Unraveling Knowledge Brokering Partnerships: Insights from Collaborations between Dutch Knowledge Platforms and Partners in LMICs

Since their inception, the five Dutch Knowledge Platforms for Development Cooperation (KPs) have aimed to inform international development cooperation policies and practices with a solid knowledge base. Hence, knowledge brokering: the process of facilitating the exchange, co-creation and application of knowledge between different stakeholders is fundamental to their operations. The KPs broker between different forms of knowledge, policy and practice by bringing together a wide variety of actors like policymakers, researchers, civil society organizations and private sector organizations on the main themes of Dutch development cooperation policy: security and the rule of law, inclusive economic development, food security, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Despite their often diverging approaches to the ways in which they operate, working in partnerships, especially with low- and middle-income country (LMIC) actors, has been central in their knowledge brokering activities.

While scientists and practitioners traditionally viewed North-South partnerships as a silver bullet for international development cooperation, there is a growing realization that in order for knowledge partnerships between North and South to thrive, equity must be at the forefront of their approach (Martins, 2020; Murunga et al., 2020). This is in line with current calls for the decolonisation of development cooperation (Currion, 2020; Paige, 2021), and aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17.6 that emphasizes the necessity to put the equitable sharing of knowledge in international partnerships at the heart of all actions.

Despite existing research on knowledge brokering and North-South partnerships, there is not much literature available on North - South knowledge brokering partnerships (see for example Lammers & de Winter, 2017, Voller et al., 2022). With this report on the a multi-KP learning project, The Broker, In collaboration with 4 KPs (INCLUDE, Knowledge Platform on Security and Rule of Law (KPSRL) Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP), and Share-Net (SNI) and with support of some of their partners in the Global South, takes a unique first step in filling the aforementioned knowledge gap. The project objectives are twofold: 1). facilitate shared learning between the KPs and 2). better understand the processes, activities, and partnership dynamics involved in knowledge brokering with LMIC partners. The project thereby aims to strengthen knowledge brokering in partnership with LMIC partners by providing lessons learned and recommendations for future collaboration.

Main research question: Which lessons can be drawn from the KPs knowledge brokering work in partnership with LMIC actors regarding their ambitions , activities, roles and added value in contributing to more inclusive sustainable development?