Welcome
Welcome to this free online course on Indigenous research and evaluation methodologies with Professor Bagele Chilisa. Bagele is a leading African scholar, thought leader, speaker and author who has written extensively on decolonising research and evaluation methodologies. Her book Indigenous Research Methodologies is used in many universities across the globe.
Are you interested in how research can honour local knowledges, centre community voices, and braid together diverse ways of knowing to address complex social problems?
The course will enable you to explore approaches that challenge dominant research paradigms and support relational, culturally responsive, and decolonising ways of researching with people and their stories.
It also provides opportunities for you to reflect on the ethics, politics, and practice implications of your work and strengthen skills in research as a liberatory practice.
Bagele is hoping this course will be relevant for researchers; practitioners doing community work; development partners working with communities; funders; commissioners; and graduate students pursuing their degrees.
It’s a unique course where you will:
- view a series of videos filmed in Bagele’s garden in Gaborone, Botswana, in August 2026
- read interviews and articles by Bagele and others
- learn about contexts where these ideas have been applied
- and relate the content to your own context and research projects.
All the resources are available at no cost. There’s no need to register. You can start straight away and work through the course whenever suits you.
Here is a welcome message from Bagele:
Certification module
There is an optional certification module that enables you to engage with Professor Chilisa directly and to gain a certificate of completion for the course.
In addition to writing and posting reflections as you proceed through the course, you will need to write a short essay about how you plan to engage with Indigenous research methodologies in your context. Bagele will personally respond to your essay, and you will then have a chance to attend a small group discussion with Bagele and other participants to discuss your hopes and plans.
This certification modules costs US$150.
For more information about Bagele Chilisa and the team involved in producing this course, please read “Introducing Bagele Chilisa and the team”.
If you have practical questions about the course, you may find them answered here.
Now … let’s begin by considering how Indigenous research is a journey.