June 2020: Trust, Transparency, Communication are three keys for equitable partnerships and community ownerships said Dr R V Bhavani, Director Agriculture Nutrition Health (ANH) Programme, MSSRF. Speaking at a webinar, organised by the ANH Academy on the theme: Power and priorities: equitable partnerships in Agriculture, Nutrition and Health research on 11 June 2020, Dr Bhavani highlighted insights from MSSRF’s work with rural communities and partnerships with other research institutes. The webinar organised as a precursor to the ANH Academy week, was moderated by Dr. Thalia Sparling, Postdoctoral Fellow with the IMMANA Programme. Professor Nicola Lowe, from University of Central Lancashire and Food Systems lead, Global Challenges Research Fund of UKRI and Professor Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, Professor of Rural Health and Executive Director, Center for Indigenous Health Research and Policy, Oklahama State University, were the other panellists. “As funders we struggle with one thing which is to put together a proposal that takes into consideration views of partners, community and policymakers takes time,” said Prof Lowe. Highlighting ethics, Prof Jernigan said it was not ethical to go forward with what a funder wants if the community doesn’t want it.

The moderated discussion sought to dive into the challenges of equity in research partnerships tackling global agriculture, food systems and nutrition research and discussed a range of issues from the funder’s perspective, to challenges in ensuring equity in participatory research with indigenous communities and research partnerships between the north and south. The full session is available here:

Text: Dr R V Bhavani

Edited by: Jayashree B