UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education
Based at the University of Victoria (UVic) and the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), this Chair is co-directed by Dr. Budd L Hall and Dr. Rajesh Tandon. The UNESCO Chair supports North-South-South and South-South partnerships that build on and enhance the emerging consensus in knowledge democracy. It strengthens recent collaboration between the Higher Education section in UNESCO, the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI), Global Alliance on Community University Engagement and other regional and global networks. It co-creates new knowledge through partnerships among universities (academics), communities (civil society) and government (policy makers) leading to: new capacities; new solutions to pressing problems related to sustainability, social and economic disparities, cultural exclusion, mistrust and conflict; and awareness among policy makers; enhanced scholarship of engagement; and of social responsibility in Higher Education.
Programs
- Research
- Knowledge democracy and co-creation of knowledge: In partnership with GUNI, 5th World Report on Higher Education entitled “ Higher Education in the World 5, Knowledge, Engagement and Higher Education: Contributing to Social Change”, has been produced and is being launched in India, Canada, Denmark, Korea, Hong Kong, USA, UK, Ireland, Spain, Argentina, South Africa, Egypt and Uganda.: https://us.macmillan.com/book.aspx?isbn=9780230535565
- Knowledge, Democracy and Action: Community-University Research Partnerships in Global Perspectives is a book based on International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supported global study on effective practices with special emphasis on vulnerable communities: https://bit.ly/1bUSwGG
- Strengthening Community University Research Partnerships (CURP): IDRC supported research being undertaken globally with case studies of national policies and institutional arrangements.
- Best Practices in Social Responsibility: British Council supported research in several Indian states on status of community engagement and mechanisms to strengthen the same.
- Policy Dialogues
- Strengthening Social Responsibility in Higher Education dialogues
India (Sonepat, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Siliguri, Chandigarh)
Canada (Victoria, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Newfoundland)
Spain (Barcelona, Sevilla), Germany (Bonn), UK (London, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol), Ireland (Galway), Denmark (Copenhagen), Malta
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) South Africa (Cape Town), Uganda (Kampala), Ghana (Accra), Namibia
Argentina (Buenos Aires), Brazil (Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro)
Hong Kong, Korea (Seoul), Malaysia (Penang, Kuala Lumpur)
USA (Miami, Lubbock, East Lansing, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles)
- Technical support for policy-makers
Planning Commission and Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India
Canadian Bureau of International Education, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
- Strengthening Capacity for Community-based Research
Support to Makerere University and African Networks
- Capacity Development and Dissemination
- New web-site launched: https://unescochair-cbrsr.org/
- Policy briefs for donors
- Provision of Trainings: Training of new generation of community engaged scholars and community-based researchers.
- Development of learning materials: Formal courses and learning packages for community-based research (CBR).
- Creation of a Youtube channel : A channel on video training materials for CBR.
- Additional selected publications: Journal of Waste & Resource Management, Journal of Action Research