Knowledge Democracy

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50th anniversary edition of pedagogy of the oppressed: A review
(2020) Hall, Budd L
A Canadian approach to higher education, community-engagement and the public good: The future of continuing education
(2009) Hall, Budd L
What is the relationship between society and universities in the 21st century? In this article, Budd L Hall reflects on the future direction of Canadian higher education and its responsibility to the public good. Situating his argument within long-standing debates in continuing education, he examines how universities are increasingly shaped by market pressures, corporatisation, and funding constraints. Instead of framing social justice and economic concerns as oppositional, Hall calls for a more integrated approach that recognises the interdependence of markets, communities, and democratic life. Drawing on decades of work in community-based research and engagement, he argues that universities must move towards institutionalising meaningful partnerships with communities. Community-based research, he suggests, should be embedded within teaching and research practices as a pathway to social action. In conclusion, this article invites readers to reconsider how higher education institutions can remain socially relevant by strengthening their civic role and deepening their accountability to the communities they serve.
Background document for university - community engagement
(University of Victoria, 2007-09-15) Office of Community-Based Research (OCBR); Dragne, Cornelia
The report examined the ways universities coordinate their engagement efforts from the university's side, by examining academic reports and universities websites. Being a two-way relationship, the picture would have been complete if the community side would have been presenting its own account. However, due to the large number of different interactions with various community partners, even for a single university such picture is not feasible for this report to build. Academics engaged in community-based research and activities are people committed to the idea of engagement and its strong supporters. By reviewing accounts of existing institutional commitments, the report presents a view strongly supportive of the idea that allocating institutional resources to university-community engagement is the way to go. The report overlooks the epistemological debates surrounding engagement scholarship and community-based forms of research, as well as the concerns about the ethics of academic-community interaction. Another limitation stems from the fact that English language was used for all the searches.
Beyond epistemicide: Knowledge democracy, higher education and the path towards pluriversality
(UNESCO Chair, 2016) Hall, Budd L
How have our knowledge systems been shaped by histories of colonisation, enclosure and dispossession, and what might it mean to move beyond them? In this lecture delivered in Brighton, Dr. Budd L. Hall traces how contemporary knowledge systems are rooted in long histories of land theft, colonial expansion and epistemicide. Beginning with a personal account of his family’s migration to Canada and the acquisition of Indigenous land through illegal and immoral means, he situates his own access to higher education within the material histories of dispossession that financed universities and consolidated Western knowledge systems as dominant. Drawing on David Harvey’s notion of accumulation by dispossession and Boaventura de Sousa Santos’ concept of epistemicide, Hall argues that universities have functioned as sites of enclosure, determining who is authorised to produce knowledge and whose knowledge systems are dismissed. Through examples from India, Uganda, South Africa and beyond, the lecture highlights alternative knowledge systems that persist despite marginalisation. It calls for transforming knowledge systems through knowledge democracy, co-creation and a sustained commitment towards epistemic justice.
Bridging knowledge cultures: Rebalancing power in the Co-Construction of knowledge
(Brill, 2024) Lepore, Walter; Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh
Establishing truly respectful, mutually beneficial, and equitable knowledge creation partnerships with diverse communities poses significant challenges for academia. Bridging Knowledge Cultures provides valuable insights into the dynamics involved and the obstacles encountered when attempting to establish meaningful research partnerships between different knowledge domains. This book goes beyond exploration by offering practical recommendations to overcome these challenges and forge effective collaboration between mainstream research institutions and community groups and organizations. This book includes ten compelling case studies conducted by research and training hubs established through the global Knowledge for Change Consortium. These case studies encompass community-university research partnerships across various geographical locations, tackling a wide range of societal issues and acknowledging the wealth of knowledge created by local communities. The overarching goal of this book is to inspire the next generation of researchers and professionals to embrace the richness of diverse perspectives and knowledge cultures. By advocating for the construction of "bridges" through practical approaches, the book encourages a shift from competition to collaboration in research. Ultimately, it aims to foster an environment where different forms of knowledge can intersect and thrive, leading to a more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of the world around us.
