Supporting inclusion policies and practices for Indigenous groups within research and higher education institutions in Central America

 

There is an underrepresentation of Indigenous people in higher education institutions and other spaces of knowledge production in Central America. This not only limits opportunities for these groups but also hinders the overall diversity and quality of knowledge production. There is a lack of programs and policies that favour the inclusion of Indigenous populations in research and national science systems in the region. This project posits that this is largely due to the lack of full understanding of the benefits of inclusion for knowledge production and the intersectional and systemic barriers hindering said inclusion by Indigenous groups. IDRC has worked with science granting councils and research organizations in the region to provide postdoctoral fellowships for Indigenous women scientists. While these steps have contributed to Indigenous women´s careers in meaningful and demonstrable ways, there is a recognition of the need to move beyond individual-level support towards systemic and systematic changes in institutional policies towards more inclusion at scale.

This project aims to advance the development of inclusive policies by and for Indigenous people, particularly women, in universities and research centres in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Belize. By building a knowledge-exchange network across these Central American countries, this project proposes to work with reputable local universities in each country to analyze the levels and types of participation by Indigenous people in higher education institutions and other spaces of scientific production, and the barriers and conditions that can hinder or aid their engagement. Lastly, the project aims to mobilize findings and generate policy recommendations for further inclusion in institutional policies and practices within targeted higher education institutions and research centres in Central America.