Research partnerships between institutions from different geographies are increasingly recognised as essential for addressing global challenges, a principle reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG target 17.6). Yet many partnerships remain influenced by structural inequalities, including access to funding, research infrastructure and academic publishing.

To better understand what enables equitable international research partnerships, Christoph Lüthi from Eawag’s Department of Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development (Sandec) conducted a qualitative study, recently published in the Journal of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene for Development. He interviewed 26 researchers and research managers from diverse geographical and institutional contexts with experience in international collaborations in the field of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).

Co-creation instead of top-down decisions

The interviews revealed that around half of the participants felt that research priorities are still largely dictated by external funding agencies - mostly from the Global North - rather than jointly defined with partner institutions or local communities. Participants stressed that equitable partnerships require research priorities to be identified and defined together from the outset through a genuine co-creation process. Shared decision-making, transparent resource allocation and recognition of different institutional contexts were also identified as essential ingredients for building trust and creating research with lasting impact.

“Equitable research partnerships do not happen automatically. They require conscious efforts to share decision-making power, jointly define research priorities and recognise the expertise that all partners bring to the collaboration,” says Christoph Lüthi. “When partnerships are built on mutual trust and fairness, they produce stronger science and greater societal impact."