Challenges in the co-construction of knowledge: A global study on strengthening structures for community university research partnerships
(0000) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh; Tremblay, Crystal; Singh, Wafa
What does it mean to institutionalise the co-construction of knowledge between universities and communities at a global level? This paper begins from the premise that knowledge democracy requires moving beyond expert driven models towards collaborative processes that recognise the knowledge generating capacities of each human being and of every community. Community university research partnerships are presented as a key pathway for this shift, as they create structures through which research questions, methods, processes and outcomes can be shaped jointly. Drawing on a global survey and national case studies across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, the authors examine the histories, discourses and institutional forms that support or constrain such partnerships. This paper further analyses models such as Science Shops, centers of community-based research and national policy frameworks, while identifying tensions and practical challenges in embedding such work within universities. It highlights the importance of facilitative structures, supportive leadership, transnational networks and sustained institutional commitment. In doing so, it argues that institutionalising community-based research is not only a technical exercise but a political and ideological process that reshapes how universities understand knowledge, partnership and their responsibilities to society.
Citizen report card: Citizen feedback for effective service delivery: An operational manual
(Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 2013) Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA)
Asia is urbanising at a pace faster than ever. The ever increasing population in the Asian cities and the consequent increase in demands for supply of basic services like housing, water, sanitation, health, education etc. pose enormous challenges to the urban local governance institutions. The existing capacities and resources of most urban local governance institutions are over stretched. The situation is exacerbated due to lack of governance reforms leading to enormous deficits in the transparency, accountability and citizen participation – the hallmarks of any democratic governance institutions. The engagement of civil society organisations (CSOs) is pivotal in making the urban local governance institutions transparent, accountable, responsive and participatory. However, the capacities of CSOs to engage and hold the urban local governance institutions are also limited. The project “Deepening Local Democratic Governance through Social Accountability in Asia” aimed to improve democratic practices in urban local governance institutions through social accountability for improving the provision of basic services to the most marginalised families in two Asian cities – Rajshahi in Bangladesh and Takhmao in Cambodia. The project was supported by the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) and was implemented by the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) in partnership with PRIP Trust, Bangladesh and SILAKA, Cambodia. It addressed the deficits of democratic practices, particularly the lack of citizen participation, transparency and accountability mechanisms in municipalities, due to which these institutions often fail to deliver services effectively and equitably and lack responsiveness towards the most marginalised. It made efforts to enhance organised citizen action and participation through mobilisation, capacity building, campaigns and participatory monitoring (using citizen report card and citizen monitoring methods) to ensure accountability. Its endeavours included enhancing citizens’ access to information and basic services by developing partnership with the elected municipalities to establish ‘models’ of social accountability mechanisms, particularly using citizen charters, pro-active information disclosures and public grievance redressal mechanisms. Having harvested the lessons from these interventions at the municipality level coupled with specific policy analysis at the sub-national and national levels, policy dialogues and policy oriented capacity building learning events were organised towards policy changes. It contributed to enhance capacities of local intermediary CSOs through training, exposure visits, on-site coaching and mentoring for implementing various social accountability approaches and tools and also influencing national and sub-national policies on urban governance issues. One of the critical outcomes of the intervention was to systematise the experience of implementing specific social accountability approaches, tools and methods so that the practitioners from CSOs as well as municipal officials could scale up, mainstream and institutionalise these practices elsewhere. Three operational manuals produced through this initiative are significant step towards these purposes. We sincerely hope that the practitioners from CSOs and officials from the municipalities will find these manuals handy and useful.
Editorial: Knowledge democracy for a transforming world
(UTS ePress, 2020) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh
The past five decades have seen enormous, worldwide growth in, and appreciation of, knowledge democracy - the discourse which we have found best contains the various theoretical approaches, values and practices within which participatory research exists. This Introduction outlines our understanding of knowledge democracy, which can be expressed by a number of principles: (1) Recognition of a multiplicity of epistemologies and ways of knowing; (2) Openness to assembling, representing and sharing knowledge in multiple forms (including traditional academic formats and all manner of social and arts-based approaches); (3) Recognition that knowledge emerging from the daily lives of excluded persons is an essential tool for social movements and other transformational strategies; and the (4) Requirement to carefully balance the need to protect the ownership of communities' knowledge with the need to share knowledge in a free and open access manner. We are pleased to present five articles from around the world that broaden and deepen our understanding of knowledge democracy -from a theoretical perspective, a practice perspective, an ontological perspective, and an action or political perspective.
