Developments in information technology have revolutionized the manner by which scholars and activists have created, established, or strengthened platforms for knowledge sharing and creation. However, it is observed that collaborations initiated by scholars from the north with the participation of scholars from the south produce more meaningful results when compared to south-south collaborations. This paper investigates the reasons for this using a case study involving a network of scholars and activists in developing Asia.
The study showed that there are at least three impediments to fostering south-south collaborations, namely, technology gaps, lack of thematic fit, and the resource constraints affecting scholars as individuals and as members of a network. The research recommends facilitated collaboration that would address the key challenges indicated above. This would entail human, financial, and technical resources that would create an enabling environment for scholars in the south to pursue collaborative work.