SARID: About SARID

SARID is non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian and registered as a tax-exempt 501c3 corporation in the USA, corporation EIN: 55-0829216.

SARID invites professionals and interested individuals from South Asia, and elsewhere, to send us their ideas, articles and publications. We will be happy to publish them on our website, so that we may all become informed, objective and critical decision makers. Please see SUBMISSIONS for guidelines.

SARID collaborates at the local, national and international level with government agencies, corporations, humanitarian organizations and individuals, who contribute to our efforts by sharing resources, expertise, and donating time, funds and goods.

Mission

SARID is a non-profit forum for professionals and friends from all over the world, striving to:

• identify, promote and support appropriate, environmentally sound, humane economic development strategies for South Asia through research, training and small- to intermediate-scale projects.

• provide technology and building strategies for affordable, owner driven, sustainable shelter for people living in developing countries.

• identify technologies and processes, so as to increase the use of indigenous resources and generate internal economies.

• encourage inter-regional cooperation, respect and peace in the region by exchanging views, knowledge and ideas by means of articles, papers, seminars and interfaith dialogue.

Approach

SARID presents a five-pronged approach to assist South Asian and Diaspora communities aspiring to further economic advancement and achieve peace through technical cooperation and relevant, sustainable technological strategies in the region.

• Projects:
Implementing and supporting small scale activities for low income population groups in developing countries, primarily to enable affordable housing solutions.

• Forums, Seminars and Workshops:
Coordinating web-based and in-house opportunities for direct exchange of knowledge and experience about sustainable development solutions, projects and programs for researchers, practitioners and decision makers.

• Policy Reports, Research Papers and Articles:
Providing analyses, proposing strategies and practical solutions for long range sustainable development planning commensurate with sustainable regional development and environmental resource protection.

Inviting interested parties to submit papers and articles on topics on/related to sustainable development.

• Research, collate and disseminate information:
Gathering information on current sustainable development projects, research and literature and sharing collated knowledge through bibliographies, web links and publications.

Assembling directories of significant institutions, agencies, personnel, and resources to enable regions to find appropriate processes, partners or funding.

• Support sustainable technologies and processes:
Creating web links to producers of appropriate, low-cost, intermediate technology and/or processes.

Message from the Board of Advisors

The South Asia Research Institute for Policy and Development, SARID, is a conglomerate of dedicated professionals, united by a single purpose, which is to promote sustainable economic development in South Asia.

While the developed countries are well armed to meet the challenges of the future, the developing nations are faced with economic deprivation, illiteracy, absence of law and order, insufficient technological skills and inadequate scientific knowledge. They are however blessed with enough natural resources and manpower, which when channeled properly, can yield optimum benefits for the common people.

SARID aims to become an informed guide of relevant and appropriate development strategies for the region, which comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (and occasionally, due to prior historical and political involvement, Myanmar/Burma and Tibet).

The intention is to link regional problems and issues to resourceful South Asian Intelligentsia. The South Asian professionals, scientists, technocrats form perhaps the largest single group of “world intelligentsia” that share a common socio-economic, linguistic tradition.

Phase One: Efforts will focus on identifying emerging and available technologies and processes, which are pertinent to South Asia. SARID intends to evaluate, filter, catalog and distribute the “know-how” to decision makers in South Asia.

Phase Two: Will concern the “indigenization” of technologies. Indigenization is defined as a process that involves greater use of indigenous resources accompanied by the development and promotion of autarchy.

SARID realizes that in order to accomplish our objectives we will first have to focus on the socio-political issues that hinder appropriate development and economic growth. Societies need to be strengthened at the civil level before any progress can be made. Good governance, establishment of law and order and literacy among the masses have to be promoted. We hope to identify model governance forms that generate responsible democratic institutions, efficient bureaucracies and good human security. SARID hopes to serve as a bridge between scholarship and policymaking by bringing new knowledge to the attention of decision makers.

Our work is nonpartisan and solely dedicated to achieving practical results for the betterment of the people of South Asia.