Decolonising Odi Global External Facilitators

**Description**:
**Background**

ODI Global is a dynamic think tank that inspires action on injustice and inequality through collaborative research and impactful ideas for people and the planet. Decolonisation, equitable partnerships, and DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) are central to ODI Global’s strategy and ambitions for a new way of working: becoming an organization that internally implements and externally reflects a decolonising agenda. This means striving for diversity, equity, equal ownership, mutual accountability and respect, particularly when engaging with Global South/Global Majority researchers, institutions, communities and partners. ODI Global recognises its privileged role in knowledge production and aims to dismantle power dynamics in thought leadership and resource mobilisation that marginalise historically excluded voices.

For ODI Global this journey began in 2019 with the establishment by junior staff of the Decolonising Development Group (DDG), the subsequent formation of the Decolonising Policy and Research Task Force, and the recruitment of a Senior Advisor on Decolonising Research Partnerships. In 2024, ODI Global’s Senior Leadership Team assigned the new Chief Strategy and Governance Officer the role of SLT anchor to drive the decolonising research and policy agenda in the institute, and to facilitate the organisational change process to embed decolonisation principles across the ODI Global Network’s research, policy, and administrative operations, practices and procedures.

Within its 2021-2025 strategy, ODI Global has an organisation-wide Action Plan with quarterly progress on both decolonising research and policy and the development of equitable partnerships tracked and reported to its Board. Progress will be reviewed and action planning for two further years will be updated in the context of the overall strategy refresh exercise that ODI Global will undertake in the second quarter of 2025.

**The Foundational Learning Journey**

In 2025, ODI Global will launch its first internal knowledge-sharing initiative to empower all staff on our decolonising journey. This initial learning proposal is being co-created following a comprehensive organisational assessment and listening process. The foundational programme aims to provide all ODI Global colleagues with insights by which they are able to address gaps, challenges, and opportunities for driving internal decolonisation change in their specific areas of work and more broadly across the ODI Global Network. A pilot programme will take place in late February/ early March 2025, with a process of continuing refinement and delivery to follow.

This online foundational programme will be rolled out to over +200 ODI Global Network staff based in offices in London, Brussels and Washington DC. The goal is to create a space for safe exchange, reflection and mutual learning that leads to the emergence of practical guidance or ideas on how to decolonise ODI Global's internal operational and research modalities. While initially delivered in English, future iterations may include other global languages. Sessions will be co-facilitated by members of ODI Global’s internal decolonisation advisors and stakeholder groups who are working together to co-create and to collaborate on the implementation process.

**Purpose of external facilitators’ role**

The external facilitators invited to form part of the **ODI Global “Decolonisation Roster”** will co-facilitate **ODI Global’s Decolonisation Foundational Learning Journey** and related **knowledge sharing deep dives**. These internal initiatives aim to enhance the skills, capabilities, knowledge, and understanding of decolonisation, equitable partnerships, localisation, racial justice, diversity, inclusion and belonging considering evolving and complex global policy and culturally sensitive debates around these topics. They might also be on-call to support diverse initiatives to be organised in collaboration with staff, associates and partners with the view to consolidate and enhance ODI Global’s decolonisation aspirations. External co-facilitators will work closely with the Senior Advisor on Decolonising Research Partnerships and ODI Global’s diverse working groups enabling the implementation and evaluation of ODI Global’s decolonisation objectives.

The two-week **“Decolonisation Foundational Learning Journey”** will be an online inclusive space to share knowledge and perspectives on issues such as, for example, a brief overview of historical and academic debates on decolonisation and locally-led development, practical approaches to promote equal ownership, respect, transparency and mutual accountability in global research and policy partnerships, decolonial approaches to research, evaluation, public communication and press, non-violent and intercultural communication and anything within the broad spectrum of experiences to promote ways of working that are inclusive, empowering and re