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This Guide supports research partners to develop ethically sound, efficient and effective partnerships.

Immagine: NASA

Manage power dynamics

to promote equity and diversity.

  • Acknowledge different contexts and positions.
  • Address power imbalances.
  • Co-chair decision-making processes.

Proactively recognizing the power hierarchies and asymmetries inherent in global partnerships strengthens collaboration, by promoting fair and open discussion of topics such as ethically responsible research approaches and the sharing of resources, results, and merits. Addressing factors such as gender, seniority, origin, (pre)position, socioeconomic status, and institutional prestige can foster inclusivity and create the necessary space for diverse perspectives – and improve overall collaboration throughout the research process.

Collaboration is inherently shaped by a diversity of contexts, positionalities, and long-standing structural asymmetries, often rooted in cultural and colonial legacies. To foster equity, research partners must first understand these diverse positionalities, acknowledge and respect the variety within the group, and develop strategies to counterbalance inequalities. Only by doing so can structural asymmetries and power imbalances be addressed in tangible and constructive ways.

Power dynamics should be managed at multiple levels – individual, institutional, and structural. Address systemic barriers such as limited research funding, inadequate or insufficient infrastructure and facilities, and restricted access to publications. Importantly, addressing power and equity is not a one-time consideration: it requires ongoing reflection and commitment, transparent communication, and willingness to transform established practices.

Collaborate with all partners to define a shared understanding of equity and its practical application in the partnership. Mutually agree on the ethical principles you will follow as a team.

Further ressouces:

Tools:

Create space and time for discussing the positionality of all involved actors, the context they act in, and possible constraints and conflict areas that might emerge. Reflecting on contextuality is essential when building partnerships. Researchers must consider who they are; what privileges, rights, responsibilities, or disadvantages they have; and how these influence their perspectives, interactions, and research approaches. Make inequalities visible by using tools such as stakeholder mapping, participatory workshops, or context analyses, and integrate the findings into project design and decision-making processes.

In-depth:

Tools:

To ensure freedom of expression and contributions by all partners, use a variety of discussion or interaction formats. Moreover, ensure that these formats are also suitable for raising difficult issues.

Tools:

Ensure shared decision-making and accountability – with fair representation and veto rights – by creating steering boards or activities with delegated authority that involve all parties (see P3). Large-scale projects can set up a separate ethics advisory board, for example. Identify conflict management and resolution mechanisms that may be called upon if needed (see P3).

Tools:

To reduce structural imbalances, share budgetary authority and decision-making power, provide fair compensation and realistic time allocation, and establish mechanisms for increased, mutual accountability of all parties involved.

Tools:

To foster a transparent environment, communicate openly and honestly about individual motivations, decision-making processes, (external) constraints, and resource allocation. Transparency also involves disclosing potential conflicts of interest, justifying key decisions, and offering accessible explanations for anticipated benefits such as access to data, methods, or networks. Maintaining transparency requires continuous dialogue about research methods, contributions, and other relevant aspects of collaboration (see P3).

With regard to information and data sharing, partners should share not only data – but also the tasks of evaluating and interpreting it, thereby ensuring intellectual co-ownership of the research process and the findings. Agree on who owns and has the rights to use the data, including publication rights and authorship arrangements. Define protocols for protecting politically and socially sensitive data. These considerations should be documented in data management plans that set out not only technical requirements but also equitable principles. To achieve a win-win situation, data sharing requires exchange on an even basis, and it should be supported by incentive systems that reward transparency and information sharing.

Tools:

Decolonizing research is a process of reflection, recognition, and understanding, which can be initiated at all levels of the research process – whether at an individual, project team, or institutional level. Be open to questioning your research approaches and acknowledge various and diverse forms of knowledge and authority by problematizing assumptions. Recognize the different perspectives of all involved parties; value the differences between people, societies, and ecosystems; and appreciate cultural diversity. Last but not least, create awareness of context-relevant historically-rooted power dynamics, identities, and privileges of imperial and colonial origin.

In-depth:

Further ressources:

Most universities and research, private, or government institutions have an ethics committee and/or guidelines that set the baseline for an ethically responsible research approach. Respecting these requirements, such as ethics screenings and engagement with relevant ethics boards, reduces the potential for research extractivism. Actively engage with these guidelines, integrate them into your practices across different institutional contexts, and build on each other’s ethics requirements. Discuss within the team the risks institutions face, such as potential reputational damage from non- compliance, and develop strategies to prevent and mitigate them.

In-depth:

Further ressources:

Further resources and literature

Power imbalances in research partnerships often stem from funding and governance structures that assign project leadership and budget authority to institutions in the Global North. Establishing formal co-leadership and shared financial responsibility promotes a fairer distribution of power, accountability, and ownership.

Effective collaboration requires funding schemes that acknowledge disparities in resources and institutional capacity by covering indirect costs, providing administrative support, and enabling meaningful engagement with actors across diverse contexts.

Learn more about the role of funders:

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