Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA)

Headquartered in New Delhi, India, PRIA is a global participatory research; training organization, with nearly 50 employees across 5 locations. PRIA Read morebegan in 1982 to build a network of participatory researchers, focused on the inclusion of women; the marginalized. In the past four decades, it has undertaken research, developing pioneering Participatory Research methodology, on issues of access, control over resources and delivery of programs across different sectors including water, sanitation, municipal and panchayat governance, civil society, women’s leadership, and violence against women and girls. PRIA is the first research organization to undertake studies on occupational health from workers’ experience between 1983 and 2003.  PRIA has undertaken seminal research on the non-profit sector in India and on giving in India, both in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, USA. PRIA has been part of multicountry research consortiums, leading the research on “Civil Society in the New Millennium in Commonwealth Countries” (1999, Commonwealth Foundation) and as Co-Researcher on “Citizenship, Participation and Accountability” (2000-2010, IDS Sussex, UK) and “Civil Society @ Crossroads” (2012-13, PSO, Netherlands). As part of its research portfolio, PRIA also builds the capacities of students, academicians and civil society to undertake Participatory Research. It promotes engagement of higher education institutions (HEIs) with local communities, co-designs curriculum, and courses to popularise the use of Participatory Research in academia, and engages in joint research studies with HEIs, influencing academic thinking in India, South Asia, and the global South.  PRIA has championed the engendering of HEIs, supporting the development of women as researchers, and prioritizing cross-cutting Responsible Research And Innovation (RRI). To know more about PRIA’s work with HEIs: http://unescochaircbrsr.org/unesco/pdf/resource/PRIA_Engagement_with_Higher_Educationl_ Institutions.pdf PRIA houses the UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education in the global South. Since 2012, it has partnered in research studies on “Building the Next Generation of Community-Based Researchers (The NextGen Project”) (2014-16, SSHRC Canada) and “International Survey on Strengthening Community-University Research Partnerships (2014-2015, IDRC) and been Lead Researcher on “Community Engagement in Higher Education Institutions in India” (2014-15, British Council). Its Knowledge for Change (K4C) initiative is aimed at building the capacities of community-based researchers. Dr. Rajesh Tandon, PRIA’s Founder-President, is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata (IIM), with a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University (USA). He has pioneered the use of Participatory Research methodologies in socio-economic development in India and South Asia. PRIA’s Mission is to foster the capacities of citizens, communities, and institutions, to enable vibrant, gender-equal societies. We are committed to creating a better world –one with reduced inequalities, equitable distribution of scarce resources, and engaged, empowered citizens. The heart of what we do is bringing citizens and governance institutions together – to share with each other the challenges in ensuring the “last mile” (so that development reaches every citizen) and to co-create solutions to achieve it. This requires creating active and informed citizen participation. Citizens, through information, awareness, and mobilization, become aware of their rights and responsibilities. Once informed, they demand accountability and inclusion. It also requires government and private agencies responsible for providing basic services (of health, water, sanitation, education, etc) to be sensitized to citizens’ needs and hear the concerns of all citizens (not just of pressure groups that have more power). Having heard the citizens whom they are meant to serve, governance institutions need to develop plans and implement programs that are equitable and effective. A barrier to achieving this is poor human and institutional capacities in these agencies. PRIA’s interventions therefore also focus on developing the capacities of government officials to perform their roles and responsibilities effectively.