The movements, initiatives, and approaches we believe can transform development research and create more equitable outcomes across South Asia and beyond.
The interconnected principles that guide our support for transformative development initiatives
Foundational principles that should guide all development research and intervention
Research should be conducted with communities, not on them. Every study should include meaningful community involvement in question design, data collection, analysis, and action planning.
Research funded by public resources should be freely accessible to the communities it affects. Knowledge barriers perpetuate inequality and limit the potential for evidence-based change.
Moving beyond extractive research models that extract insights from the Global South for Northern consumption. Research should be led by local experts and serve local priorities.
All development programming must center climate resilience and environmental justice. The communities least responsible for climate change should not bear its greatest costs.
Understanding how gender, caste, class, ethnicity, disability, and other identities intersect to create unique experiences of marginalization and empowerment.
Moving beyond linear program models to understand complex systems, feedback loops, and unintended consequences. Change happens through relationships, not just interventions.
Groups and networks doing transformative work in development research and practice
Network advancing community-based participatory research across Asia, building local capacity for knowledge creation and social action.
Learn more →Global initiative promoting transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in governance through open data and participatory democracy.
Learn more →Indian organization promoting transparent and accountable governance through budget analysis, policy research, and citizen empowerment.
Learn more →Bangladesh-based research center focusing on climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and environmental governance in South Asia.
Learn more →Grassroots organization of poor, self-employed women workers, demonstrating how research and organizing can drive economic empowerment.
Learn more →Network promoting participatory research methodologies, capacity building, and knowledge sharing across Asian contexts.
Learn more →Specific campaigns and movements working toward more equitable development outcomes
Making research freely available to all, breaking down paywalls that prevent communities from accessing knowledge about their own contexts and challenges.
Supporting indigenous and marginalized communities' rights to control data collection, ownership, and use within their territories and among their peoples.
Methodologies that center women's experiences, challenge patriarchal knowledge systems, and recognize care work and emotional labor in development processes.
Moving beyond 'sustainable' to 'regenerative' approaches that heal ecosystems and communities while meeting human needs through restorative practices.
Ensuring artificial intelligence and algorithmic systems in development are transparent, accountable, and designed with community input and oversight.
Challenging academic institutions and funding mechanisms that perpetuate extractive research while building community-controlled research infrastructure.
If you're working on initiatives that align with these values, we'd love to connect, collaborate, and support each other's work toward more equitable development outcomes.
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