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OUR
CHALLENGES

the echo network has developed a global model for involving communities, academia, industry, NGOs & governments in the scientific process to ensure better scoping, scaling, & translation of new knowledge & technologies to enhance sustainable development in emerging economies. Our activities have developed a deliberate collaborative process that considers the viewpoints of each stakeholder in the system, identifies common interests and points of inflection and establishes communities of practice that work iteratively together across the system to fill current knowledge gaps.

CHALLENGE DEVELOPMENT

In 2020-2021 through the Changemakers Table, 77 changemakers, 49 organizations and 5 countries used value mapping, problem definition and evidence planning along with theory of change to define our Concept Notes. An additional 87 consultants refined objectives and outcomes. In 2022, through the Expert Dialogues, 123 thought leaders refined the concept notes into initial Pilot Projects to be executed in the SAGE program. Finally in 2023, through the Network Summit, 130 participants from over 90 organizations revisited the theory of change to refine the concepts with outputs from our SAGE Ambassadors to develop knowledge gap-filling projects for SAGE Fellows, a PhD program that started in 2024 with 85 consortia members from 65 organizations and 10 Indian universities and institutes as hosts.

The following are 3 interlinked Consortia Projects consolidated through the above mentioned iterative process, concept notes, preliminary projects, and working group sessions.

Clean Healthy Cities

Forum
Surveillance
Circularity
Waste

Rural Livelihoods

Production
Nutrition
Feedstock
Biopackaging

Ecosystem Stewardship

Stewardship

Valuation

Digitization

CONSORTIA MEMBERS

Please click on tabs to view planning sessions. Listed organizations are valid at the time of the event.

SAGE Fellows Contributors

CLEAN HEALTHY CITIES

This project aims to identify sustainable and innovative solutions for urban challenges while considering One Health systems and infrastructure. By collaborating with stakeholders including local government agencies, civil society organizations, NGOs and implementing partners, and the community, the project will establish a citizens' forum and utilize citizen science for knowledge contributions, as well as assess and evaluate contextually relevant and efficient water circularity systems along with waste management solutions. The project culminates in a publicly accessible digital resource called the Surveillance Dashboard, which provides real-time data for disease surveillance and related capacity-building tools for relevant stakeholders focusing on water circularity, flood alerts, and waste management. This project seeks to create an informed and prepared governance system and establish a network that fosters improved health outcomes and environmental sustainability in urban areas.

Projects: Surveillance, Forum, Circularity, Waste

Implementation Partner: One Health Bengaluru City & Innovation Centre DK

Convener: Innovation Centre Denmark (ICDK)

Host: The Bengaluru Science & Technology Cluster (BeST)

Location: Marappanpalya Ward (North Central Bengaluru, population app. 50.000).

Main connections in India: Initiative for Climate Action, Bengaluru Municipal Government, India National One Health Mission.

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RURAL LIVELIHOODS

Through stakeholder interactions, research, and data collection, this project aims to promote ecosystem-based regenerative agriculture and localised food systems. It will develop a toolkit for sustainable materials from agricultural residuals, sustainable, eco-friendly experimental model for the production of nutrition-enriched food using biopesticides and biofertilizers, and create a roadmap for localised circular food systems. A publicly accessible digital platform will provide information and strategies for all stakeholders involved. The ultimate goal is to create sustainable agrifood practices that balance biocultural diversity and economic development while providing livelihood opportunities to rural communities.

Projects: Production, Nutrition, Feedstock, Biopackaging

Implementation Partner: ECOsystem-Based Adaptation for Resilient Incomes

Convener: Ecosystem-Based Adaptation for Resilient Incomes (ECOBARI)

Host: Watershed Organization Trust (WOTR)

Locations: Maharashtra (Southwest India, capital: Mumbai) and eight other Indian states that WOTR works in.

Main connections in India: Government of Maharashtra, local village councils (Gram Panchayats) and Farmer-producer organizations.

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ECOSYSTEM STEWARDSHIP

This project aims to design models for incentivizing bioresource conservation and ecosystem restoration in rural communities through local opportunities for socio-economically viable ecosystem stewardship. By developing these models, we will build capacity for decision-makers from local to national levels for ecosystem stewardship, identify institutional barriers to ecosystem stewardship from local to national levels, perform research on ecosystem services and their valuation, and develop a stewardship “toolkit” for livelihood incentivization of ecosystem restoration and bioresource conservation. The project will culminate with a publicly accessible digital platform that provides data and incentivization strategies for all stakeholders.

Projects: Stewardship, Valuation, Digitization

Implementation Partner: Biodiversity Collaborative

Convener: The Biodiversity Collaborative

Host: Ashoka Trust in Research on Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and The University of Trans-disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology

Locations: West Sikkim (Northeast India between Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh), BR Hills and Raichur (North Karnataka State).

Main connections in India: Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Rainmatter Foundation, The National Biodiversity Authority, and The National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Wellbeing (Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change).

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