The Art of Partnerships
Fostering Effective North-South
Research Collaboration
Professor Philip Oxhorn
Director, Institute for the
Study of International
Development, McGill
University and Editor in
Chief, Latin American
Research Review
Introduction
Perceptions Matter
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What is a State?
Whose Agenda?
Accountable to Whose Citizens?
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Northern Taxpayers?
Communities in Need?
Whose Research Questions?
Goal: Laying out the Foundation for
Genuine Collaboration
Recognizing Comparative Advantages
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The North’s: Resources
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Breadth of Expertise
Information Technology
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Libraries
Databases
Computational
The South’s
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Depth of Expertise
A Unique Perspective?
Ensuring that Policies Reflect Recipient
Needs and Priorities
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Consultation and Networking
Building Research Capacity in
Southern Countries
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Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellowships
Visiting Researchers and Professors
Added Plus: Strengthening Networks
Training Our Own Students
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Internships
Research and Study in the South
ISID’S Resident Fellows Program in
Democratic Governance
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Developed through Active Collaboration between
CIDA and CDAS
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Research by Southern Researchers to Help CIDA
and Similar Donor Agencies Meet their Assistance
Objectives
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Two Fellows (Bolivia and Peru)
Working with CIDA field officers to identify specific
themes
6-month residency at CDAS to work with McGill
researchers and CIDA officials in Ottawa
Graduate Student Involvement
Peace and Development: Democratization,
Poverty Reduction and Risk Mitigation in
Fragile and Post-Conflict States
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Assumption: positive developmental
outcomes are mutually reinforcing
Testing that Assumption:
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Are poverty reduction, risk mitigation
and democratization compatible in
post-conflict settings?
Funded by the International
Development Research Centre and the
World Bank
Peace and Development (cont’d)
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3 sets of related issues:
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Participatory Governance and Service
Provision;
Power-sharing for Peacebuilding and
Development; and
The Economic Agenda for Post-Conflict
Reconstruction.
Peace and Development (cont’d)
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These Issues are addressed in 2
component parts
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Thematic Essays that Assess Aggregate Global
Trends (North’s Comparative Advantage)
7 In-depth Case Studies (South’s Comparative
Advantage)
o Bosnia, Colombia, Lebanon, Mozambique,
Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Sudan
o Multidisciplinary teams in each country: an
economist and a political scientist or
sociologist
Peace and Development (cont’d)
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Integrating the 2 Components:
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Case studies inform the development of
macro-level theory
Theory is a foundation for maximizing
the coherence of the overall study and
the comparability of findings
Mechanisms for Integration
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An Advisory Committee of Northerd
and Southern Scholars
Workshops for discussing draft papers
Conclusions
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A Long Term Horizon
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Building Relations Takes Time and Effort
o With Donors
o With Southern Researchers
Expectations Need to Reflect This
Collaboration as Equals with Different
Areas of Experience and Expertise
Goal: Achieving Better Policy Outcomes in
Terms of Effectiveness and Relevance