Understanding and redressing imbalances for South-North collaborations in energy and development research

The Global South-Global North divide is widely defined using the Brandt Line, which proposed a geographical divide between more developed countries in the North and less developed countries in the South. Inequities in South-North research collaborations manifest in different ways and at different stages. Many researchers engaged in energy and development research are involved in collaborative projects with research partners across the divide. To ensure success, these collaborations must be inclusive and balanced. Researchers and multilateral organisations are starting to take notice of the potential negative impacts of unbalanced research collaborations. Critical assessments of these imbalances are scarce and there is a knowledge gap of ways to create more inclusive environments that allow researchers from the Global South to contribute solutions for challenges in their local contexts. Through workshops and a survey of researchers engaged in energy and development research, this paper attempts to partially fill this gap by investigating the challenges in collaborative projects faced by researchers in the Global South and Global North. The main findings show significant differences in the research experience of the two groups of researchers with respect to administrative burdens, access to resources, research roles and communication. We present several recommendations for how to address the inequities in collaborative research projects.