Panel details

Panel organiser(s) will be presenting	In-Person & Online
Number of paper presentations	4

Abstract

The humanitarian sector is driven by information and data – being both a consumer and a producer of it. Humanitarian actors contribute to, produce or commission a high amount research and evaluations at a given time. This knowledge production eco-system that sits within or alongside the sector has played a key role in holding the sector to account and supporting greater change. However, this knowledge production eco-system has its own issues and dirty secrets – particularly when it comes to whose knowledge is valued, recognised and elevated.

One of the main issues in humanitarian knowledge production has been how global-south expertise has often been side-lined in research and evaluations, with global-north knowledge producers (organisations or individuals) taking all the credit and recognition. Many global-south experts are exploited for their knowledge and networks, then labelled as mere enumerators, if at all. This continues unaddressed due to a combination of unfair policies, unethical practices and power imbalances reinforced by the humanitarian sector.

The panel will offer an important opportunity for knowledge producers as well as consumers commissioners of work to come together to discuss how we as a sector can work together to create a more equitable knowledge and evidence platform for the future.

Paper presentations