Table 2 Common themes of external barriers to health research leadership in and from the GS

Allocation and distribution of funding and resources

• Politics of research

• Limited funds directed into research in lower-income countries

• Limited impartiality in allocation of health research funding

• Little funding and focus on building health research capacity in GS

• Favouritism/factors other than merit influencing research commissioning

Characteristics and focus of GN–GS collaborations

• Limited focus on capacity-building of research leadership skills, e.g. partnership development skills, networking skills

• Few GS leadership positions in GN-GS partnership projects, most leadership positions are held by GN research leaders

• Power imbalance in social or economic capital and scientific capital (academic power)

• Extractive and unequal relationships in partnerships

• Unequal distribution of responsibilities in research stages with dominant and critical roles such as setting research plans and priorities, designing research questions and data collection tools, managing funds, data analysis undertaken by GN partners, while roles sometimes perceived as lesser such as data collection assigned to GS partners

• Unequal distribution of lead authorship in research collaborations

• Scientific imperialism in global health research

• Colonial power in research capacity-building initiatives, paternalistic approach to building capacity

• Support brain drain by acting as pull factors

Publication and information dissemination challenges

• Editorial board-related bias

• Editorial independence and freedom potentially influenced by politics, journal owners, drug companies, political parties, mass media, scientists and researchers

• Political sanctions may limit publication opportunities for researchers from those settings