Rajesh Tandon is an internationally acclaimed leader and practitioner of participatory research and development. He is one of the founding fathers of Participatory Research. His work in this field has given new meaning to relationships between the researcher and researched subjects.
He started his professional career in the development sector as an active intervener in the processes of social change in rural areas of India. While working with villagers on educational training, he observed the power of new learning opportunities in the hands of those who have otherwise been denied such access. He questioned the methodology of an objective, scientific system in transforming social realities and began experimenting with the idea of a bottom-up acquisitive system, thereby discovering a new faith. His work was labeled as unscientific, and some wondered if it served only to further political ideology. Others would look at it merely as a development tool. He founded the Society for Participatory Research in Asia as a vehicle to strengthen learning opportunities at the grassroots level and to articulate knowledge for wider social influence, in 1982. He developed participatory training, monitoring, and evaluation methodologies supported by and to enhance adult learning and community knowledge. His contributions revolve around issues of participatory research, advocating for people centered development, policy reform and networking in India, South-Asia and beyond. He has advocated for a self-reliant, autonomous and competent voluntary sector in India and abroad. Building alliances and partnerships among diverse sectors in societal development is another current area of his work.
Positions of responsibilities
He has held various positions of responsibilities within India as well as abroad.
2000 - Present
Co-Chair, UNESCO Chair on Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education.
Chairperson of GACER network. PRIA is also the nodal organization for the South East Asia of the Alliance.The representatives of universities, networks and civil society organizations created The Global Alliance on Community-Engaged Research in May 2008. The main objective of the Alliance is to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and information across continents and countries to enable interaction and collaboration to further the application and impact of community-based research for a sustainable just future for the people of the world.
Chaired session on University - Community Engagement for Societal Change and Development: Possibilities and Challenges at the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education, 5–8 July 2009 at Paris.
Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree by the University of Victoria in 2008 in recognition of his pioneering work in the area of civic engagement, governance and community based research.
First Indian to be inducted to the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame. The award recognizes innovative leaders who believe passionately in the evolutionary power of education and are themselves exemplary lifelong learners who have left lasting impressions on the students, institutions, and organizations they serve.
Named by the United Nations as one of the significant social leaders of our times.
Winner of Nehru Literacy Award, 2015.
Books
He has authored more than 100 articles, a dozen books and numerous training manuals on themes such as democratic governance, civic engagement, civil society, governance and management of NGOs, participatory research and people-centered development. He has authored/co-authored several books, including
Community University Research Partnerships: A Global Perspective
Global Governance, Civil Society and Participatory Democracy: A View from Below
Civil Society and Governance
"Reviving Democracy"
Voluntary Action, Civil Society and the State
In addition to these, he has also co-edited several books, including
Higher Education and Community-Based Research: Creating a Global Vision
Globalizing Citizens: New Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion
He was married to eminent social worker Martha Farrell. She was one of the four Indians killed in the 2015 Park Palace guesthouse attack. An expert on women's empowerment, Farrell was running a series of workshops on "gender mainstreaming" in Afghanistan for locals and government officials. The has been set up to carry forward Martha’s spirit and legacy by advancing her pioneering work on gender mainstreaming and adult education, with the overall goal of achieving gender equality in India and around the world.
