How can we truly co-design research with marginalised communities within hierarchical systems? (How) Can we really do decolonial research within academic institutions that have not yet decolonised without it becoming performative?

Speaker(s):

Pamela Jabbar, Idependent

Abstract:

In Rendezvous Two, I invite the research community to an interactive and exploratory session to critically explore and reflect on our research projects through the lens of two critical questions and reflection points that have emerged from conversations with other RMR participants during the interregnum. 1) How can we truly co-design research with marginalised communities within hierarchical systems? 2) (How) Can we really do decolonial research within academic institutions that have not yet decolonised without it becoming performative? These questions interrogate broader debates within the research community, particularly when seeking to understand the tensions and conditions required to advance research methods innovation in our fields/disciplines (whether undertaking a decolonial approach or not). This session offers an opportunity to come together, reflect on the challenges of conducting (decolonial) ethical research, explore potential solutions, share resources, and showcase case studies of best practices. It invites participants to exchange ideas and knowledge while fostering a community of practitioners interested in co-design and/or decolonial methods. The session is an invitation to establish an active network of practitioners, scholars, activists, researchers, and creatives, interested in advancing theorising, dialoguing within and across disciplines, building praxis-led co-design research in partnership both inside/outside academia on (decolonial and anti-colonial) research methods, methodologies, and training. Format: Insight gathering - this is an open session that invites participants to bring case studies and experiences to explore and seek solutions to the critical questions and reflection points raised in session description. To reflect on deeper questions about who does research serve? How can we are a research community explore the conditions and tensions of doing decolonial and co-designed and ethical research within hierarchal systems and convert our wonderings into social projects that truly 'give back'. The format will be group discussions with a spirit of sharing, reflecting, and learning. By the end of the session we may leave with more questions than answers but in starting the conversation I hope we can build a community to explore our insights further.