Technical Brief: Decolonising WASH Research

Growing public awareness of unjust systems has led to calls for anti-colonialist and anti-racist initiatives within development. World Vision seeks to put principles of decolonisation into practice by addressing the inequities, power structures and dynamics, and colonial mindsets that influence research in development contexts.

This effort began with a project investigating inequalities in the WASH sector by centring the experiences of low- and middle- income country (LMIC) researchers, examining the root causes of inequality, and exploring feasible strategies for moving toward a more equitable future. The primary objective of this work was to build an anonymised, synthesised base of evidence from which future research, guidance, and initiatives that support LMIC research could be built, ensuring that contributions from LMIC researchers are not marginalised, but centred.