Paper short abstract:

Luminary advances a strategy for Indigenous research innovation as a catalyst for socio-economic transformation. We discuss the inspiration for Luminary and the potential for the programme to establish equitable Indigenous/academic research partnerships.

Paper long abstract:

Indigenous communities are actively interrogating the role research and researchers could and should play in their present and futures. Despite Canada’s ongoing efforts to reconcile the inter-generational damages wrought by decades of colonial practice and policy, most First Nation, Inuit, and Métis peoples remain at the social and economic margins of Canadian society. In order to remove barriers to socio-economic success, Indigenous leaders prioritise research initiatives that meet the direct needs of their communities, focusing particularly on sovereignty initiatives that balance economic with cultural, environmental, and spiritual wellbeing. The recalibration of research relationships requires transformation of academia’s historically extractive research agendas into those that prioritise the needs and interests of Indigenous communities. While there is interest in and a pressing need for Indigenous led research, there remain significant institutional and cultural barriers. Indigenous Works, an Indigenous owned and operated national social enterprise based in Canada, aims to eliminate or significantly reduce these barriers through the creation of a new and innovative programme called “Luminary”. Luminary seeks to advance a 5-year strategy for Indigenous innovation as a catalyst for economic transformation, employment, and wellbeing. The vision is to be the most impactful Indigenous-led network and program of its kind in the world, where academia and Indigenous business grow research and innovations for commercial and wellbeing success. This paper discusses the inspiration for Luminary, its current success and challenges, and the implications of this programme for the establishment of equitable research partnerships.

Paper short abstract:

In this paper we discuss the thinking and agentic action undertaken by Christian Aid, an international NGO to promote knowledge justice and deepen an ethic of decoloniality in its practice of research partnerships.

Paper long abstract:

We view partnerships as a practice which is embedded in the 'colonial epistemic structure'. The coloniality embedded in this structure leads to epistemic injustices and inequity in partnerships and knowledge production (Walker and Martinez- Vargas, 2019). This paper discusses the thinking and agentic actions undertaken by Christian Aid, an international NGO to shift power in research and deepen an ethic of decoloniality in its practice of research partnerships. Some of the agentic actions undertaken by Christian Aid include i)committing to a vision of knowledge justice, ii) developing principles for fair and equitable global research partnerships. iii)developing a set of resources targeted at difference audiences to put principles for fair and equitable research partnerships into practice, iv) developing a research ethics toolkit which provides practitioners with practical guidance on how to do research and evaluation ethically, vi)) decentering research in a North-South multi country partnership, vii) developing a value-based partnership policy, viii) creating spaces to engage with researchers in the Global South who are committed to the decolonial praxis. We reflect on the learnings from these agentic actions for re-imagining research partnerships and promoting knowledge justice. This paper is therefore a way to share our learning and resources on partnerships. Hence, we contribute to the larger discourse on developing equitable partnerships from a reflexive praxis and practice orientation.

Paper short abstract:

This paper draws on my experience developing collaborative research with Lumad Indigenous communities in the Philippines. It uses a case study to highlight the difficulty of ensuring that research is of communal benefit, particularly when engaging policy spheres and persistent colonial structures.

Paper long abstract:

Throughout the last decade, research with Indigenous communities has experienced a methodological shift from exploitation to collaboration in which research aims to be both academically significant and of benefit to the community. Whilst this shift has rightly been celebrated, collaborative methodologies pose a number of often-unacknowledged challenges. This paper elaborates on some of these challenges, drawing on my experience working with Lumad Indigenous communities in the Philippines. It examines how I strove to use the privileged position of a United Kingdom based Anglican Mission Agency, the United Society Partners in the Gospel, to ensure community benefit, talking up to policy spaces and advocating for international pressure to be placed on the Filipino government for its persistent and systemic abuses of human rights.

The paper discusses the challenge of engaging with policy spheres that only communicate in English, through written reports, based on verifiable facts with communities presented as homogenous. It highlights the impact of political priorities and provides an example of how the researcher's position within colonial structures can result in 'research benefit' conforming, rather than challenging the exploitation and violence on which colonial structures are built. Finally, the paper reflects on the impact of differing time scales and individual priorities on definitions of community benefit. In conclusion, it argues that, whilst well-intentioned, collaborative research methodologies with Indigenous communities remain at risk of colonial distortion, particularly when the researcher is situated within enduring colonial systems and structures.