Abstract
Workshop fatigue is a colloquialism to describe apathy towards facilitated discussions that, in interventions designed to build partnerships, tends to be viewed as somewhat inevitable. To challenge this assumption, this article theorises fatigue as a subtle form of resistance. Evidence is based on qualitative research as part of a climate change collaboration, with a focus on a methodology called ‘transformative scenario planning’. The author combines Goffman, Scott and Pratt to analyse interactions between facilitators, researchers and stakeholders in meetings and workshops. Historical representations of scientific endeavours are contrasted with performances of participation in Namibia, India and Botswana. The article concludes that anticipating workshop fatigue could be an accessible way to surface power relations in inherently unequal international partnerships, and bring a sociological sensibility to transdisciplinary climate change research.
Highlights
The involvement of social scientists in projects traditionally dominated by the natural sciences has come about, in part, due to critiques that projects are apolitical and overlook power relations (Eguavoen et al, 2015)
Funders have become increasingly interested in global partnerships that counter the historical paternalistic flow of knowledge and resources from global North to global South (Mawdsley, 2017)
Stakeholders were people located in the same country where research was focused, who were invited by regional research teams to participate in the transformative scenario planning process
Summary
The involvement of social scientists in projects traditionally dominated by the natural sciences has come about, in part, due to critiques that projects are apolitical and overlook power relations (Eguavoen et al, 2015). Keywords Climate change adaptation, international development, participatory process, power relations, transdisciplinary partnerships, transformative scenario planning, workshop fatigue The intention was for the facilitation team to work in partnership with regional research teams to plan the process and deliver workshops in a way that was context-specific and culturally appropriate.
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