Unpacking “Relevance” in North–South Collaboration

“Relevance” is a prevalent term in the lexicon of international academic collaboration. Yet, its true practical meaning remains elusive. Who determines what is relevant? How is relevance assessed? What underpins the notion of relevance in different contexts? These are some of the questions that emphasize the difficulty in having a shared understanding of relevance in academic collaboration. Any attempt to address this challenge will first have to explore the factors contributing to it.