A team of research experts from ACTS are part of a project working towards exploring alternative methods of pursuing knowledge with a view to making them more suited to wider application without necessarily losing on scientific rigor.

ACTS is implementing the project in partnership with the University of Innsbruck (UIBK) and University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU). Dubbed Decoloniality Book Project, the initiative aims to rid existing research methodologies of rigidities that hamper effective outcomes and utility. It is based on the premise that whereas existing methodologies help standardize research approaches, their adoption, application and utility of associated findings vary widely depending on the type of research, discipline, personal preferences, understanding of the methodology and even geographical location.

How do we ‘decolonize methodologies’ in research and policy appraisal and provide alternative opportunities for thinking, knowing - thereby liberating the pursuit of knowledge from the stranglehold of globalizing structures and their conditioning effect?

Decoloniality Book

Opportunities arising from and challenges hindering the application and utility of findings deriving from established methods will be distilled in a book which sets out to explore how these methods can be modified in a way that ensures they effectively inform policy decisions and generate wider political debates intended to enrich knowledge, enhance practice and nurture better socio-economic outcomes.

More information about the project can be accessed here