Making collaboration work: Reflections from both sides

• Sápmi is under immense pressure. Global change processes are manifesting at the local level through for instance experienced impacts of climate change and increasing competition over land and resources. The accumulating pressure demonstrates particularly severe and adverse effects on reindeer herding, leaving a number of critical issues to be explored, addressed and resolved. Whereas the interest in conducting research related to Indigenous and Sami issues in Sweden has virtually exploded in the last years, there is currently a lack of established routines for community collaboration, practical guidelines and ethical assessments. The risk is therefore imminent that research projects and proposals are not based on principles of practical usefulness, respect and collaboration and there are already signs of an emergent research exhaustion and weariness among herding community members. Drawing on our gathered experiences of conducting a collaborative research project on adaptation to climate change in Vilhelmina North reindeer herding community in Västerbotten county, this paper aims at sharing our reflections on how to make collaboration work. Situated against the literature on Indigenous and Sami research we identify some key challenges, discuss our own approach and deliver some take-home messages both for researchers and herding communities. Altogether, our experiences point to the need of equal involvement throughout the research process – from identifying the research problem to conducting, analysing and disseminating research results. We further argue, in view of the growing research interest, that reindeer herding communities must seize the opportunity and place demands on future research collaborations and knowledge sharing processes. With this paper we present some thoughts of how this could be achieved in practice. 

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Filosofi, etik och religion -- Etik (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Philosophy, Ethics and Religion -- Ethics (hsv//eng)

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