The workshop was held online on 23 March 2021 and involved around 105 participants. In this workshop, we shared experiences and discussed how to improve the co-production of knowledge between researchers and Indigenous rights holders. Key ingredients are collaboration in all parts of the research process, working on new methodologies and decolonisation, reciprocity in relationships, allocation of sufficient time and funding, and capacity building (e.g., through the support of Indigenous PhDs). The aim of the workshop was to contribute to recommendations for co-creating research projects with a focus on indigenous inclusion. The workshop is embedded in other activities like writing research notes, invite researchers and stake- and rightsholders to write down their experiences in order to create broad and lively discussions leading towards useful recommendations to improve successful co-created research projects.
During the workshop, 3 topics were discussed:
- Towards ‘sustainable knowledge’ – Why should we cooperate?
- Challenges and innovations in co‐creation – Shared experiences
- Looking forward – Recommendations regarding the design and funding of collaborative projects.
In the presentations and discussion there was consensus about the need for cooperation is evident given the changes that are so rapid at this moment. We all want to understand the world better. Cooperation of scientific and indigenous knowledge needs collaboration in all parts of the scientific process and having a reciprocity in these relationships. This has been hard because it takes time, we have to slow down, above all for the western scientists because they have pressure from the national institutes. The basis for co-creation or co-production of knowledge is communication, practise the art of listening and allocation of enough time.
Co-creation of knowledge calls for new collaboration and methodology. This means that we also need to distinguish between stakeholders and rightsholders in the calls. These are different categories that should be treated differently. But without enough capacity in the indigenous communities, all the above is not possible. Therefore there is an urgent need for capacity building and scientific self-production: educate young indigenous scholars completing PhDs for indigenous communities: reclaim control over indigenous knowledge: decolonization comes with new practices and obligations, not easily used with pre-existing frameworks.