The philosophy of John Dewey (Scientific Inquiry) and Paulo Faire (Critical Pedagogy) equips students and faculties to comprehend and analyze how this academic program can contribute to addressing the aforesaid issues and challenges for state and societal transformation. Critical pedagogy equips students to think differently; not only to memorize (what to do) but also to solve (how to do/act) problems themselves. As an outreach of academic program (MPPM), it also employs the globally recognized human-centric design thinking and innovative tool/approach for the ‘Policy Lab’ to ‘Discover, Design, and Evaluate (DDE)’ the ways and possibilities of informed and evidence-based policy analysis, and solutions, decision making and implementation for ensuring effective public service delivery. The lab attempts to bridge the gap between academia and public policy mainstream and provides opportunities for students, professors, scholars of each university, and college/campus to undertake research on peoples’ concerns and their livelihood considering Policy Avenue. And, the lab motivates student-led policy engagement in the public domain and thus, this is a key for preparing students, who would be tomorrow’s policy leaders and managers in the public domain and settings.
Thematic Policy Engagement.
- Policy Studies: Critical Review and Reflection on KMC Policies and Laws (Review/ Analysis, Identifying the policy gap and policy prescription/recommendations based on constitutional provisions and political manifesto)
- Institutional Planning and Development of KMC including various departments and City Planning Commission based on approved organizational structure and scope of works
- Updating KMC Bylaws (Parking Building, Green Building, Party Venue)
- Study of vacant lands in KV using Artificial Intelligence
- Engaging youth in urban agriculture (Research, Policy, and Action) in collaboration with the University of California, Davis (UC Davis)
- Design Thinking Training in context to Policy Lab and Policy Making/Analysis
- Drafting Guidelines for Policy Outreach Center for Policy Innovation (linking with KUSOM Policy Lab)
- Policy Landscape of Social Enterprise in Nepal
- Migration Research- Pathway of Migration Policy in Nepal
- Scoping the policy domain of reforms in local governance in Nepal (research for policy audit study)
- University-CSOs Partnership for critical public policy.
- South Asian Food Security Vision 2030
- Landex 2030/SDGs
- Policy and Legal Landscape of Green Hydrogen Initiative and Food-Energy Nexus (Food Security)
- Land Rights and Non-Violent Movement Building
- Policy Analysis and Advocacy for Planned Elections at three levels of New Federal Governance: Post Capstone Engagement of Policy Scholars
- Policy Engagement in Cooperatives