Creating an India-Canada Community-Based Research Partnership for Environmental and Social Sustainability

In December 2007 an memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the University of Victoria (UVic), Canada, and Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), India. This MOU established the foundation for academic, research and institutional cooperation between PRIA and UVic. Prior to signing the MOU, there were several partnering programs between UVic and PRIA.  These programs have had a particular focus on the exchange of students and faculty and the development of curriculum. At present, three international courses are in various stages of development utilizing the academic resources of PRIA and UVic ’s Division of Continuing Studies and the Faculty of Education. These courses involve international approaches and methodologies of participatory research, adult education and lifelong learning, as well as participatory monitoring and evaluation. They are planned to be the first three of eight courses towards the establishment of an international certificate in adult education in both countries. CBRL member Dr. Nandan Kuma is currently engaged in furthering this partnership to build on the original UVic-PRIA MOU that identified community mapping and sustainability planning as core areas for joint research and collaboration.

This project explores the feasibility of creating a research partnership programme between PRIA amd the Department of Geography at UVic through:

1. Creating a collaborative research agenda and a sustainable long-term partnership arrangement between UVic and PRIA focused on environmental and social sustainability.

2. Enhance sharing of best practices, innovations and opportunities for future multi-sector  (community-NGO, university, business, local government) projects in the focus areas of participatory mapping, planning and solid waste management.

3. Exploring the nature and feasibility of creating a UVic Faculty of Social Science/Department of Geography-led field school in India.

The core ideas embedded in this project emerged from field visits, consultations and workshops held between UVic and PRIA in India during February – March 2008.  During that time, a team from UVic’s Faculty of Social Sciences, the community-based and spatial sciences labs in geography, and the Office of Community Based Research attended a nation-wide conference sponsored by PRIA on participatory governance. The team held meetings with municipal groups, NGOs, and community organizations from many parts of India. The team hopes that a sustainable long-term partnership arrangement will result in an established foundation for sustainable academic research and institutional cooperation between PRIA and UVic, focused on environmental and social sustainability. Moreover, sharing of best practices, and innovations and opportunities for future multi-sector  (community-NGO, university, business, local government) projects in the focus areas of participatory mapping, planning and solid waste management would result in community-based research for decentralized planning. This will facilitate sustainable, inclusive, and gendered waste management policies and governing opportunities for local bodies.