Institute for Transnational Research and Development
The Institute for Transnational Research and Development is dedicated to the holistic regeneration of communities by engaging members in reflection and strategic action rooted firmly in their contexts. ITRD understands the inter-connectivity of communities across national borders, thereby working to strengthen their natural networks and flows.
ITRD engages in the following activities:
1. Research
ITRD works with community-stakeholders to design and participate in high-quality research that will enable them to envision new realities by:
- Reflecting critically on their context
- Engaging in hands-on field investigations on questions of common interest
- Analyzing and communicating findings
- Identifying opportunities for meaningful action
2. Capacity Building
ITRD equips community champions to develop the capacity to act on social issues that matter through
- Designing contextualized learning tools
- Facilitating practical training sessions
- Catalyzing relationships with significant organizational and institutional allies
- Providing expertise critical to the the innovation and implementation of regenerative change strategies
3. Evaluation
ITRD partners with community-based organizations to evaluate their activities and to formulate new strategies of action by:
- Gathering new and existing baseline data
- Establishing agreement on concrete benchmarks for measuring success
- Engaging key stakeholders in asset-based appreciative inquiry
- Guiding value-added reflection to inform continuous improvement
4. Economic Development
ITRD assists community-based organizations to develop projects that will result in economic growth that is sustainable and has potential for transforming the communities through:
- Providing best practice models and case studies of effective economic development projects around the globe
- Training in specialized skills for small business development
- Helping organizations to secure sources of funding for their projects.
- Assisting government agencies with feasibility studies for community economic development strategies
CLICK HERE to see current projects (PDF)
For More Information Contact:
Grace R. Dyrness, D.P.D.S.
Tel. 626.675.8245
Fax 626.794.5076
gracedyrness@urban-initiatives.org
Rebecca J. Gifford, DMin
Tel. 909-575-7100
rebeccagifford@urban-initiatives.org