The importance of mutual study

THE IMPORTANCE OF MUTUAL STUDY
Is ‘mutual learning’ simply a development trend, or an important foundation for development cooperation and global governance? Who benefits from mutual learning? And what role should organisations like IDS play in mutual learning for development?
What do we mean by mutual learning?
The question of how to participate in knowledge exchange is fundamental to development practice and, at a recent workshop with colleagues involved in the IDS International Initiatives, it was considered essential to how we evolve our thinking and research agenda. But the concept of mutual learning is complex, multifaceted, context specific, and defined by the relationship between participants. Mutual learning is a scale; while it aims to be balanced between parties sometimes it will benefit one party’s learning more. While learning can be deep and transformational, it can be more informal and between individuals.

Figure 1: word cloud responding to the question ‘what does mutual learning mean to you?’. Completed by IDS colleagues
Mutual learning as a phrase originated in China. It can be interpreted as an opportunity or platform (when and where) for knowledge exchange. Others focus more on the process (how and what); how to build relationships or develop policies in a participatory and inclusive way. The ambition is for ‘learning without borders or categories’ (such as low-income country or ‘developed’) where processes are tailored to ensure learning is horizontal and reciprocal.
Mutual learning is vital to how we decolonise development and global governance. It is a means of diversifying the voices at the table, and facilitating true multi-directional knowledge exchanges. ‘Decolonisation’ is a complex term and of varying relevance to different contexts. For some countries, including China, they were never colonies. In other regions (such as Latin America) ‘decolonial’ issues tend to relate more to national experiences of the treatment of indigenous peoples and economic subordination after independence than to occupation by a colonial power.
We need to move beyond the idea that ‘poor countries need capacity building to develop’ but must be mindful that we risk losing the richness of ‘mutuality’ if it is understood as the UK only receiving knowledge. Decolonisation is important but, in some ways, mutual learning goes further. While recognising multiple, historical, and constructed power relations, it perhaps considers the full picture of flows of power, finance, and knowledge.