THE CPM

OUR LEAD PROGRAMME · SDG 17

Exchange of Notes

A research partnership between the Great Lakes and Southeast Asia, two Global South regions working toward sustainable development. Scholars and practitioners from both regions share ideas, research shared policy questions together, and turn what they find into better policy for their communities.

PRESENT YOUR NOTE → HOW IT WORKS

Two regions, shared problems

The Great Lakes and Southeast Asia face many of the same policy questions: shared rivers, displaced people, public health, cross-border trade and competition between larger powers. Their scholars and practitioners rarely work on them together.

Exchange of Notes connects them directly, so ideas travel between Kampala, Kinshasa, Dar es Salaam, Bangkok, Jakarta and Hanoi without passing through anyone else first. The aim is better policy, and real improvement for the communities we come from.

How it works

  1. Present your note

    Tell us who you are, where you work or study, and the policy question you care about.

  2. Be paired

    We pair you with a scholar or practitioner in the other region who is working on a related question.

  3. Exchange and publish

    Together you write a short policy note. Selected notes are published on The CPM, with both authors credited, in the languages of both communities.

Research themes

Pick one of these, or bring your own question.

  • Refugees and host communities
  • Public health
  • Shared rivers: the Nile and the Mekong
  • Cross-border trade and migration
  • Governance and accountability
  • Peace and security
  • Diplomacy between Africa and Southeast Asia

Who can take part

  • Scholars: students from final-year undergraduate to PhD level, and researchers at any stage.
  • Practitioners: people working in government, civil society, health, development and community organisations.
  • Based in a Great Lakes country (Uganda, DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania) or an ASEAN member state.
  • You can write in English, French, Thai or Kiswahili.

Our commitments

  • Free. No fees at any stage.
  • Both authors are credited equally on every published note.
  • Independent. We do not speak for any government or institution.
  • Your details are used only to pair you and to contact you about the programme.

Present your note

Register your interest. We will write to you when the first round of pairings opens.

Two or three sentences are enough.
LANGUAGES YOU CAN WRITE IN