With the increasing recognition of the health and psychosocial challenges in developing countries, more research in these countries is essential. Over 90% of infants are born in poorer countries, whereas over 90% of research on infancy is conducted in wealthier countries ΝTomlinson & Swartz, 2003Ν. Research collaborations between wealthier and less wealthy countries are, however, complex, and beset by two major categories of difficulty. The first issue is that of power; in the past, research collaborations were often characterized by significant power differentials with little consideration for the impact of these on the research process or the quality of data. As a result, such collaborations were labeled as what has been termed a "colonial" relationship, with the possible paradoxical effect that many researchers from developed countries, while wanting to engage in collaborative research with colleagues from the developing world, may feel a certain reluctance as they do not wish to be seen as "exploitative" or, indeed, "colonial." The second major concern for collaborative work between wealthier and poorer countries is very much bound up with the first. There has been a worry that cultural differences in parenting and infancy have been overlooked, and that as result of the universalizing gaze of dominant practice, culture has commonly been reduced to an irritating "noise" variable. This special issue of the Infant Mental Health Journal has been designed to contribute between the covers of one journal issue to these interlocking debates.
Contemporary infant research increasingly involves larger studies, such as randomized controlled trials, that necessitate collaborations between research teams and between countries. Depending on the approach and the nature of the partnership, these can be mutually beneficial, without any process of exploitation. Expertise from developed countries can significantly contribute to the development of skills and infrastructure in less wealthy countries,