Mission
The mission is to champion innovation for exploring paths of social transformation towards a world, free from poverty, injustice, gender inequality, empowerment, environmental degradation and good governance.
Vision
The vision is to provide innovative ideas, alternative perspectives and critical approaches with a view to building constituencies for progressive transformation of people, environment, economy and society.
Policy & Strategy
The mission is to champion innovation for exploring paths of social transformation towards a world, free from poverty, injustice, gender inequality, empowerment, environmental degradation and good governance.
The vision is to provide innovative ideas, alternative perspectives and critical approaches with a view to building constituencies for progressive transformation of people, environment, economy and society.
Governance Policy Explorer Center (GPEC) – the Innovators was registered in March, 2008 under the Society Registration Act 1860 and in join Stock of Companies under the Ministry of Commerce, the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to contribute towards search for solutions to endemic poverty, injustice, gender inequality, women empowerment, environmental degradation and good governance at the local, national and global levels. The philosophy, ideas and actions of the organization focus on pluralistic, participatory and sustainable development and seek to challenge the narrow theoretical and policy approaches derived from unitary models of development.
- Gender, Human Development and Empowerment
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Inclusive Growth and Development
- Governance and Institution
- Social awareness building and relevant programs.
- Trade, Regional Cooperation and Global Integration
- Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment
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Policy dialogues for national and international audiences.
- Good Governance
GPEC: Roles
A Knowledge Provider
GPEC infuses pluralism in perspectives by examining development intervention strategies, exposing its underlying paradigms and the impacts on the people, and explores alternative concepts, approaches, practices for contributing towards progressive social transformation.
A Catalyst for Change Agents and Organizations
GPEC embarks upon perspective and capacity building as social action to build and strengthen constituencies of change agents of social transformation.
A Bridge between Margin and Centre
GPEC brings in indigenous perspectives from the margins to the center with a view to shaping the global development discourse and democratizing policy making.
Conceptual Approach
Since GPEC’s aim is to search for alternative paths of social transformation, we conceptualizes paradigm of development as of social transformation and change. Therefore, the unit is society, which according to us, is and interwoven system consisting of economic, political and social sub-systems, intertwined at every sphere-local, national and global. The societal sub-system entails configuration of classes, which interact with each other in political arena in order to retain control over productive resources in the economic sphere. The political sub-system is reflection of societal sub-system as the dominant class attempts to arrive at or impose a set of collective goals. The economic sub-system actualized goals through the production of goods and services. In other words, the societal sub-system defines players, the political sub-system inscribes rules and economic sub-system actualizes the system of accumulation. Thus our policy analyzes and research is based on a theoretical structure that grids the transmission mechanism of the realities of concentration of wealth and power, differential access to markets and resources, and the impact of discriminatory policies and practices.
Activities
Research and Dialogue
As a think tank, much of the organization’s work is about public policies, advanced from pro-poor perspectives. The organization’s research outputs are designed to contribute to reframe policy debates and help citizens as well as policy entrepreneurs make optimal choices by providing the tools and information they need. The organization has integrated stakeholder-learning as well as consensus-building workshops as part of its “Thinking”, research and dialogue process.
Constituency Building and Policy Literacy
A wing of the centre is engaged in perspective building and policy literacy programs to help prepare change agents in association with civil society groups and social movements, as the organization is concerned about social change and recognizes that for social changes to take place, it needs changes agents, Besides the organization use research and other projects to educate and outreach to a wider audience.
Strategic Influence and Policy Advocacy
The organization put ideas directly to decision-makers at national and international levels through long cultivated connections with stakeholders such as public sector officials, politicians, business leaders, NGOs, trade unions, women groups, educators. The organization also provides tailor made policy advisories and briefings to these stakeholders.
Action Research for Change
The organization pursues an integrated knowledge management approach to employ participatory action methods that elevate the status of local observation and knowledge. Thus this Unit’s work embark on methods, which promote emancipatory praxis in the participants – a critical consciousness that is expressed in political as well as practical action for change.
Operational Units-Human Resources
The internal professional staff and external fellows are grouped into five function-based operational units-Public Policy, Social Policy, Ecology and Environment, Working Lives and Social Protection, and Perspective Building and Policy Literacy The professional staff, with expertise in all areas of development studies, were educated from top-ranking universities.
Economic Policy Unit
The Economic Policy Unit provides research and analysis to enable advocacy and campaigns in the field of economic policy for social justice. The aim is to examine public polices and development intervention strategies by exposing its underlying paradigms and the impacts on the people, and to explore alternative approaches to public policy questions. This Unit considers the processes and politics that potentially influence national and regional development in the context of an increasingly global economy. Research considerations include the roles of institutions, government policies, market structures, distributional issues, international trade and finance, and economic geography in explaining development and welfare.
Social Policy Unit
The Social Policy Unit conducts research and fosters discussion on all aspects of social policy. The aim is to reflect the experiences and views of the rights holders on policy interventions, and to communicate research findings with stakeholders in thinking through their implications with a view to bringing about change.
Ecology, Environment and Emergencies Unit
The Unit forms a focused, interdisciplinary program of research and advocacy to integrate rigorous natural and social sciences with policy, education and socially responsible conservation action. The work of the Unit relating to emergencies including disaster is rights-based to cover a full range of activities including, advocacy, prevention, preparedness, direct response and rehabilitation in situations created by war, drought, floods, earthquakes and famine.
Working Lives and Social Protection Unit
The Unit undertakes research into all aspects of working lives and social security, emphasizing equality and social justice and provides analysis in support of trade unions, social movements and public and private sector organizations, Research considerations of the Unit include: economic security, educational and workforce prospects, and family stability of low-income people.
Perspective Building and Policy Literacy Unit
The Unit provides resources and undertakes programs for change agents and organizations with a view to building constituencies for progressive transformation of people, environment, economy and society. The program on capacity building is conceptualized as social action.