DECODE Internal Reflections 2025

From December 1st–5th, 2025, PRIA hosted a week of intensive internal reflections for the DECODE Project in New Delhi. This  gathering brought together our global DECODE team, partners from the IDRC, and the Uvic and PRIA teams to evaluate our progress and chart the future of community-based research.

The week was presided over by Co-Chairs Dr. Budd Hall and Dr. Rajesh Tandon, focusing on the expansive work done for project DECODE in Phases 1 and 2.

Day 1: 

The conference opened with an initiation ceremony performed by Waldina Munoz, an Indigenous woman from Putumayo, Columbia. The presentations and internal reflections from our partners in Côte d'Ivoire, Bolivia, and Uganda followed after. The second half of the day shifted focus to the host organization, as the PRIA team shared their extensive portfolio of work and community engagement strategies. This ran parallelly to a Funders Round Table conversation that took place at the IDRC New Delhi office. 

• Read Report on Lessons from DECODE- Lessons from DECODE Case Studies.docx
• Read Funders Round Table Conference at IDRC Report- DECODE IDRC Roundtable.docx

Day 2:

The presentations continued with insights from Colombia, Brazil, India, Malaysia, and Canada. These presentations transitioned into breakout groups where participants engaged in rigorous discussions, concluding with a synthesis of reflections led by Arjan de Haan , Senior Programme Specialist , IDRC.

• Read Report on the Imperative of CBPR- The imperative of CBPR Methodolgy.docx

Day 3:

Day 3 was dedicated to Arts-Based Methods. This session was coordinated by Prof. Catherine Etmanski, Nikita Rakhyani, and Saanya Sodhi, exploring how creative mediums can deepen our research impact.

• Read Report of Arts- Based Methodology Learning Circle- Arts-Based Methodology Learning Circle Report.docx

Day 4: 

Participants returned to small-group discussions to tackle a central question: How do we best communicate the critical insights emerging from DECODE? 
The afternoon shifted to a session reflecting on DECODE’s strategic engagement at COP 30.

• Read COP30 Session Report- DECODE at Conference of Parties.docx
•  Read DECODE Future Advocacy Report- DECODE Future Advocacy and Communication Strategy.docx

Day 5: 

The final day focused on the Knowledge for Change (K4C) programme,  specifically designed for our Regional Training Centres.

• Read K4C Regional Training Centres and Indian hubs meeting report- K4C - India Report.docx  | K4C Regional Report.docx
• Read AASREC Conference Panel Report- AASREC Conference Report.docx