Impact assessment. community-engaged research (CER) at the University of Victoria, 2009-2015
(University of Victoria, 2017-05-23) Tremblay, Crystal
This Impact Assessment report is based on several consultations and research (empirical and document analysis) that took place between July – December 2016 with former Directors, Associate Directors and Research Affiliates from the Office of Community-based Research (OCBR) and the Institute for the Studies and Innovation in Community University Engagement (ISICUE) at the University of Victoria. This assessment is prepared for the Office of the Vice President Research (OVPR) by the Office of Community University Engagement (OCUE), in partnership with Research Partnership Knowledge Mobilization (RPKM) unit at the University of Victoria (UVic). The main objective is to assess the various levels (e.g. micro, messo, macro) and broad range of impact resulting from Community-Engaged Research between 2009-2015. This includes direct outputs and outcomes of the OCBR (2008-2012) and ISICUE (2012-2015), as well as a full academic unit scan across the campus drawing from the Enhanced Planning Tool document (2014-15). Impact is documented by 5 indicators including: 1) external research funding, 2) academic unit scan, 3) reputation, 4) 12 in-depth impact case studies, and 5) community-engaged learning metrics. The occurrences of impact are applied to OCUE’s 5 pillars of engagement: Community-engaged Research, Community-engaged Learning, Knowledge Mobilization, Good Neighbour and Institutional Policies and Support, the United Nations Sustainable Development framework (17 goals), as well as UVic’s International Plan (4 areas) The results point to a wide range and diversity of impact to society in each of the 5 OCUE pillars across the academic units in almost all the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Impact narratives from 12 in-depth case studies across the campus (e.g. Business, Engineering, Geography, History) demonstrate significant institutional and community benefit as an outcome of CER. The results highlight key institutional supports (e.g., RPKM, ORS) and provide an enhanced understanding of key contextual features of successful Community-engaged Research (CER) initiatives. The results inform criteria to support the assessment of community engaged scholarship in reviewing grant applications, partnership proposals, and faculty tenure, promotion, and merit applications. An impact rubric and guidelines for promotion and tenure are a valuable outcome of this project. This assessment is not exhaustive of all CER activities on campus. Appendix II provides some insight into the numerous research partnerships excluded from this study due to not having enough information that fit the criteria (See methodology).
Indigenous people and perspectives in Latin American
(Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) and Unversity of Victoria, 2016) Haffenden, Johanna Andrea
The review examines CBR in Latin America regarding indigenous people and indigenous perspectives around the core themes of democracy, water governance and sustainability. In Latin America as a result of decades of continuous political activity and in the name of democracy indigenous populations have been recognised with an active political role without having to abandon their cultural identity (Korovkin, 2001) to the point that it has also become a tool of power to change existing structures. In addition, it is argued that the current political participation of indigenous peoples in Latin American constitutes the development of postliberal citizens (Jorge Hernandez Díaz, 2010). Within this context CBR involving indigenous people and indigenous perspectives in Latin America frequently refers to the idea of recovering indigenous identities and discourses that intend to subvert systems that still serve privileged and white social classes over indigenous people. It is in this context that CBR, encompassed by universities and intellectuals committed to alter the current dynamics, develops and shapes social initiatives. Within the CBR framework indigenous peoples are visible actors who possess perspectives that are part of a culture that can offer solutions to environmental issues created by the ‘other.
International collaboration for changing the culture of research: UN SDGs and knowledge for change consortium
(2020) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh
Dr. Budd L. Hall and Dr. Rajesh Tandon explore the role of international networks in advancing participatory knowledge creation for social change in higher education. They trace the evolution of participatory research from its origins in the 1970s to its institutional development today. . They describe a series of global studies produced under the Chair that document community-university research partnerships across multiple countries and connect this work to the policy debates around the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including the European Union's Responsible Research and Innovation framework. The article outlines three practical ways community-based participatory research (CBPR) can support SDG-linked knowledge, framing research locally, building community knowledge partnerships, and developing new researcher competencies. It also details the Knowledge for Change (K4C) Consortium's Mentor Training Program, which has built research capacity across the global South and the "excluded North" through hubs in eleven countries. Hall and Tandon call for a transformation of research culture toward justice, equity, and community relevance.
