Researchers’ perceptions of their collaboration with indigenous and local people in environmental change research

Seeking to develop more robust diagnoses and responses to complex societal challenges, researchers increasingly involve non-academic actors in collaborative projects. The associated challenges can have major consequences for local people and indigenous peoples. Particularly intractable are the differences in ways of knowing between researchers and other actors which can affect the importance attached to local and indigenous knowledge. Striving to promote responsible research in projects involving local communities, I investigated how 15 researchers with different disciplinary backgrounds and experience of working with local people in projects focusing on climate change and environmental challenges perceive (1) what triggers the need for research involving local people, (2) what knowledge such projects provide, and (3) what benefits can accrue to local people from such projects. I discuss potential reflexive applications of these perceptions to enhance the inclusivity and fairness of research with local actors. The main triggers question (1) elicited were researchers’ interests, personal views, happiness, desire to help others and the need to understand, collect, study and know (people, their culture, their experiences, their knowledge and concerns, and their ways of adapting to environmental change). Questions (2) and (3) elicited very varied perceptions, mostly relating to projects interviewees had participated in.