Knowledge Democracy / Participatory Research
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://192.9.200.215:4000/handle/123456789/123
Welcome to the Knowledge Democracy / Participatory Research Community. This community serves as a comprehensive repository of resources on participatory approaches, community-based research, and collaborative inquiry methods. Our mission is to foster knowledge sharing and support initiatives that empower communities to contribute to research, ensuring their voices shape the knowledge that impacts their lives.
Explore a wealth of materials, including case studies, policy papers, training guides, and research publications that highlight the practice and principles of participatory research worldwide.
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Item ‘A giant human hashtag’: Learning and the #occupy movement(2011) Hall, Budd LHow do forms of learning evolve in social movements? In this chapter, Dr. Budd L. Hall discusses the pedagogical significance of the ways in which learning takes place both within a movement and as a result of it. Taking the case of the Occupy Movement, which he considers one of the most important social movements of the twentieth and twenty first centuries in rich countries, Hall highlights the synchronised scale with which it aligned purpose and process. Viewing every participant as both a learner and a teacher, he reflects on how the organising structure of the movement differed from preceding movements against global capitalism. He discusses several defining characteristics of the movement, including collective thinking, direct democracy, decentralised leadership, and the creation of new forms of knowledge. Hall also emphasises the important role played by social media platforms as spaces of knowledge creation and dissemination. In developing his argument, he draws extensively on tweets shared under hashtags such as #Occupy, #OccupyMovement, and #OWS, among others. Through this exploration, Hall demonstrates how social movement learning holds transformative potential at both theoretical and practical levels, showing how the two remain in sustained dialogue within movements like Occupy.Item A note on the participatory research project in the asian region(1981) Tandon, RajeshThis paper traces the rise of participatory research as a response to the limits of conventional social science, linking it to wider struggles for democracy and development. It reflects on both its potential and contradictions, framing it as an ongoing project rather than a finished method.Item Bridging knowledge cultures: A guide for community practitioners and community organizations(UNESCO Chair, 2024) Lepore, Walter; Hall, Budd L; Tandon, RajeshItem Building a global learning network: The international council for adult education(International Council for Adult Education, 0000) Hall, Budd LWhat can we learn from the histories, tasks, and challenges of building global cooperation in adult education? In this chapter, Dr. Budd L Hall reflects on the emergence and significance of the International Council for Adult Education as a key step in strengthening international collaboration in adult learning. He traces its historical roots in post war movements for literacy, liberation, and development, and situates its formation within broader struggles for democratic participation and social justice. The chapter outlines ICAE’s early tasks, including building regional networks, amplifying voices from the Global South, and shaping global policy debates in partnership with bodies such as UNESCO. Hall also discusses internal tensions, funding constraints, and the political challenges of sustaining an independent global civil society network. By examining questions of direction, alliances, and accountability, he invites readers to reflect on how global networks can remain responsive to changing contexts while staying grounded in their transformative commitments.Item Creating Knowledge: A Monopoly? Participatory Research in Development(Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 1982-06) Hall, Budd L; Gillete, Arthur; Tandon, RajeshItem Development training of marginal farmers in india(1980) Tandon, RajeshItem Enabling Public Grievance Redressal Systems in Municipalities: An Operational Manual(Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 2013)Grievance redressal lies at the heart of accountable governance, yet in many contexts it remains fragmented and inaccessible to ordinary citizens. This manual offers a practical framework for designing and implementing public grievance systems that are transparent, responsive, and rooted in citizen participation. It sets out processes for creating enabling environments, building institutional structures, and clarifying roles for officials and communities alike. By addressing both procedural steps and the broader ethos of trust and accountability, the manual positions grievance redressal not only as a technical exercise but as a means of deepening democratic practice.Item Entry for new pergammon encyclopaedia of adult education: Social movement learning(0000) Hall, Budd L; Clover, Darlene E.Item Fifteen years of Participatory-Research-in-Asia(Participation & Governance, 1997) Tandon, RajeshWe have just completed fifteen years of our experience as PRIA. The seeds of this organisation were sown by the early work on participatory research during the late 70s. That experience provided the philosophical basis for our work: Knowledge is Power. This perspective inspired the early activities we undertook