In relation to the current 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (see here), our Foundation seeks to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focused on health and well-being (SDG-3), quality education (SDG-4) and gender equality (SDG-5).
Research priorities
Marketing and Communications are the primary research areas of our Foundation. They are the essential vehicles through which we address Health, Education and Gender issues to contribute to social change and sustainable development in the Global South, with the primary focus on Latin America and Colombia:
1. |
Marketing in the
Global South
We seek to understand the different applications of marketing to contribute to social, economic and environmental development. This includes conducting critical studies on the positive and negative impact of marketing in Global South contexts.In addition to commercial marketing, there are specific applications of marketing that we are particularly interested in, for example cause-related marketing, Transformative Consumer Research (TCR) and social marketing.
2. |
Social
Marketing
We seek to deepen the understanding of the causes of social problems, including the barriers and enablers that influence the decisions people make to adopt behaviors which contribute to the greater well-being of all. This marketing approach is aimed at influencing voluntary behavior change, conducive to social changes and transformations. There are multiple schools of thought and paradigms that guide research within this approach, in our Foundation we embrace socio-ecological and critical approaches.
3. |
Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)
In this category of chronic diseases, that include diabetes and hypertension, the Foundation is particularly interested in addressing the social and commercial determinants of risk behaviors related to these diseases. In the same way, to improve the quality of life of people with these diseases and their families, health systems and society in general, we also seek to contribute to the prevention and management of NCDs guided by fundamental marketing and social marketing concepts.
4. |
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
Our Foundation seeks to contribute to the prevention and control of neglected tropical diseases such as Dengue, Chagas disease, and Leishmaniasis /Cyticercosis. NTDs mainly affect populations who live in tropical areas and in poverty conditions. Through our research in marketing and communication, we seek to support the development of public health interventions prioritized by the global agenda for NTDs, including, for example, vector ecology and management and water,sanitation and hygiene(WASH).
5. |
Food and Healthy Eating
Nutrition is a commonality of NCDs and NTDs. The Foundation is interested in studying the factors that influence people to eat a healthy diet to prevent or manage NCDs, and to properly manage food to avoid the risk of contracting NTDs. This requires addressing food and nutrition from a socio-ecological perspective.
6. |
Global Citizenship Education(GCE)
Through our research we seek to generate evidence on the use of marketing and communications to promote among girls, boys and young people values, attitudes and behaviors in favor of peace, human rights and sustainable development. These attributes are considered by Unesco as fundamental to advancing local, national and global sustainable development agendas. Within this category of research, we focus primarily on the Pacific region of Colombia.
7. |
Gender
Through our research we study how social change initiatives and programs can better respond to the different experiences and needs of people according to gender and other characteristics of their identity, commonly called intersectionalities. We focus particularly on Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) gender-based violence, and Global Citizenship Education. This priority area of research includes examining social and structural factors that allow having a deeper understanding of how different gender constructs determine, in part, the experiences of people.
