North-South partnerships in development research: an institutional approach

In order to challenge the global knowledge divide, knowledge-producing systems in the South need to become more integrally linked to international research networks as full partners in knowledge accumulation and international exchanges. This paper raises some issues for discussion on how North-South partnerships can contribute to supporting such processes. The paper draws evidence from the literature, existing Dutch programmes for North-South research cooperation, and recent innovative Dutch partnerships in North-South research, which emphasise a greater equitable exchange with partners in the South. It shows that joint programmatic research builds up more cumulative patterns of capacity enhancement and international networks, although capacity retention remains a long-term problem in the South. New initiatives give more space to equal exchanges and learning in the programmes than older established programmes. In the final section, five important issues that need to be explored in future studies of North-South research partnerships are discussed briefly.