Concepts

Mindset matters for interdisciplinary teams: Choose a collaborative one

By L. Michelle Bennett

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L. Michelle Bennett (biography)
  • How often do you think about what you are thinking about?
  • How about what you believe? What your values are? Or your deep set needs?
  • Do you recognize that everything you say, do, or write as a member of an interdisciplinary team is influenced by what is in your head? And your team members by what is in theirs?

We can all relate to what it is like to be doing a project with close colleagues when things work seamlessly, the group is productive, everyone innately seems to know what to do and how to do it, people are comfortable pointing out things that need to be changed or fixed, and everyone is fully present.

I’m guessing we can all also relate to what it is like when there is tension among colleagues. Maybe there is something amiss that everyone sees or notices, but no one is willing to surface for discussion, so everyone sidesteps.

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Embracing Afro-centric philosophies to decolonize research

By Truphena Mukuna

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Truphena Mukuna (biography)

How can researchers ensure that they de-centre Western-centric research methodologies, methods and theoretical frameworks so that the research is localized, and the researcher and relevant community voices are heard? How can Afro-centric philosophies be mainstreamed to ensure that the research deconstructs the epistemic injustice that currently exists?

In this i2Insights contribution I explore four African philosophies – Sankofa, Ubuntu, Ujamaa, and Harambe – to show how they can provide valuable insights and foster more inclusive and transformative research practices. Although my work is on forced displacement, these philosophies are relevant to a broad range of research in the African context.

Sankofa: Learning from the Past

The Akan concept of Sankofa, symbolized by a bird looking backward while moving forward, emphasizes the importance of learning from the past to build a better future.

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Why scientific knowledge needs to be decolonised

By Alemu Tesfaye

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Alemu Tesfaye (biography)

Is science inherently objective and immune to the influences of coloniality?

Here, I explore the role coloniality plays in scientific knowledge production, as well as intersubjectivity and scientific consensus. Finally, I suggest some strategies for decolonizing scientific knowledge.

Coloniality in knowledge production

Coloniality refers to the enduring patterns of power, control, and domination established during colonialism that persist in contemporary institutions. In knowledge production, this manifests as epistemic dominance, where Western ways of knowing are privileged over non-Western epistemologies. Despite the common belief among scientists that scientific knowledge is inherently objective and intersubjective, there are several critical issues that need to be addressed:

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Understanding exclusion, sharing benefits and building in reflection in transdisciplinary collaborations

By Annisa Triyanti, Corinne Lamain, Jessica Duncan and Jillian Student

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1. Annisa Triyanti (biography)
2. Corinne Lamain (biography)
3. Jessica Duncan (biography)
4. Jillian Student (biography)

How are ways of knowing excluded in transdisciplinary collaborations? How can transdisciplinary collaborations provide fair compensation for all who dedicate time and effort to the collaboration? How can transdisciplinary processes be made more fair, inclusive and equitable by including reflective processes?

Transdisciplinary collaborations aim to bring together different forms of knowledge, for example academic knowledge with knowledge of practitioners, activists, community groups, etc. Important questions to unpack the politics of transdisciplinary collaborations include:

  • Who decides which societal challenges are addressed?
  • Who has the most access and power to mobilize actions and resources?
  • Who decides who will be involved?
  • Who receives benefits?

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Why is it so hard to agree on definitions of interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity?

By Gabriele Bammer

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Gabriele Bammer (biography)

As more and more researchers, educators, universities and research organisations, funders, and policy makers become interested in interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity, the demand for clear unequivocal definitions of these terms grows. Why is agreeing on such definitions so hard? And what’s the way forward?

The late Julie Thompson Klein’s work tracking typologies of interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity over time (Klein, 2017) is revealing and provides the basis for this i2Insights contribution.

Klein pointed out that in the latter half of the twentieth century, the classification of the Western intellectual tradition “into specialized domains within a larger system of disciplinarity” was “supplemented and challenged” by an increasing number of activities that involved disciplinary interactions.

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Practising responsible research within an Indigenous paradigm

By Norma Romm

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Norma Romm (biography)

What might it mean to practise responsible research within a postcolonial Indigenous paradigm? What is distinctive in terms of the conception of responsible research practice? How does research informed by this paradigm include responsiveness to the voices/spirit of the more-than-human world?

A postcolonial Indigenous paradigm as defined by scholars from a variety of geographical regions is offered as a way of doing research that expressly draws out and tries to revitalise the relational knowing-and-being processes of Indigenous communities in Africa, the Indigenous peoples of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the USA (First Nations). These scholars (Indigenous, as well as non-Indigenous ones who can be regarded as allies) have tried to credentialise this research paradigm by expanding upon the underlying suggestion that processes of knowing are inextricably tied to ways of living (being in relation to others, human and more-than-human).

