Paper short abstract:

Governmental stakeholders argue that collaboration between health researchers and local communities must account for moral concerns, foster a sense of mutuality and result in concrete material contributions. They are more than ready to foster partnership and support health research on this basis.

Paper long abstract:

This paper relates a story of hope with material implications, which conveys aspirations about the nature of partnership and collaboration in transnational research. It focuses on interactions between the Kenyan Medical Research Institute/United States Centres for Disease Control (KEMRI/CDC) Public Health Research Collaboration in western Kenya and government officers and political leaders. I liken these stakeholders as 'gatekeepers' since they have a measure of power to grant or restrict access to particular locations. In my fieldwork these stakeholders provided a critical commentary on the complexity of applying a modern well-resourced project in an environment characterised by economic constraints. They urged KEMRI/CDC to complement their research agenda with a mandate that pays increased attention to solidarity. Particular foci of concerns were the equitable distribution of research benefits, and the widespread association of trial participation with poverty. Principally stakeholders argued that collaboration between researchers and community stakeholders must account for moral concerns, foster a sense of mutuality and result in concrete material contributions. Thus they conveyed their aspirations for a partnership that they were more than ready and willing to continue to contribute to.