paper long abstract:
From 2019 to 2020 Indigenous Works, a non-profit Indigenous-owned and led Indigenous social enterprise, brought together Indigenous and non-Indigenous business leaders and academic researchers from across Canada to investigate how they establish and sustain meaningful partnerships. The study team engaged "Two-eyed Seeing", an Indigenous methodology aimed at decolonizing the research process, to inform the collation and analysis of participant contributions. Study results define a "partnership model" that identifies nine competencies key to creating and maintaining meaningful partnerships. Identified competencies, which include sharing power and promoting vulnerability, reflexivity, and willingness challenge mainstream institutional decision-making processes by providing the space to confront and re-distribute power in support of meaningful and collaborative enterprise. This paper outlines the results of the research and proposes that these same leadership competencies, and the partnership model itself, can be extended to establish equitable research-based partnerships between Indigenous communities and research institutions.
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Bhaskar Vira (University of Cambridge)
Tania Martinez-Cruz (Free University of Brussels)
Michael Bravo (University of Cambridge)
Sarah Radcliffe (University of Cambridge)
Short Abstract:
This panel explores opportunities to support Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers planning research collaborations to think about their methods, assumptions, and behaviour.
Long Abstract:
All research questions and methodologies are grounded in the specificities of people's world views, and research as an activity occurs in a set of historical, political, and social contexts. But some world views, methodologies and methods are accorded more legitimacy and privileged over others. International research initiatives that seek to address global challenges may reproduce colonial approaches to knowledge production and use, ignoring local relations and context, and with accompanying power imbalances. Developing equitable Indigenous and non-Indigenous research partnerships means challenging perceptions of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledges, and what counts as knowledge and appropriate research practice.
In this panel we welcome contributions from those who explore opportunities of just development futures, and who offer examples of progressive and equitable engagement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous research partnerships. Issues covered may include:
- Stepping outside comfort zones;
- Continuing impact of colonialism on research;
- Dangers and risks in research partnerships;
- Indigenous researchers' experience of partnerships;
- What methods and approaches work and what doesn't; and
- What equitable collaborations look like in practice.
We welcome both empirical and theoretical contributions, in different styles (video, slides with audio, podcast/audio only and text only) and at various stages of development.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 7 July, 2022, -