Institutional settings, power dynamics and motivations in decolonizing North–South research collaborations: a scoping review

Abstract

This article seeks to inform the quest to decolonize research collaborations between the North (N) and South (S) that started as early as the 1970s, given the prevailing power asymmetries that continue to hinder equitable collaboration. The article is based on a scoping literature review study that sought to interrogate the institutional settings, power dynamics and motivations employed in past and ongoing N–S research collaborations. The search strategy for the relevant literature was iterative and was implemented between May and November 2023.

The results identify institutional settings that define collaborations and partnerships for research between N–S institutions and researchers. The institutional settings (power dynamics and motivations) are defined by the access to resources that sets the power positions of the different actors within a research collaboration, often with partners in the South then having lesser bargaining power positions. There are intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for collaborations and partnerships that are important for decolonizing N–S research. Considering the institutional settings that shape the N–S research partnerships is recommended. This would inform the decolonizing process of N–S research and balance the power dynamics, remove barriers and promote the motivators to empower collaborators at individual and institutional settings.

Key messages

• There are existing institutional settings, power dynamics and motivations employed in past and ongoing collaborations that are important to consider in the quest to decolonize research between the North (N) and South (S).
• The institutional settings that shape partnerships in N–S research comprise research policy and funding structures, governance systems and institutional arrangements geared towards collaborative research.
• Power dynamics in N–S partnerships are exhibited in how funding schemes as well as the positionalities of the involved actors produce and reproduce historical, contextual, social or cultural power structures that influence the research–practice collaborations.
• Institutional settings and power dynamics in N–S research collaborations define the motivations for researchers. If identified and addressed the motivations and power dynamics can be leveraged to promote equity and justice for research collaborations and partnerships, hence decolonizing them.

Pages: 17
Standard identifier: https://doi.org/10.1332/27523349Y2026D000000081