This implies a specific conception of responsibility to try to nurture (in all fields of our influence, including in research practices) relationships that can be considered reciprocal rather than exploitative (of other humans or of other species and of the land and its communities).

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Weaving knowledge systems: Honouring Indigenous knowledge

By Chels Marshall, Rosalie Chapple and Joanne Wilson

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1. Chels Marshall (biography) (photo credit: Michael Powers)
2. Rosalie Chapple (biography)
3. Joanne Wilson (biography)

What is Indigenous science? How can it be properly recognised? How can we overcome current practices where Indigenous knowledge-holders are generally not regarded as experts, their knowledge is not used as evidence or in decision-making, and non-Indigenous people think Indigenous knowledge needs to be ‘validated’ by Western science?

Lack of recognition of Indigenous data sovereignty raises concerns about the conduct of research – by and for whom? Indigenous cultural knowledge is often used without permission or proper protocols, and is used and appropriated under Western science.

What does successfully honouring Indigenous knowledge look like?

“Our culture is the science.”

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Navigating the complexities of decolonizing knowledge production

By Alemu Tesfaye

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Alemu Tesfaye (biography)

Has the movement to decolonize knowledge production caught your attention in recent academic discussions? Do you recognize how colonialism has deeply influenced traditional knowledge systems, embedding biases and inequalities in our academic practices? Given the noble aspiration behind decolonizing knowledge, have you ever paused to critically examine its feasibility and achievability? Are we embarking on a realistic journey towards change, or are we chasing an idealistic endeavor?

Understanding the Challenge

My research journey into decolonizing knowledge production, particularly within the context of forced displacement, revealed stark contrasts between conventional academic narratives and the rich, nuanced perspectives of historically marginalized communities. This experience highlighted the deep-rooted biases and structural inequalities embedded within traditional knowledge systems.

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Five questions for considering political context

Edited by Gabriele Bammer

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How can researchers rapidly assess the political and institutional environment in which they are trying to exert influence? Why does understanding context matter?

Developing a rich, detailed understanding of the political environment in which a problem needs to be addressed can be a never-ending research project, not only because of the depth of scholarship that can be brought to bear, but also because political environments are often unstable and rapidly-changing. Few research projects have the luxury of large budgets and long time horizons in which to fully comprehend the environments that they seek to influence. Instead, practical rapid assessment tools can be valuable and improve the effectiveness of research input and actions.

One such tool for rapidly assessing political context was published in 2014 as part of the Rapid Outcome Mapping Approach: A Guide to Policy Engagement and Influence by John Young and colleagues and a modified version is reproduced here.

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Living labs are learning labs: Creating and mapping conditions for social learning in transdisciplinary research

By Marina Knickel and Guido Caniglia

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1. Marina Knickel (biography)
2. Guido Caniglia (biography)

What is required for social learning in living labs? How can social learning be mapped in living labs?

Living labs are conceived as spaces for social learning across difference in real-world situations through transdisciplinary research with diverse actors. We argue that the following conditions, often intertwined and building on each other, are required to set up living labs as learning spaces:

1. Epistemic: Learning to foster knowledge pluralism

We suggest supporting research and practice partners in developing a capacity for knowledge pluralism as the ability to appreciate and work with multiple kinds of knowledge and ways of knowing. Knowledge pluralism could be fostered by learning to recognise differences in knowledge, perspectives and socio-cultural identities as strengths and by strategically valorising them.

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Challenges in knowledge translation: A Global South perspective

By Fajri Siregar

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Fajri Siregar (biography)

How is knowledge translation the same between the Global South and the Global North? What are the particular challenges in the Global South? How should future support be focused in the Global South and what, in particular, can funders do?

Common knowledge translation mechanisms

The impact of the political system on the basic mechanisms of evidence use are quite alike globally. Whether one works in a country of the Global South or North, one needs to identify influential actors to engage, the right channels to lobby, the most effective means of communication, and the right policy that needs changing. In this sense, researchers all over the world face the same struggles.

There is also a growing trend in both the Global South and North to eliminate boundaries between the realms of science and the public.

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Learning to use Appreciative Inquiry

By Rachel Arnold

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Rachel Arnold (biography)

What is Appreciative Inquiry? How does one shift from research that focuses on problems and negative details to the strengths-based approach of Appreciative Inquiry? What are the benefits and requirements of such an approach? And what is it about Appreciative Inquiry that fosters change?

Appreciative Inquiry, developed by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva, is a five-step process (originally four steps), as shown in the figure below. The steps are:

  1. Definition – deciding what to study is critical in moving humans in a positive direction
  2. Discovery – discovering and appreciating best experiences
  3. Dream – imagining the ideal – how it would be if those valued experiences happened most of the time
  4. Design – defining the dream more clearly and discussing steps towards realizing it
  5. Destiny – implementing wide ranging actions, improvisation, learning, and adjustments.

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