1963-2018 - 55 years of Research for Social Change

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Back | Programme Area: Research-Related Activities

Transformative Social Policy Knowledge and Practice Network

  • Project from: 2011 to 2012


Background and Context
UNRISD engagement with civil society in knowledge-sharing activities throughout 2011, along with presentations of UNRISD research on transformative social policy at a number of venues during the year, generated demand from various civil society partners to establish a network for the collection, exchange and dissemination of knowledge and practice on transformative social policy and universalism.

Such a network would aim to strengthen the capacity of civil society stakeholders to engage in national development strategy-making processes. It would also provide a resource for researchers aiming to understand the political processes and power configurations that determine policies and facilitate transformative processes on the ground.

It could do so through:
  • facilitating the networking of civil society in the global South;
  • exchanging knowledge and practice to strengthen policy stakeholders’ participatory capacity;
  • sharing research and knowledge on the transformative role of social policy and universal provision; and
  • developing learning materials to build the capacity of Southern actors to engage with and influence policy-making processes at local, national, regional and global levels.

A Pilot Initiative
A pilot project was carried out in 2011-2012. This brought together selected civil society participants and UNRISD to:
  • explore grassroots demands for networking and knowledge exchange around universal social policies;
  • identify potential local partners and the feasibility of a South-South knowledge and practice network;
  • identify existing learning materials for capacity building;
  • assess the comprehensiveness, accessibility and relevance of learning materials that focus on the transformative role of social policy and universal provision; and
  • develop and test a prototype e-learning platform.

Kyunghee University provided the technical assistance for the development of a prototype e-learning platform.