This call is an invitation to potential partnerships from the global South to consider applying to become a hub in the K4C Global Consortium.
Background
The UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education was created in 2012 to build capacity in the fields of Community Based Research (CBR) and Social Responsibility in Higher Education. Based on research conducted by the Chair over a five-year period, it has initiated a global consortium with the objective of providing learning opportunities for a new generation of community based participatory researchers from both practitioner and academic organisations. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals provide a focal point for the Knowledge for Change (K4C) Consortium.
The K4C has a focus on building CBR capacity in the global South and the excluded North. The Consortium was launched in both India and Canada and is supported by a partnership agreement between the University of Victoria, based in Canada, and the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), based in India.
At the heart of the K4C are local hubs. Each hub is a partnership between an academic organisation and a civil society practitioner organisation to provide training for both community sector and academic sector learners. A hub can be initiated by either a community sector organisation or an academic one. Hubs, once accepted by the UNESCO Chair, nominate Mentors who will be eligible to take the 21-week Mentor Training Programme (MTP). The MTP consists of on-line facilitated learning, field work opportunities and a face-to-face intensive workshop. The Mentors, persons with strong experience in CBR, will be responsible for leading the development of the local training programmes in each of the hubs. The first cohort of the MTP began in January 2018 and the second in August 2018.
The Chair is inviting academic organisations and civil society practitioner organisations to apply to create a K4C Hub and join the movement to build the next generation of community based researchers.
What benefits are there to being a hub in the K4C Global Consortium?
• Be part of providing learning opportunities for young women and men, and train the next generation of community-based researchers.
• Join a global network of civil society organisations and higher education institutions across the world.
• Get access to the knowledge support platforms being developed with teaching and learning materials, case study reports, books, policy briefs, and videos on the subject of CBR.
• Get linked to the knowledge platform of the UN Department of Sustainable Development, and to regional and global networks such as the Talloires Network, the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi), PASCAL International Observatory, Association of Commonwealth Universities and many more.
• Hub leaders participate in meetings with other hub leaders, and will have exposure and visibility in a range of international conference settings.
• Opportunities to partner in joint funding proposals.
If you are interested in becoming a K4C hub, send in your application, in writing to Walter Lepore (walepore@uvic.ca).
Expression of interest should include:
1. Location of the proposed hub
2. Names of the proposed community and academic hub partners
3. Names of those responsible for each partner organisation
4. History of work in CBR by both organisations
5. Potential focus of training for the proposed hub (make reference to the UN SDGs with a focus on ‘excluded’, marginalized or similarly disenfranchised communities)
6. Agreement to cover the expenses of Mentors in the MTP. At present $2500 fees for the 21 week on-line course plus travel and accommodation to attend the two week face-to-face workshop. (Note: A face-to-face workshop for the third MTP cohort is planned for Arusha, Tanzania during March and April of 2019.)
For further information contact: Walter Lepore, K4C Manager, Email: walepore@uvic.ca