Ethical reflexivity in action: contract researcher strategies and collaborative governance insights from sport for development

This paper examines how ethical reflexivity can deepen our understanding of contract researcher strategies and collaborative governance in Sport for Development (SFD). Drawing on a critical incident from our role as contract researchers in a Dutch-led SFD program, we explore how ethical tensions emerge from conflicting institutional expectations, personal values, and unequal power relations between actors from the Global North and South. Rather than offering definitive solutions, the study presents ethical reflexivity as a situated practice. Practically, it enables researchers to navigate ambiguity and make sense of tensions as they arise. Epistemologically, it sheds light on the everyday micro-practices that shape collaborative governance. Ethically, it underscores the need for ongoing reflection and accountability in contexts marked by asymmetry and contractual dependency. By foregrounding the moral and political dimensions of research practice, this study contributes to critical debates on power, ethics, and knowledge production in the collaborative governance of SFD.