Decolonizing Research Collaborations

Various obstacles rooted in colonial legacies continue to hinder fair, equitable and effective global research collaborations. Such obstacles include persisting prejudices and inequalities that may, for example, be manifested in language and word choice, the distribution of resources and power, or the depreciation of entire knowledge systems.

Demands to decolonize relationships, practices and knowledge have continually increased in the last years and touch all spheres of society, including science. The KFPE would also like to contribute to reflections and discussions on this important topic. Our 2023 Annual Conference was dedicated to the decolonisation of Swiss research collaborations. With a KFPE funded project we aim to better understand what it means to decolonise research collaborations. With this website, we hope to support you in getting an overview on different perspectives and initiatives, and to help in incorporating learnings and approaches into daily work and exchange.

In 2022, the KFPE initiated reflections and discussions on decolonizing North-south research collaborations by mandating a group of young academics to analyse the current state of North-South research collaborations and persisting challenges from a decolonizing perspective. In addition, the annual conference and workshop series of KFPE in 2023, carried out in collaboration with the SUDAC and SOR4D programmes, brought together various actors from the Swiss academic system to discuss pathways towards decolonizing Swiss research collaborations.