What challenges for global development research are posed by a more decolonial approach? Colonial genealogies and responses

The increasing appetite for decolonial approaches in development research challenges conventional methodologies rooted in colonial legacies. While the relationship between colonialism and development is well documented, the colonial underpinnings of key research methods, such as surveys and big data, have received less attention. This paper critically examines how these methods, as tools of colonial governance, continue to predominate in development research and reduce the space for decolonial alternatives. It highlights thmae continuities between colonial-era data practices, such as population censuses, and contemporary methods like big data, arguing that they can perpetuate power asymmetries and “data colonialism.” In contrast, decolonial methodologies emphasise reflexivity, relationality, and the active participation of indigenous communities. However, there is potential for these methods to be co-opted or instrumentalized within the global development research ecosystem, if they are adopted without a crit