Knowledge and engagement: Building capacity for the next generation of community based researchers
(Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 2016-10) Tandon, Rajesh; Hall, Budd L; Lepore, Walter; Singh, Wafa
Knowledge and Engagement summarizes the main findings of a global study titled ‘Building the Next Generation of Community-Based Researchers’ (a.k.a. the Next Gen project) undertaken between May 2014 and April 2016, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The overall objective of the Next Gen project was to increase access to high quality training in Community Based Research (CBR) within higher education institutions (HEIs) and civil society organizations (CSOs). The research aimed to understand the current state-of-the-art in pedagogies and strategies for building CBR capacities, and to work towards the strengthening of existing training fieldwork and the theoretical and curricular content on participatory research within and outside academia. The book opens with a theoretical chapter on pedagogical principles about training, teaching and learning CBR, which have been elaborated by triangulating three data sources: systematic literature reviews, a global survey, and case studies on CBR training. It advances the discussion on capacity building for CBR because, while large amounts of literature abound on doing CBR, very little is available on training for CBR. The results of the first-ever global survey on training modalities, materials and locations for CBR are presented in Chapter 3. It confirms, among other things, that the demand for training in CBR far exceeds the supply of training opportunities. Twenty-one case studies (of nine HEIs and 12 CSOs from 14 countries) with lessons form Chapter 4, followed by a comparative analysis of the case studies using the pedagogical principles of training, teaching and learning CBR as an analytical framework. A detailed summary of the project’s findings, conclusions and recommendations round off the book, with appendices containing the guidelines for conducting thematic reviews, the survey questions, a list of institutions providing top training programs in CBR, and the case study framework. Knowledge and Engagement represents a collective effort to highlight many issues and areas of work in CBR training, analyzes the current scenario and opportunities, and provides recommendations on what can be done to provide best quality training for the next generation of community based researchers.
Knowledge, democracy and action: Community university research partnerships in global perspectives
(2013) Hall, Budd L
How are knowledge, democracy and action intertwined in a world increasingly centered around economic development? This introductory chapter to Knowledge, Democracy and Action: Community–University Research Partnerships in Global Perspectives, written by Dr. Budd L. Hall, examines the shifting relationship between knowledge and society and the evolving role of higher education institutions within this context. As knowledge becomes central to economic growth, universities are increasingly positioned as key producers of expertise aligned with state priorities and global development agendas. Drawing on intellectual traditions shaped by John Gaventa, Paulo Freire and others, the chapter interrogates the political and pedagogical dimensions of knowledge production. Framed in the landscape of poverty reduction strategies and the Millennium Development Goals, it asks three foundational questions about the role of knowledge, the responsibilities of universities and the contributions of community–university research partnerships. It argues that these partnerships are integral to an emerging knowledge democracy movement that seeks to transform how knowledge is produced, shared and mobilised across diverse global contexts.
Mobilisation des connaissances de la communauté et du milieu universitaire en vue d’un changement en profondeur : L’évolution de la Chaire UNESCO sur la recherche communautaire et la responsabilité sociale en enseignement supérieur [Mobilizing community and university knowledge for transformative change: The evolution of the UNESCO Chair in community-based research and social responsibility in higher education]
(Commission canadienne pour l’UNESCO, 2017) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh
La Chaire UNESCO sur la recherche communautaire et la responsabilité sociale en enseignement supérieur a été créée en juin 2012 dans la foulée de la 2e Conférence mondiale de l’UNESCO sur l’enseignement supérieur, qui s’est déroulée à Paris en juillet 2009. Rajesh Tandon, Ph. D. et Budd Hall, Ph. D., ont été nommés cotitulaires de cette chaire. Cet article retrace les origines de la chaire et examine les contributions apportées jusqu’à ce jour ainsi que les leçons stratégiques que l’UNESCO, les décideurs politiques, les praticiens et les universitaires peuvent en tirer.
