Brokering in Partnership - A Synthesis on Knowledge Brokering with LMIC Partners

The five Dutch Knowledge Platforms for Development Cooperation (DGIS KPs) respond to the needs of development policy and practice by bringing together policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations and private sector organisations 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 knowledge brokering, working in partnerships, especially with low- and middle-income country (LMIC) actors, has been central for all (Lammers & de Winter, 2017). In the context of increasing calls to decolonize development cooperation and forge more equitable partnerships (Currion, 2020; Paige, 2021), reflecting on and learning from the knowledge platforms’ past work with LMIC partners is of high relevance. It can form the basis for creating future transformative ways of working. Importantly, equitable international partnerships, especially around knowledge sharing (SDG 17.6), are seen as key to achieving the SDGs.

As such, the Multi-DGIS KPs learning project on knowledge brokering with LMIC partners, including four of the five KPs, aims to facilitate shared learning from experience to set the first stepping stones in this learning journey. To kickstart the platforms’ learning journey and establish a firm knowledge base for ensuing phases, we have developed this short read. It distils key insights, knowledge gaps, and best practices. These insights will inform the focus of the project’s second phase, where we will take a deep dive into the KPs’ work in practice through short case studies and learning conversations with their LMIC partners. More specifically, this short read and its key findings will: 1) guide the selection of appropriate case studies through which knowledge gaps can be narrowed/bridged; and 2) help distil the key questions around which the learning conversations will be structured.

Approach to this short read and structure

The synthesis short read constitutes a mapping of existing knowledge—including grey and academic literature, podcasts, videos, and blog posts—on knowledge brokering more generally, and knowledge brokering with LMIC partners specifically.

Through the analysis of identified literature, three key thematic narratives emerged: 1) processes and activities in knowledge brokering; 2) partnership dynamics in knowledge brokering; 3) barriers to effective knowledge brokering.

Consequently, the three sections of the main body each tackle one of the abovementioned thematic narratives, discussing and nuancing associated dominant assumptions, and offering good practices and potential pathways forward. Although the intention for partnerships is equality, it should be highlighted from the start that processes and activities, types of partnerships, and obstacles in knowledge brokering do not develop in a vacuum. Rather, they are informed by structural issues of power, historically-informed hierarchies, and unequal power dynamics characterising the development sector (Van der Graaf et al., 2021). As such, the theme of power and power dynamics functions as an overarching theme throughout this short read.