This article reflects on recent global conversations about the future of development cooperation, highlighting calls for more equitable partnerships, stronger Global South leadership and practical action. Drawing on conferences in Paris and London, it explores shifting power relations, aligning cooperation with national priorities, humanitarian aid, AI, evidence and locally grounded knowledge.
What are some of the challenges that researchers from the Global South face when engaging in development research initiatives, and how can resetting the relationships that underpin North-South collaborations help? What are the pivotal areas where change is needed?
This synthesis paper brings together perspectives from across the Global South and North to explore the complexities and challenges of promoting equity in research. Findings reveal that while actors in the Global North—particularly research for development funders—most often focus on reshaping research partnerships and advancing equity as an end goal in itself, those in the Global South view equity as integral to broader systemic transformations within the development knowledge ecosystem.
