Promoting fair and equitable research partnerships to respond to global challenges

Working in partnership is increasingly encouraged within the international development research sector, with initiatives such as the UK government’s Global Challenges Research Fund and the Newton Fund promoting the idea of ‘fair and equitable partnerships’.

In 2018, the Rethinking Research Collaborative designed and implemented a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded project that aimed to improve policy and practice related to research collaboration through the generation of new data, learning exchanges and practical tools informed by a ‘partners’ perspective’ from academics and practitioners based in the global South and UK-based international brokers.

This report presents findings from the project, and provides a background to a set of practical resources that different stakeholder groups can use in research partnerships. It identifies eight principles for different stakeholder groups to apply to engage with the politics of partnerships.

The report provides the background to a set of practical resources – an introduction, six modules and nine written and audio case studies – that different stakeholder groups can use to translate these principles into practice.