Informing ‘good’ global health research partnerships: A scoping review of guiding principles

Background:
Several sets of principles have been proposed to guide global health research
partnerships and mitigate inequities inadvertently caused by them. The existence of multiple
sets of principles poses a challenge for those seeking to critically engage with and develop
their practice. Which of these is best to use, and why? To what extent, if any, is there
agreement across proposed principles?

Objective:
The objectives of this review were to: (1) identify and consolidate existing docu ments and principles to guide global health research partnerships; (2) identify areas of
overlapping consensus, if any, regarding which principles are fundamental in these partner ships; (3) identify any lack of consensus in the literature on core principles to support these
partnerships.
Methods: A scoping review was conducted to gather documents outlining ‘principles’ of
good global health research partnerships. A broad search of academic databases to gather
peerreviewed literature was conducted, complemented by a hand-search of key global health
funding institutions for grey literature guidelines.

Results:
Our search yielded nine sets of principles designed to guide and support global
health research partnerships. No single principle recurred across all documents reviewed.
Most frequently cited were concerns with mutual benefits between partners (n = 6) and
equity (n = 4). Despite a lack of consistency in the inclusion and definition of principles, all
sources highlighted principles that identified attention to fairness, equity, or justice as an
integral part of good global health research partnerships.

Conclusions:
Lack of consensus regarding how principles are defined suggests a need for
further discussion on what global health researchers mean by ‘core’ principles. Research
partnerships should seek to interpret the practical meanings and requirements of these
principles through international consultation. Finally, a need exists for tools to assist with
implementation of these principles to ensure their application in research practice.