UNESCO Co-Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education

UNESCO Co-Chairs, Community Research
Co-Chairs Dr. Rajesh Tandon (L) and Dr. Budd Hall (R)

Based at the University of Victoria (UVic) and the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), this Chair is co-directed by Dr. Budd 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.

The training arm of the UNESCO Chair is the Knowledge for Change (K4C) Consortium for Training in Community Based Research, which consists of an on-line component, a two-week face to face residency, and field work. Mentors are nominated by K4C hubs. The hubs themselves are training partnerships between universities and civil society partners. Once the mentors are trained, they in turn train a younger generation of CBR practitioners. Since the launch of the K4C Consortium in Ottawa in December of 2017 by VP Castle and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO hubs have been established in: Canada (Victoria-Salish Sea Hub; Tkaranto Hub, Toronto; Laval Hub, Quebec), India (Manipal University-Jaipur, Pt Ravishankar Shukrah University-Raipur, Christ University), Tanzania (Nyerere Hub, Arusha), Uganda (Gulu University Hub), South Africa (Durbin U of Tech, North West University, Rhodes University), Italy (U of Sassari-Sardinia, U of Brescia), Ireland (Limerick University), Indonesia (Sunan Ampel U-Surabaya), and Malaysia (U of Science-Penang, Islamic U of science-Nilai).

Knowledge democracy and co-creation of knowledge. 
  • In partnership with GUNI, the 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. Learn more here. 

  • 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. Learn more here. 

  • 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.
Strengthening Social Responsibility in Higher Education dialogues
  • Argentina (Buenos Aires),
  • Brazil (Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro)
  • Canada (Victoria, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Newfoundland)
  • Denmark (Copenhagen)
  • Germany (Bonn)
  • Ghana (Accra)
  • Hong Kong
  • India (Sonepat, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Siliguri, Chandigarh)
  • Ireland (Galway)
  • Korea (Seoul)
  • Malaysia (Penang, Kuala Lumpur)
  • Malta
  • Namibia
  • Saudi Arabia (Riyadh)
  • South Africa (Cape Town)
  • Spain (Barcelona, Sevilla),
  • Uganda (Kampala)
  • UK (London, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol)
  • 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

  • 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 
  • Additional selected publications:  Journal of Waste & Resource Management, Journal of Action Research