Advancing equity in collaborative research: reflections from the Cultural Evolution Society Transformation Fund

As the field of cultural evolution marks its fiftieth anniversary, it has an opportunity not only to evolve in theory and scope, but also in ethics of practice. This theme issue contributes to that shift by showcasing projects supported by the Cultural Evolution Society's Transformation Fund (CES-TF), which centred equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). This opinion piece draws on our CES-TF projects, conducted across diverse cultural and geographical settings, to reflect on the challenges and possibilities of making cultural evolution-and human research more broadly-more just. We focus on three relational dimensions in which cultural evolution research can become more inclusive and equitable: fostering equitable cross-cultural research collaborations; building mutually beneficial researcher community collaborations; and cultivating supportive funding and institutional relationships. Our collective reflections, written by grant recipients and the CES-TF lead, emphasize that, while there is no universal model for ethical research, attending to positionality, power dynamics and diverse knowledge systems can foster responsible and impactful research. Striving to make the field more globally representative will enhance our capacity to critically reflect and improve, but real progress requires time, resources and structural reform, supported by institutions, funders and journals committed to embedding EDI at the core of research. This article is part of the theme issue 'Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures'.

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Publication Details

Journal
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
Published
2025-12-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0269
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Language and cultural evolution
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
16.49
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Advancing equity in collaborative research: reflections from the Cultural Evolution Society Transformation Fund

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1 citations
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
Language and cultural evolution
16.49
article

Advancing equity in collaborative research: reflections from the Cultural Evolution Society Transformation Fund

Jennifer Hays, Adam H. Boyette, Alexander M. Ishungisa, Sheina Lew‐Levy, Angela Obasi, Stephen Asatsa, Vidrige Kandza, Jessica E. M. van der Wal, David W. Lawson, Jessica McKenzie, Rachel L. Kendal, Elizabeth Wangari Gichimu, Helen Taylor, Sangsupa Penrach, Arusa Panyakotkaew, Guy Moussavou, Wiro-Bless W. Kamboe
article en
1 citations

Abstract

As the field of cultural evolution marks its fiftieth anniversary, it has an opportunity not only to evolve in theory and scope, but also in ethics of practice. This theme issue contributes to that shift by showcasing projects supported by the Cultural Evolution Society's Transformation Fund (CES-TF), which centred equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). This opinion piece draws on our CES-TF projects, conducted across diverse cultural and geographical settings, to reflect on the challenges and possibilities of making cultural evolution-and human research more broadly-more just. We focus on three relational dimensions in which cultural evolution research can become more inclusive and equitable: fostering equitable cross-cultural research collaborations; building mutually beneficial researcher community collaborations; and cultivating supportive funding and institutional relationships. Our collective reflections, written by grant recipients and the CES-TF lead, emphasize that, while there is no universal model for ethical research, attending to positionality, power dynamics and diverse knowledge systems can foster responsible and impactful research. Striving to make the field more globally representative will enhance our capacity to critically reflect and improve, but real progress requires time, resources and structural reform, supported by institutions, funders and journals committed to embedding EDI at the core of research. This article is part of the theme issue 'Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures'.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological SciencesVol. 380(1940)
Center for the Study of Democracy (BG), University of California, Santa Barbara (US), University of Cape Town (ZA), Centre For Development Studies (IN), Durham University (GB), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (GB), University of Washington (US), Mahidol University (TH), Bridge University (SS), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (DE), Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (DE), DayStar (United States) (US), Institut des Sciences Humaines et Sociales (FR), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (DE), National Institute for Medical Research (TZ), Daystar University (KE), California State University, Fresno (US), Catholic University of Eastern Africa (KE), University for Development Studies (GH)
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Language and cultural evolution
16.49
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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