03011nas a2200169 4500000000100000008004100001260004400042653005700086653002700143100001200170700001100182245012500193856008900318490000700407520241300414022001402827 2021 d bSpringer Science and Business Media LLC10aPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health10aHealth(social science)1 aLokot M1 aWake C00aResearch as usual in humanitarian settings? Equalising power in academic-NGO research partnerships through co-production uhttps://conflictandhealth.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s13031-021-00399-w.pdf0 v153 aAbstract
Background
Research partnerships in conflict-affected and humanitarian settings can reveal complex power hierarchies between academics and NGOs. During the process of research, decision-making may skew in favour of more powerful actors, who often direct the scope of the research, hold the budget and lead the analysis. Co-production is increasingly emerging as a helpful approach that attempts to equalise power dynamics during research. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to the main challenges associated with a “research as usual” approach to research partnerships in humanitarian settings, as power hierarchies may be particularly magnified in these settings.
Methods
This paper is based on a comprehensive literature review and 32 semi-structured interviews with academics and practitioners from non-government organisations. Participants were selected purposively based on their experience in co-producing research or working within research partnerships. Some participants had worked in humanitarian settings while others had experience co-producing research in non-humanitarian contexts. We used Nvivo to thematically code data.
Results
This paper documents the problems with “research as usual” partnerships in humanitarian settings, specifically: the burden on communities as merely sources of data, certain forms of knowledge being valued over others, lack of reflection on the power hierarchies structuring research partnerships, top-down decision-making and lack of transparency, one-way “capacity-building”, lack of mutual benefit, and rigid research processes and timeframes.
Conclusion
This paper highlights key challenges with standard research practices in humanitarian settings and identifies seven key principles of co-production that can be helpful in attempting to equalise power dynamics within research partnerships, specifically in conflict-affected and humanitarian settings.
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