Knowledge Democracy

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    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.
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    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.
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    Understanding design of organisation
    (Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 2001-08-25) Tandon, Rajesh
    This text by Dr. Rajesh Tandon presents a comprehensive analysis of the structure and process of understanding organizations and NGOs and navigates strategies to their management. The text describes models as conceptual tools for analyzing organizational behaviour, emphasizing the organization as an open social system and provides a systems theory for it. It explains missions and purposes of an organisation and lists its required inputs and desired outputs. The text further identifies and describes five key components of organizational design, technology, tasks, human resources, formal organizational structure, and informal organization. It analyses the concept of congruence, arguing that organizational effectiveness depends on the degree to which these components fit together and presents the congruence hypothesis arguing that greater the fit between components, the more effective the organization will be in achieving its mission. The text identifies types of NGOs and addresses several critical issues for NGO management such as compatibility with organizing elements, size and informal structure, hierarchy, and organisational changes. It further discusses the differences arising from different ideologies and operational strategies and the need for NGOs to manage relationships with multiple constituencies. The text concludes that organizations are complex social systems requiring analysis at multiple levels and aspects and that a successful organisation requires effective division of work and integration of efforts.
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    Non-formal adult education as an entry point for community organisation
    (0000) Ginny; Shrivastava, Om
    How can adult education be leveraged to organise communities? Non formal adult education, by virtue of its flexibility and close alignment with local needs, offers a strong entry point for community organisation. In this article, Ginny and Om Srivastava outline how adult education can be operationalised not merely as a literacy intervention but as a participatory process rooted in people’s lived realities aimed towards individual and social development. They emphasise that the core aim is not limited to reading and writing, but to enable individuals to understand their social conditions, develop critical awareness, and begin to act collectively. Literacy, functional knowledge, and consciousness raising are seen as interconnected pathways through which people can recognise their own potential and organise for change. The article further details how such programmes must be grounded in the community through immersion, participatory methods, and locally relevant materials. Adult education centres, when designed as shared spaces of dialogue and reflection, can evolve into forums for collective decision making and action. In this sense, adult education becomes not an end in itself, but a starting point for building confidence, leadership, and sustained community organisation.
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    Knowledge as a commodity and participatory research
    ( Prospects, UNESCO, 1979) Hall, Budd L
    What 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.
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    Knowledge democracy: Reclaiming voices for all
    (2014-08-26) Tandon, Rajesh
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    Global Consortium of Knowledge-for-Change (K4C). September 16-17, 2019
    (2019-09-17) Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA)
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    Knowledge for change: Mentorship training program
    (UNESCO Chair, 2019) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh
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    Strengthening community university research partnerships: A global study of effective institutional arrangements for the facilitation and support of research partnership between community groups and universities.
    (UVic & PRIA, 2015-07) Tremblay, Crystal; Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh; Singh, Wafa
    The practices of community-based research (CBR) and all of its variations have developed and evolved over the past 35 years. With roots in the Global South the practices have spread throughout the international development community and supporting bodies such as IDRC. Over the past 15 years, CBR has been ‘discovered’ in the Global North as the Carnegie and WK Kellogg Foundations, the European Union, the Research Councils of the UK and Canada and the AUCC have been promoting research partnerships as key engagement strategies for higher education. A variety of institutional structures are being created to facilitate authentic and respectful research partnerships. Community-University research partnerships are therefore no longer a South or a North issue, but are an evolving global field of action with several global networks supporting them, including the Canadian-based Global Alliance for Community Engaged Research (GACER). Our ability to benefit from the promises of drawing the resources of universities further into the solution of community problems on their terms depends in part on our answers to several questions: 1. What are the institutional arrangements and processes that show the most promise in facilitating effective, respectful and impactful community university research partnerships? 2. What are the institutional policies needed to mainstream CBR? What are the most promising policies that national governments and funding bodies could implement to improve the quality of CBR and create effective structures and processes? To answer these questions we have carried out five steps: A global survey, case studies, systematisation process, knowledge dissemination and policy dialogues. The deliverables will include recommendations for the future development of the field shared on virtual platforms of the UNESCO Chair and through regional policy dialogues, development of targeted policy briefs, a practical e-handbook on best practices and an e-book on the theory and practices of facilitating community university partnerships. This final report provides an overview of progress and project activities, research outcomes and knowledge mobilization efforts and highlights the main research findings from a global survey (phase I) and country case studies (phase II). We have completed all research activities and are currently in the process of finalizing the open source e-book highlighting the main research findings and a practical handbook. The case studies illustrate how country policies on community-university partnerships are being institutionalized and practiced at the level of Higher Education Institutions and Civil Society Organizations.
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    Knowledge democracy and excellence in engagement
    (IDS Bulletin, 2016-12) Tandon, Rajesh; Singh, Wafa; Clover, Darlene E; Hall, Budd L
    We often come across theories and aspects related to ‘knowledge’, but seldom do we try to understand its hidden implications. Knowledge as understood generally is about the information of facts and understanding of a subject. This article essentially argues against this understanding. It explores the multiple dimensions of ‘knowledge’ through a literature review and illustrations of practical examples. It makes a case for how important the process of knowledge creation is, especially given current societal challenges. It also outlines the importance of co-creation of knowledge, through acknowledgement and valuation of alternate paradigms of knowledge. Further, it discusses the concept of ‘knowledge democracy’, and how institutions of higher education, by abiding by its principles, can help achieve ‘excellence in engagement’. The article concludes with the findings of two studies undertaken by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair, which were based on the principles of ‘knowledge democracy’ and ‘excellence in engagement’