How does shared identity between researcher and the researched influence trust-building for data generation and knowledge production? We reflect on this question based on two separate studies conducted by African-based researchers in sociology and political science in Nigeria. We advanced two interrelated positions. The first underscores the…

African university research is rarely used by policy-makers in the development planning process because there is mutual suspicion between the university and government, there is a dichotomy between university-based researchers and the rural populations intended as the beneficiaries of development, and research is seriously underfunded. (Author/MSE)