Knowledge Democracy and Participatory Research

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://192.9.200.215:4000/handle/123456789/123

Welcome to the Knowledge Democracy and 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.

Browse

Author: search.filters.author.Tandon, RajeshEnd date: 1999

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 45
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Global foundations of community based research
    (0000) Tandon, Rajesh; Hall, Budd L
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Fifteen years of Participatory-Research-in-Asia
    (Participation & Governance, 1997) Tandon, Rajesh
    We 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.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    From clarity to anarchy: Participatory research approach
    (1979) Tandon, Rajesh
    As debates on participatory research gained ground in the late 1970s, questions arose about whether it was a methodology, a political stance, or something in between. This paper, presented at the African Regional Workshop on Participatory Research, examines those tensions by contrasting the perspectives of grassroots activists with those of professional researchers. It considers how participatory research challenges the conventions of classical inquiry by embracing action and subjectivity, yet in doing so risks appearing unruly or even anarchic. Rather than seeking neat resolutions, the study positions participatory research as an unsettled and evolving practice, shaped as much by politics as by method.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A note on the Participatory Research Project in the Asian region
    (1981) Tandon, Rajesh
    This 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.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Zapatistas in Chiapas
    (1984) Tandon, Rajesh
    At a moment when Mexico was entering a new era of economic liberalisation under NAFTA, an unexpected uprising in Chiapas reshaped debates on democracy, land, and indigenous rights. This paper examines the Zapatista movement within the longer history of indigenous struggle while drawing attention to its distinctive way of combining traditional claims with new tools of communication and solidarity. The research also considers how the movement’s vision travelled beyond Chiapas, raising questions about development, autonomy, and cultural survival. In doing so, it argues for seeing the Zapatistas not only as a regional rebellion but as a reminder that struggles over dignity and self-determination can unsettle dominant ideas of governance in ways that remain unresolved.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Notes on participatory research methodology for forest studies
    (1982-09) Tandon, Rajesh
    This document outlines a participatory research framework for studying the impact of forest legislation on forest-dwelling communities in India. It emphasizes involving local activists and residents directly in data collection, analysis, and reporting so that research becomes both documentation and a tool for mobilization.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Participatory research network
    (1987-03) Tandon, Rajesh
    As dissatisfaction with mainstream social science grew in the 1970s and 1980s, participatory research began to take shape as an alternative way of producing knowledge that was more closely tied to people’s struggles. This paper provides an appraisal of the first decade of participatory research and the networks that emerged around it. The study traces the evolution of the movement through three distinct phases: inception, consolidation, and diffusion. The initial years were shaped by a strong critique of conventional social science and the search for an alternative paradigm rooted in adult education and people’s struggles. The consolidation period witnessed the growth of regional networks, the establishment of participatory research as a recognized program within the International Council for Adult Education, and the development of organisations like PRIA in Asia. The phase of diffusion, then marked a shift toward deeper connections with social movements, as participatory research became more explicitly linked to issues such as land, deforestation, workers’ rights, and women’s empowerment. The paper emphasizes that the future of participatory research lies not only in refining methodology but also in expanding its influence within academia and linking more strongly with people’s concerns. By situating knowledge creation in the context of social struggles, the research underscores participatory research as both a methodology and a worldview that continues to inspire collective action and empowerment.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item

© 2024 PRIA - Knowledge Resource Centre.