Knowledge for Change (K4C)

The Knowledge for Change (K4C) Global Consortium for Training in Community-Based Participatory Research was created during the UNESCO Chair’s second term (2016-2020). The formal launch of the K4C Consortium took place on 13 November 2017 in New Delhi, in collaboration with the UNESCO [hyperlink] New Delhi Office and the Indian Association for Universities. The Canadian launch occurred subsequently in December 2017, with joint efforts from the University of Victoria and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.

The K4C consortium was created to address the globally observed gap in community-university engagement and prepare the next generation of community-based participatory research (CBPR) practitioners and academics. Through the K4C consortium, the Co-Chairs, Dr. Tandon and Dr. Hall, sought to answer the question of how to create sustainable structures for building capacity in CBPR. The resulting K4C strategy facilitates formal partnerships between universities and community or practitioner organizations through community-university engagement. The consortium also highlights the creation of K4C hubs for training through hands-on community-based research (CBR) linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In May 2021, the K4C was featured at the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education in Barcelona. In November 2022, the K4C model was featured in the opening UNITWIN plenary panel for the UNESCO Conference on Transforming Knowledge for Just and Sustainable Futures. The K4C model has also been adopted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) [hyperlink] in India as an approach for training academic staff in all public universities of the country.

In 2024, the Chair opted to transition the recruitment and training of K4C mentors from a centralized UVic-PRIA model to a regional approach. Since its launch in 2017, the K4C’s cost-effective, high-impact model has trained 160 mentors in 9 cohorts across 31 hubs. The mentors have then gone on to create these 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 Hubs and Mentor Training Program