PC: Geran de Klerk

Knowledge2Action

K2A aims to bridge the gap between research and real-world application in South Asia and focuses on environmental sustainability and social well-being goals. The idea is to make knowledge and research from Swiss and South Asian institutions accessible to a wide variety of stakeholders that promote the SDGs. These actors include but are not limited to policymakers, educators, activists and others who can put knowledge to action.

Under K2A, there are different instruments that enable exchanges between Swiss and South Asian experts including researchers, practitioners and students across various sectors ranging from fishing practices and forest rights to implications of climate change and ecotourism. You can read about them and their outcomes below.

K2A Small Grants

These grants support projects based on academic research converted into tools or processes that support awareness, advocacy and transformation of the SDGs, while aiming to convert research into action. Your research can take the form of policy briefs, teaching material, seed-money to develop a social business model, proof of concept or prototype, workshops or popular media formats (websites, theatre, web-campaigns, comics, documentary films). We highly encourage involving relevant stakeholders and concerned communities. This opportunity is for researchers—including senior, early-career, postdoctoral and PhD candidates—from South Asian and Swiss research institutions, artists, nonprofits and community-based organisations. Learn more here.

K2A Mobility Subsidies

Early-career researchers and senior researchers from the CLOC network universities in South Asia can apply for mobility subsidies to pursue field work, research and/or teaching at a university/institution in another South Asian country or at a Swiss university/institution. The travel could be made to carry out field visits, research collaborations, concrete implementation of research results and/or teaching initiatives. The amount of the grant will depend on the duration of the research stay, which has to be a minimum of three weeks. Learn more here.

K2A Online Academy

Bachelor’s and Master’s students and early-career researchers from Switzerland and South Asian countries can apply to be part of this three-week online programme. During the course, you will gain an understanding of the SDGs and how you can contribute to its advancement across South Asia. The programme will help you achieve this through curated sessions focused on applying design-thinking and translating knowledge into action. This course is open to individuals from all subject areas. Learn more here.

K2A Regional Network Meetings

The goal of the regional network meetings is to promote communication and collaboration between scientists working in South Asian countries and Switzerland. Building a framework and supporting the network is the focus of these meetings and they are open to researchers, nonprofits and implementers who have an interest in advancing the SDGs in South Asia. Learn more here.

The K2A Network is looking for financial support for its next phase. Read the funding pitch here and get in touch with us at [email protected] to have a first conversation.

Prof. René Véron, Faculty of Geosciences and Environment, University of Lausanne from Switzerland shares a key takeaway from the recent Dialogue Workshop on SDGs by Knowledge2Action.
Ms. Rinan Shah, Doctoral Candidate, ATREE shares a key takeaway from the recent Dialogue Workshop on SDGs by Knowledge2Action.