Research Partnerships for Development:
Role and Challenges in a Globalising World
The Annual Conference of the KFPE,
9 November 2011, at the Swiss National Science Foundation
Over the last decades, research partnerships between the global North and South have proven their ability to make valuable contributions towards sustainable development. They create evidence that allows policymakers and practitioners to take informed decisions, for example with regard to the relevance and effectiveness of interventions.
Against the background of multiple globalisation processes at different levels, research partnerships today are faced with growing demands. On the one hand, new actors are emerging, power constellations are changing, and global concerns such as climate, migration, and health are becoming increasingly prominent on the agendas of policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. These issues override the traditional North-South divide and call for transboundary research, policy-making, and implementation.
On the other hand, the nature of research partnerships is changing. In the beginning, fairness and counterbalancing asymmetries were the most crucial aspects; in the meantime, sharing tasks and responsibilities has become more important. Today, successful research partnerships have to be fair, result-oriented, effective, and sustainable. These increased demands placed on research partnerships are one of the reasons why the KFPE has updated its 11 principles. Joint conduct of research that is relevant and of high scientific quality is only possible if all parties work together towards a shared goal from the very beginning.
The 2011 Annual Conference of the KFPE highlighted examples of research partnerships, focusing on the changing role and the relevance of research partnerships in development, but also pointing out enabling and hindering factors for research partnerships and reflecting on the various expectations faced by such partnerships. Changes and new challenges in a globalising was presented by Hassan Mshinda, Director General, Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology. The conference concluded with an outlook on possible consequences of this changing environment for the different Swiss actors involved in research partnerships.
Presentations
Eric Huysecom and Anne Mayor
Archaeological Research Partnerships in West Africa
since Countries' Independences
Nguyen Viet Hung and Jakob Zinsstag
Building Research Partnerships at the Post-doc Level in Asia and Africa
Guéladio Cissé and Urs Wiesmann
Overcoming Stumbling Blocks in Research Partnerships
Hassan Mshinda
Research Partnerships in a Globalising World.
What are the Big Challenges?
Laurent Goetschel
Objectives and Conditions for North-South Research in Switzerland
