Dr. Rajesh Tandon gave a talk to a diverse group of businessmen, government officials, academics, NGOs and students on the symposium India of the Future organized by Enterprise Edmonton, a division of Edmonton Economic Development, in collaboration with the Edmonton Chapter of the Canadian International Council, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

1. 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
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

2. 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%)

3. 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?

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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??

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. Our tools Across
Communities
and
Institutions
At all levels
•Local
•District
•Provincial
•National
•Global
Our Work
Multi-stakeholder dialogues
Participatory research
Participatory training
Capacity building
Coalition building
Participatory monitoring and evaluation

12. 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

13. PRIA
The Power of People