Pursuing Decolonized Research Collaboration Models

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Tuesday VI)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Moving beyond ‘north’ and ‘south’ in international research collaboration

Proposal

Research collaboration between universities and scholars has a long tradition in academia across the globe. New forces, such as globalization and internationalization, have facilitated new forms of sharing that were impossible even just a few years ago. This has prompted some new variants of North-South relationships, although they emerged following old patterns of colonialism (Didriksson, 2008). The North still controls much of the essential innovation necessary for advancing wealth (Bozeman, Fay and Slade, 2013; Bradley, 2007; Sonnenwald, 2007). The generation of new ideas with economic impact, however, is a central pillar for competing, since societies and their economies have evolved into increasing complexity that requires new knowledge to tackle demands and solve challenges. At the same time, research productivity is a critical component of university output worldwide and a major determinant in global university rankings and competition for resources (Marginson, 2012).

This scenario has created well-known imbalances among countries, even in the context of intentional North-South collaboration to develop the South. The dependency on the North’s expertise tends to perpetuate yet further dependency. Post-World War II decolonization efforts and the more recent advent of the knowledge economy near the end of the twentieth century have sought to reverse these trends (Baud 2002; Binka 2005; Gaillard 1994). Yet, in spite of the increased attention directed toward the topic, a number of important gaps persist in the literature.

This study presents the case of the Max Planck Institute (MPI) and other German non-university research institutions that have been active setting up research centers around the world and, in this case, in Latin America to advance research projects. This case is particularly relevant for exploring decolonialized research practices coming from the North. The MPI puts forth resources in tandem with local public and private joint projects to facilitate research agendas. In so doing, the potential for alternative models of collaboration is possible. The final discussion will end with policy alternatives that aim to advance decolonized collaboration.

Authors

• Gus Gregorutti, Andrews University

• Pedro Pineda, INCHER University of Kassel

• Bernhard T. Streitwieser, George Washington University