by promoting a number of initiatives which emphasised recognition and articulation of indigenous popular knowledge in the fields of education, health-care, natural resource management etc. Over the years, different ways of expressing that philosophy gained ascendancy in PRIA's work. Today, our work in strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions as mechanisms of local self-governance is its most explicit expression. We are using methods of organising and promoting the learning of leadership in local bodies to play their rightful role as self-governing institutions. Special emphasis is being placed on learning and empowerment of new leadership in these institutions: women and socioeconomically weaker sections of society.Item Item Knowledge and social change: An inquiry into participatory research in India(Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 1985-10) Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA)Item Knowledge as a commodity and participatory research(UNESCO, 1979) Hall, Budd LWhat is knowledge? How is it formed? Who has the authority to “make” it? and who does it ultimately serve? These are the central questions Dr. Budd Hall raises in this article. He critiques the way traditional intellectuals such as scientists and scholars, often trained in elite universities and supported by international funding agencies, are institutionally positioned as the legitimate producers of knowledge. Embedded within particular class locations, this group often produces knowledge that serves its own class interests and maintains dominant social relations. In this process, organic intellectuals engaged in critical reflection and grassroots organising are sidelined as knowledge makers. Drawing on the works of Freire, Mao and others, Hall reflects on the role of intellectuals. He advances a systematic critique of survey research and outlines the guiding principles of participatory research. The article is a critical inquiry into the nature of knowledge within the new international order. It calls for moving beyond viewing knowledge as intellectual commodities such as papers and conferences and toward recognising and valuing local and indigenous knowledge systems, while developing more decentralised ways of legitimising people as producers of knowledge.Item Local Food Project: Strategies for increasing food security on Vancouver Island(Office of Community Based Research, 2011-08) Office of Community Based Research, University of Victoria (OBCR-UVic)This report highlights the results of Vancouver Island Community Research Alliance's (VICRA) Local Food Project. The project's goal is to provide current evidence, drawn from community expertise and peer-reviewed research related to food security on Vancouver Island, to engage in strategic collaborative work, and inform opportunities for future action. The report summarizes research carried out by student interns from post-secondary institutions on Vancouver Island, with oversight provided by advisory committees comprised of both community members and academics. Each strategy area had its own unique approach and process and this is reflected in the findings.Item Local knowledge, social movements and participatory research: Indian perspectives(Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 2021-11-30) Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA)Item Looking back, looking forward-reflections on the International participatory research network(Forests, Trees and People Newsletter, 1999) Hall, Budd LItem Mobilizing community and academic knowledge for transformative change: The story of the UNESCO Chair in community based research and social responsibility in higher education(The Canadian Commission for UNESCO’s IdeaLab, 2017) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, RajeshWhat role can higher education play in advancing knowledge democracy and fulfilling its social responsibility? This paper co-authored by Dr. Budd L. Hall and Dr. Rajesh Tandon reflects the establishment, evolution, and contributions of the UNESCO chair in community-based research and social responsibility in higher education. Established in July 2012 as a unique co-chair partnership bridging the University of Victoria (Canada) and Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA, India). This paper outlines the effectiveness of a distinctive global North-South co-chair method in connecting academic institutions with grassroots practitioners to promote knowledge and democracy. The paper explores how universities should collaborate with communities in the co-creation of knowledge to promote social responsibility, inclusion, and sustainable development. Through its three core domains, knowledge mobilization, policy advocacy, and capacity building, the chair has generated substantial, systemic impact. Through global reports, policy dialogues, and training programs, the Chair has influenced higher education policy, fostered international networks, and contributed to embedding engagement and participatory research into the everyday functions of universities. This paper demonstrates how universities can contribute to social change by working closely with communities, promoting sustainable development, and strengthening their social responsibility.Item Participatory research(0000) Tandon, RajeshItem Participatory research and participatory social action(1980-04-13) Tandon, RajeshItem Participatory research for people's empowerment(Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 1999) Prasad, B. Devi; Rao, K. Visweswara