Salon on India of the Future, Edmonton, Canada

M A K I N G D E M O C R A C Y W O R K F O R A L L

Participatory Research in Asia

• India in The Future: Handling

Contradictions? Edmonton, Oct 9, 2014• Dr Rajesh Tandon, Founder-President, PRIA, New Delhi• UNESCO Chair on Social Responsibility in Higher Education

• www.pria.org www.priacash.org www.unescochair-cbrsr.org

INDIA @ Crossroads

• Largest democracy:

• 850 million voters

• Three tiers of governance: national, provincial, local

• Nearly half local leaders women

• Strong independent judiciary

• Politics as family business

• Parties as dynasties

• No law demands accountability of parties yet

• Large percentage of criminals elected (parliament nearly 25%)

Second Largest Population

• Second largest population of 1.25 bn, and still growing

• Two-thirds below the age of 35 yrs

• Median age 24 yrs, likely below 30 yrs in 2025

• Shared aspirations of youth, irrespective of start

• Poor educational preparation, shortage of skills

• Demographic dividend or nightmare?

Third Largest Economy

• Third largest world economy on purchasing

power parity• Fastest growth of billionaires & millionaires• Nearly 300 million middle class• Growing inequality, 30% of the population below poverty

line ($1.25 per capita per day)• Only 10 % of employment in the organised sectors of

economy, government the largest employer• No social security for informal sector workers• Less than 40 million tax-payers

Advancement in Public Investment

• Public investment in socio-economic development grew three-fold since 2000

• Position in HDI remains stagnant at 135, Gender Inequality same situation

• Each district gets $100 mn per annum, half unused• Nearly 900 million mobile connections, less than 500 million

have access to toilets• Right To Information in 2005, large-scale scandals continue• Forest Rights to Tribals in 2007, contestation on mining• Right To Education in 2008, poor quality of learning

Rapid urbanisation

• Nearly 40% of population urban• 4500+ municipalities, 8000+ habitations• Two-thirds of economy, three-fourth of jobs in urban• No cadre for municipal administration• Lack human & institutional capacity• No urban planning capacity and regulation• Need for massive investments in basic infrastructure• Pollution, degradation, congestion---densities

Global Power

• Global position in G20 & BRICS• Respected ‘soft power’ for African/Asian countries• Lack of capacity in Embassies/Ministry• Visa regime frustrating, inability to host international events• Large diaspora presence, limited engagements• Weak ‘track II’ diplomacy• Canada’s links??

Governance Deficits

• Deficits in governance• Outdated structures, procedures and systems in public

agencies• Inadequate & untrained human capacity in public institutions• Vibrant and large civil society, now facing resource crunch• Family philanthropy charity, welfare and religion driven• Expanding media (TV channels) strong and special interest• Corporate Governance weak, new Act still to be implemented• Short-term fixing, no long-term institutional strengthening

PRIA Intervenes

• Knowledge, Voice, Democracy• Build human and institutional capacity in civil society, local

government, academia• Promote youth leadership in democratic accountability• Empower young women to prevent & address violence in

family, community, work-places and public spheres• Build practitioner knowledge to drive policy reform• Convene multi-stakeholder forums for collective solutions• Over three decades, a credible, independent, professional and

empathic institution for promoting democratic governance

OUR USP: What is distinctive about PRIA?

• Enable grassroots to reach centre-stage• Strong networks of local to global change-makers• Respected convening power across communities

and institutions• Sectoral thought leadership -- ahead of the curve• Extensive knowledge resources, educational and

training materials and offers• Strong, globally respected visionary leader

Our tools AcrossCommunitiesand Institutions

At all levels•Local•District•Provincial•National•Global

Our Work

Multi-stakeholder dialogues

Participatory research

Participatory training

Capacity building

Participatory monitoring and evaluation

Coalition building

Our Impacts

New knowledge is built

Indigenous knowledge gains renewed recognition

Practitioners and civil society produce knowledge Creates

informed choices

People learn to exercise control over their own lives

Social change becomes a collective process

The Power of People

PRIA