The question of whether neutrality is possible in academic development invites us to explore the particular place of academic development in our institutions and how academic development is positioned in our particular national and institutional environments. This paper, which reports on a small pilot study of how Canadian academic development is positioned institutionally, will use post-colonial metaphors of development to demonstrate the impossibility of neutrality in academic development work. It will also explore how academic developers might move forward in a decolonizing manner that acknowledges our non-neutrality, respecting the expertise and experience of our disciplinary colleagues, while at the same time ensuring a collaborative teaching and learning environment.