WATERLOO, Ont. (Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013) — Scholars at the University of Waterloo and St. Jerome’s University have received inaugural grants from the Chanchlani India Policy Centre (CIPC) to support research that provides policy recommendations for building stronger relations between Canada and India. Focusing on diverse areas such as natural resources, G20 cooperation, and infant health, the scholars will share their findings with academic, government, and private-sector communities.
The policy grants program was created in partnership between the Waterloo-based CIPC, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APFC) and the Canada India Foundation. The partners share a mandate to facilitate effective public policy in Canada and India to deepen engagement and productivity between the countries from political, social and economic perspectives.
“The Chanchlani India Policy Centre is proud to be a new actor in helping to develop public interest of India in Canada, and in researching emerging areas of policy-related matters between Canada and India,” says Professor Ryan Touhey, Director of CIPC.
Valued at $7,500 each, the four 2013 policy grants awarded will enable recipients to dedicate time for research and associated travel, including attendance at a policy workshop hosted by APFC.
Faculty of Environment doctoral candidate Jespal Panesar will examine water cooperation between India and Bangladesh through a case study of the Ganges River basin shared between both countries. Through this study, Panesar will also explore opportunities for Canadian involvement on water-related issues in India and this work will help inform current research and development initiatives undertaken in India by Canadian institutions.
Professor Andrew Cooper of the Department of Political Science, a past Fulbright Scholar and prominent expert on global governance issues, will examine India’s role and goals in the G20 process and whether New Delhi seeks to use the BRICs — Brazil, Russia, India and China — to advance its aims within the G20. Professor Cooper will also examine opportunities for Canada and India to cooperate within the G20 forum.
Professor Whitney Lackenbauer, an historian based in St. Jerome’s University and an award-winning Fulbright Scholar on the Arctic, has proposed groundbreaking research that seeks to illuminate the policy ramifications of India’s growing interest in Arctic matters and what this means for Canada.
Professor John Mielke of the School of Public Health & Health Systems will study approaches to enhance the availability of newborn resuscitation services within resource-limited communities in India. The aim is to provide policy makers with the information needed to implement an evidence-based approach addressing birth asphyxia within Indian communities of greatest need.
“These policy projects span a breadth of issues of importance to Canada-India relations, from the environment and health, to global governance and multilateral cooperation,” states Touhey. “This is an exciting initiative as few other organizations in Canada are examining these topics, or informing bilateral policy, at a time when the federal government is seeking to strengthen historically underdeveloped ties with India.”
In addition to disseminating their research findings within the policy and academic communities, the scholars will provide an executive summary, along with their full paper, for posting on the CIPC website.
