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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Now showing 1 - 10 of 84
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    Knowledge Democracy, Transformation and Higher Education
    (2013-05-15) Hall, Budd L
    In this paper, Budd Hall examines what the waning confidence in a one size fits all global economy and the Western canon means for higher education and its social responsibility. Drawing on examples from Durban’s shack dwellers’ university, South Africa’s traditional healers, and PRIA in India, he introduces knowledge democracy as an alternative to the “knowledge economy” and “knowledge society”. The concept rests on three ideas: plural ways of knowing, plural forms of expression, and the use of knowledge to deepen democracy. He then turns to the community-university engagement movement as a promising site for institutional change. The paper closes with the 2013 Barcelona meeting of global engagement networks, convened by Guni to advance a shared agenda for action.
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    Inequality, Higher Education and Knowledge Democracy
    (Newsletter of Association of Commonwealth Universities, 2020) Hall, Budd L
    In this article, published in the Spring 2020 newsletter of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, Budd L. Hall looks at inequality and what it asks of higher education. It begins with the scale of poverty and homelessness in places as different as Victoria and India, and with research by Wilkinson and Pickett showing that both rich and poor fare better in more equal societies. The article then asks what a knowledge democracy movement might look like, drawing on John Gaventa’s idea of a knowledge strategy and on the work of Nyerere and Freire. Such a movement is kept apart from the knowledge economy, community engagement and open access to information, which are treated as supports rather than the movement itself. It closes by asking how community-university partnerships can strengthen knowledge democracy.
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    Book review on Global Inequalities and Higher Education: Whose Interests are We Serving?
    (2010) Hall, Budd L
    This book review by Budd L. Hall discusses Global Inequalities and Higher Education: Whose Interests are We Serving? edited by Elaine Unterhalter and Vincent Carpentier. The book grew out of a 2007 conference in London and asks whose interests are served by a globalised higher education system. The editors frame the challenge as a “tetralemma” of economic growth, equity, democracy and sustainability. The chapters cover internationalization, the neo-liberal university, pedagogy, university rankings, student mobility, gender and the exclusion of Indigenous knowledge. Hall finds the book timely and describes it as an essential text for higher education classrooms
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    Book review on Public Sociology as Educational Practice: Challenges, Dialogues and Counterpublics
    (2021) Hall, Budd L
    This book review by Dr Budd L. Hall discusses Public Sociology as Educational Practice (2020), edited by Eurig Scandrett, which brings together about 40 activist scholars to link public sociology with social movement education and learning. The book is organised into three sections, Publics, Knowledges and Practices, covering topics such as gender justice, domestic abuse survivors, class, participatory research, community engagement and trade union education. Hall finds that the book makes a convincing case for public sociology as a way of challenging exploitation and oppression, and describes it as a major contribution. He also points out that its high price limits access for the very communities it engages with, and encourages readers to request it through their libraries.
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    Decolonisation of higher education: Knowledge, democracy and values
    (0000) Hall, Budd L
    This paper, written by Dr Budd L. Hall examines how colonial ideas shaped whose knowledge counts in higher education. Hall links the enclosure of common land in Europe to the enclosure of knowledge in early universities. Drawing on the idea of epistemicide, the killing of knowledge systems, he explains how Western thought came to dominate the world. The paper then presents examples from PRIA, the Honey Bee Network, Mpambo Afrikan Multiversity, Abahlali baseMjondolo and the Lil’wat First Nation, which show that knowledge also grows outside the academy. It concludes with seven principles of knowledge democracy, including the recognition of multiple ways of knowing, the co-construction of knowledge, community rights over knowledge and open access to research. These principles call on universities to reconsider whose knowledge they recognise and to support more inclusive approaches to research and education.
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    Book review of Che on My Mind by Margaret Randall
    (2014) Hall, Budd L
    If you only read one book about Che Guevara, this is the book that I strongly recommend. Margaret Randall, one of the most compelling and articulate voices of freedom, feminism, revolution and love begins her book with these lines.
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    Knowledge democracy: Opening our doors to all knowledge systems
    (UNESCO, 2020) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh
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    The democratization of research in adult and non-formal education
    (John Wiley & Sons, 1981) Hall, Budd L
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    The next gen project: A global study on training, teaching and learning community-based research (CBR)
    (The Canadia Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE), 2016-07) Lepore, Walter; Tandon, Rajesh; Hall, Budd L
    While policies and practices regarding the creation of structures to facilitate community-university research partnerships are emerging and there is a rich literature on methodology of CBR, little research has been done at a global level on the training opportunities for building capacities in CBR within universities and community organisations. This led the UNESCO Chair in CBR and Social Responsibility in Higher Education to undertake the Next Gen project to analyze the current state-of-the art in pedagogies and strategies for building CBR capacities. This paper synthesizes the main findings of the project and proposes a series of pedagogical principles for the training of CBR.
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    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.

© 2026 UNESCO Chair- Knowledge Resource Centre.