In 2020, ESCR-Net launched the Community-Led Research Initiative (CLR) within the Monitoring Working Group to center communities’ knowledge and lived experiences in shaping the evidence on economic, social, and cultural rights—and to affirm states’ responsibility to use community data and respond to realities on the ground. As this work deepened, members called for moving beyond “monitoring” toward a stronger, movement-rooted approach to research.
Communities are not “sources.” They are knowledge producers, strategists, and authors of their own futures. When communities define their own realities and generate their own evidence, power begins to shift.
Today, the Monitoring Working Group has become the Community-Led Research Hub (CLR Hub) — not simply a new name, but a political repositioning. Within the CLR Hub, movements define their research agenda and political strategy, receiving resources to carry them forward. The CLR Hub strengthens research by and for movements, connects struggles across regions, builds shared methodologies, and deepens collective learning through initiatives such as the CLR School (Escuelita).
As Oscar Pineda, Strategic Research Coordinator at PODER and member of the CLR Hub Advisory Group, reflects,
“With more ethical, critical, and holistic approaches, communities and activists are building bridges for long-term socio-political transformation—while defending our rights and our territories.”
