Participation is one of the keywords in modern development aid, but it often comes short. We evaluate development projects and help to find a way to not only hear but include local voices, understand their message, and fit it into the project design.
Germany has a vibrant development sector and one of the biggest fundings worldwide. Furthermore, Germany is a frontrunner in terms of inclusion of minorities, women empowerment and the protection of indigenous peoples.
But in terms of inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, of real participation, development workers and scientists face the same difficulty. There is just no reliable dataset available. Germany’s development sector is unmonitored and hence blind on how IK is included and used in development work and how this picture changes over the different layers of the development sector.
IMIK has committed itself together with its partners to close this gap. A yearly survey among all levels and stakeholders of German development work will be conducted and the results presented in a comprehensive report. The raw data will be available freely online.
Report 2021
The first survey was answered by around 60 foundations, charity stores, NGO’s, research institutions, and municipalities in Baden-Württemberg (Germany). The participants agreed upon the need to include indigenous knowledge unanimously, but they stated difficulties in finding suitable and particularly feasible consultation. It also became clear that albeit participation of local communities was perceived as crucial, its funding framework was not clearly defined in the total project budget.
Reports are so far only available in German. If you are interested in the results, please contact.