The focus of the UNESCO Chair’s Knowledge for Change (K4C) Global Consortium for Training in Community-Based Participatory Research lies in the creation of K4C Hub s and dissemination of socially responsible higher education. A K4C Hub is a formal partnership between a community organization and a higher education institution, where the partners agree to work together to provide transformative learning opportunities to both community workers and university students.

A K4C hub is focused on training research mentors through community-based research (CBR) for building research capacity through a cascading training model that goes on to create K4C hubs worldwide. These hubs strive to advance socially responsible higher education while integrating CBR practices in higher education globally. The K4C model focuses on capacity building through a 21-week Mentor Training Programme (MTP). Academics from higher education institutions (HEIs) and practitioners from civil society organizations (CSOs) undergo training as mentors, before championing and advancing their socially responsible research agenda at the university level.

Since its launch in 2017, this cost-effective, high-impact model has trained 160 mentors across 31 K4C hubs. Following their training, these mentors have successfully established local and regional K4C hubs in 18 countries, including Canada, Cuba, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Know more about the Chair’s K4C Consortium and Mentor Training Programme