Participatory evaluation: Issues and concerns
(Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 1989) Choudhary, Anil; Tandan, Rajesh
Evaluation has become a commonplace word and practice in development programmes throughout the world. Not only are programmes, plans and activities being designed and implemented to promote development in education, health, agriculture, etc. but they are also being evaluated regularly and frequently. There has also evolved, over the last couple of decades, specialized expertise, institutions and a body of knowledge in support of evaluation. However, much of this evaluation practice and theory continues to be utilized in a manner that is very similar to top-down models of development, which are currently being replaced by bottom-up strategies. In the course of our work with grass-roots organizations and non-governmental initiatives in India, and other countries of Asia, we have evolved, through our own practice, some ideas, principles and theory about Participatory Evaluation. We evolved these principles not only based on the critique of traditional evaluation approach but also based on what seemed relevant and appropriate in a given concrete situation. In our interactions with other practitioners, we have found multiple and varied meanings being given to the concept of Participatory Evaluation. For some, Participatory Evaluation implies the process of action-reflection-action. In the process of conscientizing and organizing the poor, several grass-roots activists and organizations have evolved a methodology of action-reflection-action. It is this process which is equated with the meaning of Participatory Evaluation by some. On the other hand, we have been calling our involvement in facilitating evaluation and analysis of a programme, an organization or a perspective as Participatory Evaluation.
Participatory research: Where have we been, where are we going? – A dialogue
(UCL IOE Press, 2017-07) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh
Rajesh Tandon and Budd Hall, the UNESCO Co-Chairs in Community-Based Research, have worked together on the theory and practice of participatory research since they first met in Caracas, Venezuela in 1978. This article is a conversation between the two of them that took place in New Delhi, India in 2015. It covers the creation of the concept of participatory research, a coming to awareness of the importance and power of local knowledge, the creation of the International Participatory Research Network and their thoughts on some of the challenges facing community and academic partners today. Of note is the fact that the early roots of participatory research were found in the global South, specifically in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Of further interest is the fact that for the first 20 to 25 years, participatory research was a discourse located almost entirely outside formal academic circles but rather in social movement structures and civil society circles.
Strengthening community university research partnerships: A global study of effective institutional arrangements for the facilitation and support of research partnership between community and universities.
(UVic & PRIA, 2014-09) Tremblay, Crystal; Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh
The power of collaboration, creativity and art in knowledge mobilization: Reflections from international work
(2020) Tandon, Rajesh; Hall, Budd L
In this paper, Dr. Budd Hall and Dr. Rajesh Tandon examine how knowledge mobilization (KMb) can become a more effective tool for social transformation when it is integrated throughout the research process rather than treated as a final dissemination activity. Drawing on over four decades of community-based participatory research (CBPR) across the global South and excluded North, the authors contend that KMb is most powerful when embedded in research from the outset, rather than added after the fact. Working within a knowledge democracy framework through the UNESCO Chair in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, the paper explores how creative and arts-based methods have served as powerful vehicles for sharing research with communities, policymakers, and the broader public. Through four case studies—domestic workers in India using a hand-stitched saree to document sexual harassment, waste recyclers in Brazil producing participatory videos for policy advocacy, immigrant women in Toronto presenting through spoken word at City Hall, and a community health fair in rural South Africa the paper illustrates how art reaches people and places that conventional academic outputs cannot. The paper concludes that creativity is not decorative in KMb; it is essential, particularly when research aims at social transformation and meaningful community change.
Who is driving development? Reflections on the transformative potential of asset-based community development?
(Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier University, 2003-10) Mathie, Alison; Cunningham, Gord
Arising out of a critique of needs-based approaches to development, Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) offers a set of principles to mobilize and sustain community economic development. This paper draws attention to the connections between these principles and practices and (i) current interest in sustainable livelihoods as a conceptual framework, (ii) the concept of social capital, (iii) the social psychology of mobilization, (iv) the enhancement capacity and agency to engage as citizens with the entitlements of citizenship, (v) the role of multiple stakeholders; and (vi) the issue of control over the development process. Finally the paper points to the challenges for NGOs employing an asset-based, community-driven approach given the needs-based, problem-solving paradigm in which they operate.