Institutional-building and co-production of research capacity as a decolonial approach to international partnerships

This paper explores a partnership model for co-producing knowledge developed since 2014 between universities in Sierra Leone and the UK. Many Global North-funded projects follow agendas set by Principal Investigators, rather than local needs. They often divert top local researchers from national priorities, and produce results that are hard for local stakeholders to access. Launched in Freetown, one of the most vulnerable cities to climate change, the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre enabled local researchers to shape the research agenda, engage globally, and act as knowledge brokers with local actors. The centre prioritised the knowledge co-production with the residents of informal settlements and their organisations. However, structural and institutional challenges, particular regarding incentives for the different parties, create challenges. This paper highlights what must change to support equitable North-South partnerships that co-produce research capable of transforming global and local power dynamics.