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How to make Arctic research more inclusive? How to involve Indigenous voices in the development of funding calls, proposals and project evaluation, and in other actions and instruments throughout the whole project cycle? 

The CO-CREATE group invites concerned partners, organizations and the public to review the draft entitled “Roadmap to decolonial Arctic research” and provide their suggestions for further improvement. 

The Roadmap proposes concrete recommendations for action to the European Commission on how to make EU funding structures and processes, and EU research programmes more inclusive when it comes to research in the Arctic.

We look for constructive comments and suggestions to improve the recommendations for action, highlight key areas for action and future challenges and opportunities. Your constructive suggestions will contribute to mainstream decolonial research practices in the Arctic.

We will take into account all comments and suggestions when developing the revised, and final Roadmap.  

Why is a Roadmap important? At the international level, the rights of Indigenous Peoples have been receiving increasing legal recognition. Similarly, EU calls-for-proposals ask now for a ‘co-design approach’ in research (i.e. Horizon 2020). Arctic researchers are increasingly adopting decolonial research approaches. Yet mainstreaming decolonial research practices and initiatives that support indigenous sovereignty in the Arctic are often still lacking. There is a need to rethink research ethics and collaboration in European Arctic research. 

The CO-CREATE network is a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous rightsholders and researchers from social sciences and natural sciences from across the Arctic and European research institutions, working together to improve research relationships across ways of knowing in Arctic research. Among the lead partners are the Indigenous Voices research group at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, the Saami Council, the University of Oulu, the UFZ & iDiv, the IASS, the APRI and University of Vienna, the University of Groningen, the Foundation of Siberian Studies. They build on long-term experience in collaborative and co-creative Arctic research and lobbying. 

This draft of the roadmap has been prepared through a monthly series of online working meetings, and online survey, two dialogue sessions with the EU Commission, and an in-depth 3-day writing retreat in Alta, Norway hosted by the Indigenous Voices Research Group at UiT. 

For obtaining a copy of the draft Roadmap for review, please contact: thora.herrmann@oulu.fi.

Please review the draft Roadmap, and provide your suggestions on the four key thematic chapters by completing the on-line comment sheet by 04 December 2022.  

Subsequently, the second draft of the Roadmap will be elaborated in January 2023. The final Roadmap will be submitted by the end of February 2023 to EU PolarNet and the EU Commission. 

Any queries relating to the Roadmap should be addressed to: thora.herrmann@oulu.fi