Research funding across the North-South divide: towards equity in knowledge production
The Centre for Lebanese Studies and the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge with support from the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) at University of Cambridge, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and LERRN, at Carlton University, is organising a one day workshop on Research Funding across the north-south divide.
The background for the workshop is the increasing critique against the way research funding for themes such as forced migration, education in emergencies and humanitarian challenges more generally is channelled predominantly to researchers in the global north while most of the situations studied are located in the global south. Despite this increasing critique of funding streams, the funding landscape is slow to change.
In the workshop we aim to place under scrutiny the existing knowledge on research funding and the current funding systems as we know them, together with constructive dialogue on how we can change funding systems to more equity-based structures that can help to decolonise knowledge production.
The one-day workshop will consist of four panels with generous time for conversation and discussions.
Panel 1: How research funding reproduces inequalities in knowledge production
Panel 2: Partnerships across the Global North and South divide
Panel 3: Equitable knowledge production: between funders’ agendas and institutional bureaucracy
Panel 4: What have we learnt so far and what are our recommendations for change?
The outcome of the discussions in the groups will be presented in a short brief that will be published by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and the Faculty of Education at University of Cambridge.
Please register here
Programme
10.00: Welcome
Hilary Cremin, Faculty of Education University of Cambridge
Cathrine Brun and Maha Shuayb, Centre for Lebanese Studies and University of Cambridge
10.15 – 11.45 Panel 1: How research funding reproduces inequalities in knowledge production
In the first panel, we will present findings from our ongoing research on funding of forced migration research in the SWANA region and invite two other researchers – or research groups – who work on similar issues in other regions of the Global South to join (online) to present findings regarding research funding. The panel will take the form of a short presentation of the research conducted on funding of research, followed by an open discussion with all participants.
Speakers:
James Milner and Nadyia Ismaeva, LERRN University of Carlton
“Understanding the political economy of refugee research”.
Maha Shuayb, Cyrine Saab and Cathrine Brun, Centre for Lebanese Studies and University of Cambridge
Decolonising knowledge production and research funding in refugee education,
Samuel Asare, Research Manager, Education Sub-Saharan Africa
Funding and inequitable education research productivity: Insights from sub-Saharan Africa
Chair and moderator: Yusuf Sayed, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge
11.45 – 12.00: Coffee break
12 – 13.30 Panel 2: Partnerships across the Global North and South divide
In the second panel, researchers who have worked as partners across the so-called Global North-South divide to introduce their experiences of collaborations and partnerships and discuss how funding helped or impeded equal collaborations.
Speakers
Francine Menashy, University of Toronto
TBD
Rabie Nasser, Syrian Centre for Policy Research
TBD
Sahla Aroussi, University of Leeds
Reflections on Researching Gender and Security in the Global South, University of Leeds
Chair and moderator: Ricardo Sabates, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge
13.30 – 14.15: Lunch
14.15 – 15.45 Panel 3: Equitable knowledge production: between funders’ agendas and institutional bureaucracy
The third panel includes funding agencies and research administrators (from universities and research institutions) who will present the work they currently do on changing the structures of funding, what they see as the main challenges in universities and research institutions in terms of creating equity in research collaboration and what changes they think are needed to change current funding structures. We are inviting research administrators into this conversation as they often see the contractual conditions under which partnerships are negotiated and often sit in the middle between researchers’ interests, the institutions they represent and the funders.
Speakers:
Saleem Badat, University of the Free State
TBD
Roula Al Rifai, Senior Program Specialist in the Democratic Inclusive Governance program at Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC)
Donors and decolonization: Back to the future?
Stephanie Appleton, British Academy, Deputy Head of International Programmes
‘Supporting equitable knowledge production through international research funding’.
Daniel Wunderlich, Assistant Director for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Non-Schools, and for EU and International Funding
Research Office, University of Cambridge
Chair and moderator: James Milner, University of Carlton
15.45 – 16.00: Coffee break
16 – 17 Panel 4: What have we learnt so far and what are our recommendations for change?
The fourth and final panel will start with some short reflections and a summary o the day by Mezna Qato. We will then organise the participants in groups to discuss the way forward in terms of changing current funding structures to create more equity in knowledge production across the North-South divide. There will be groups in break out rooms on zoom and face-to-face groups in the seminar room. The results of the smaller discussions will be presented to the general group, followed by a general discussion and reflection.
The outcome of the discussions in the groups will be presented in a short brief that will be published by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and the Faculty of Education at Cambridge in collaboration.
Chair and moderator: Mezna Qato, University of Cambridge
