“This is not the Time for a Lecture” - Intercultural Collaboration for Labour Market Inclusion from Cambodian Partners’ Perspective : A Qualitative Case Study Exploring Intercultural Collaboration Through a Postcolonial Lens

Abstract: It is well known that international project teams and collaboration partners are operating in complex cultural settings influenced by factors such as postcolonial power dynamics, communication differences and dissynergies in motivation. Such discrepancies may have impeding effects on end-results, according to some scholars of intercultural communication. This paper aims to explore similarities and differences in communication and collaboration perspectives through the lens of Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) and Face Negotiation Theory (FNT). It does so by analysing qualitative data collected through in depth interviews with project team members from the NGO sector and the government in Cambodia. The project serving as an example case for this study is “An Inclusive Labour Market in Cambodia - Support to People with Disabilities 2021-2023”. The project is a collaboration between a Swedish government agency, five Cambodian NGOs, and a Finnish NGO as well as a number of international organisations operating in Cambodia. The Cambodian government, in particular National Employment Agency, (NEA), are also involved to anchor project results on a systematic level and create sustainability after the end of the project implementation period. The study agrees with postcolonial perspectives of international development and puts the Cambodian project partners’ perspective at the core of the analysis. In doing so, the aim is to outline and analyse differences and similarities found among representatives from different Cambodian stakeholders. In short, the key findings focus on how to strengthen communication and collaboration for more sustainable outcomes. In doing so, the study hopes to make a valuable contribution towards disability inclusion on the Cambodian labour market.