Converging Interests and Complementary Strengths: Universities and civil society organizations in India

Abstract

Jamuna Ramakrishna illustrates how civil society organizations (CSOs) have been drawn into research initiatives on the impact that a globalized economy has on the marginalized and on the alternatives to the dominant pattern of development. She shows how these efforts sometimes involve university collaborations. Although these partnerships are isolated and difficult, they are worth investigating. This article, containing the author's personal views, is a reflection on the experience of HIVOS, a donor which gives importance to organizational and institutional development, and whose funding is guided by humanist principles. The objectives, dynamics, and potential outcomes of four Indian CSO-university collaborations are examined.