Experiences of inequality in international collaborative research – Perspectives from environmental and sustainability scholars from Ghana, West Africa

Abstract

Global north and south research partnerships are essential for building research capacity in the global south and for generating new knowledge to address complex socio-environmental problems. However, insights from various disciplines, particularly global health research, suggest that north-south research collaborations often reproduce unequal power relations and outcomes. To mitigate these, some international funding organizations have produced guidelines that promote ethical practice in collaborative research. Despite these measures, significant gaps exist in understanding how the experiences and perspectives of Global South scholars, particularly those in the field of environmental sciences, shapes discourses on unequal north-south research partnerships and the ethical guidelines developed to address disparities. To bridge this gap, we conducted explorative qualitative research focused on understanding the experiences of environmental science and sustainability researchers from Ghana in international collaborative research. Our findings revealed a general optimism among scientists regarding the benefits of international collaborative for making impactful contributions in the global south, expanding professional networks, opening opportunities to publish in high impact journals and developing new research skills. At the same time, our findings also indicate that pervasive forms of inequality centered around lack of recognition, poor clarity of roles, disrespect, unequal resource sharing, poor communication, and non-adherence to contractual agreements persist. We contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate on research inequality by proposing a framework to guide the management, design, and implementation of north-south research partnerships. Our proposed framework serves as a starting point toward identifying potential unequal and unethical issues that often arise in north-south research partnerships.