Planning International Travel

Academics based in Scotland and abroad emphasised the crucial role of international travel in fostering equitable and sustainable partnerships. While virtual collaboration was considered a feasible option for maintaining existing relationships, there may be key aspects of international research partnership building where face-to-face meetings are critical. Identifying these elements during the early stages of partnership development can help reduce overall travel while ensuring trips are used strategically to bolster collaborations and deliver research outcomes. 

Overall, we recommend considering travel over the lifespan of a collaboration. In this context, travel at the beginning of a new relationship or to facilitate co-development approaches may reduce the need for travel later, when virtual tools can be effective for maintaining connectivity once a strong foundation has been established.

Contact Us

Evaluating the Need for Travel

Here are some aspects to consider when deciding whether international travel is warranted:

  • Are you really needed: There can often be a feeling of missing out when you are not present for all aspects of a study, or even a feeling that it might not be done as well as it should be if you are not there. Critically evaluate whether this is in fact the case. Many senior researchers reflected that they learned during COVID travel restrictions that they did not actually "need" to be at the study location with field teams. 
  • Security Concerns: When researchers work in authoritarian regimes where monitoring of social media and communication challenges have been reported, using mediums such as email, Zoom, and WhatsApp may jeopardise the safety of sensitive data. Thus, it's vital to exercise caution. In-person trips may be one of the only avenues open to researchers to enable research to take place.
  • Human-centered data collection: Research methods including participatory, qualitative, clinical, epidemiological, quantitative surveys often require building strong relationships. Building opportunities for longer trips and in-country placements can reduce the travel footprint associated with relationship building.
  • Effective Knowledge Exchange: Effective engagement with stakeholders beyond academia can be challenging. Physical presence may be important for building connections and trust with stakeholders including policymakers.
  • Early Relationship Building: In-person meetings are often crucial for establishing relationships and co-creating research plans. Consider planning meetings at the outset of the grant to reduce the need for later trips.
  • Research Project Development: Face-to-face interactions can facilitate the development of research questions and work plans that reflect the priorities and concerns of all collaborators.
  • Lab-Based Disciplines: For lab-based research, where experiments are conducted in-country, ensuring there is space and support to troubleshoot or adapt the approach can be useful. During the pandemic when researchers could not go in-person, key adaptations such as virtual training through using cameras in laboratories helped to support data collection and analysis.

Ensuring Travel is Equitable

When planning international travel, it is important that the benefits of travel are equitably distributed and do not further exacerbate existing inequalities within international research partnerships. Here are some considerations:

  • Equitable Exchange: Consider international partners traveling to the UK for meetings rather than only UK project members staff traveling.
  • Visa Challenges: It is important to recognise the complexities and hidden costs of UK visa applications, particularly for academics traveling to the UK from the Global South. Consider factors such as processing time, travel to the issuing city or country, and courier costs. These issues should be discussed as part of budget planning, with the costs for visas (and the ancillary costs associated with securing visas) incorporated into the project budget. When supporting international research partners to secure visas, please consider contacting Mary Ryan, International Development Research Manager, for support with visa applications.
  • Efficient Travel: Maximise the impact of international flights by grouping visits and extending stay durations to reduce the need for multiple trips.
  • Care Responsibilities: Bear in mind the additional challenges faced by individuals with caregiving responsibilities when planning longer trips. It may not be possible for staff members to take longer trips.
  • Prioritise Early Career Researchers: Prioritise Early Career Researchers (ECRs) for in-person attendance at international conferences, with senior academics participating remotely.
  • Foreign Exchange Accessibility: Be mindful of foreign exchange accessibility. Develop a clear plan to support team members arriving in the UK, including transportation options (public or private), pre-paid accommodations with meals, and exploring options for provision of funds up front that visitors can then reconcile with receipts (contact Mary Ryan for more details on this option).