Communication in the digital age

“Digital” has become standard and can make many processes faster, more efficient and more transparent. This not only holds for the tools used in the actual research activities, but also for the ways communication is organized in North-South research partnerships. Not using digital, state-of-the-art technologies might lead to missing out on great opportunities and will be difficult to justify. On the other hand, those requiring “digital” as the new standard option need to be aware that not all activities may be accomplished through digital formats if partnerships are to remain effective and equal.

A certain reluctance to engaging in digital exchange may have to do with the necessity of building trustful relationships, which is sometimes deemed to be more difficult through non-physical meetings. Also, various institutions set different rules and restrictions regarding the use of specific tools. Guaranteeing equal access thus requires sensitivity for external factors that partners cannot influence. Raising awareness of such issues is a vital task of those active in North-South research partnership promotion.

An increased use of digital communication tools in North-South research partnerships must consider and avoid exclusion mechanisms proper to the digital field. Existing gender gaps and power structures that support exclusion, for example the fact that younger and female researchers are less heard in meetings, may be accentuated by digital communication. This needs to be considered and avoided.

Hybrid meetings are especially prone to exclusion, as they grant those who can afford travel costs or who are nearby the advantage to gather physically. These participants then benefit from informal exchanges outside of the actual meeting time, excluding those only participating in the formal parts of the event. The use of online communication tools and the clear advantages of creating hybrid settings must thus always be balanced against the requirement of guaranteeing equal treatment of all partners involved.

In order to fully reap the benefits of increased online exchanges, it is crucial to establish trustful relationships from the outset. This is particularly important for teams and partners that engage in collaboration for the first time, and especially when new partner institutions – or new individual partners – join already existing research groups. Building trustful relationships may require some physical meetings at the beginning and throughout a partnership, allowing to get to know each other also in settings that go beyond mere professional roles. This entails the readiness on behalf of all partners to travel from time to time. Online meetings should nevertheless replace more frequent travel, an important aspect also regarding climate change issues and the no-flight policies in place in many scientific institutions.

Building trustful relationships, however, also means establishing clear rules applying to online exchanges. These rules must pay attention to the inclusivity of settings, to the accessibility, stability and security of the platforms used, and to the costs that hard- and software requirements may generate and that must be covered by the respective project funding. Online meetings should take place on a regular basis, be free of non-necessary hierarchies, and promote a culture of data and knowledge sharing.

Building trust while relying increasingly on digital communication tools requires absolute transparency: it is important to determine and to communicate which communication channels are used for which purposes, in order to avoid parallel structures or untransparent decision-making between peers. Messenger services or social media platforms should only be used for clearly defined official purposes that do not lead to exclusion from joint decision-making. The risk of further blurring distinctions between private and professional lives must be considered.

Global exchange with scientific peers is of particular importance for young researchers both from the southern and the northern contexts. Opportunities for travelling, actual field research and direct exchange with peers in other world regions are important for acquiring direct scientific and cultural experiences and should not be entirely replaced by digital communication. Accordingly, funding agencies still need be willing to cover related expenses.