Asia Centre is social enterprise that operates on a not-for-profit basis. It undertakes evidence-based research on contemporary affairs across Southeast Asia and the wider region. It aims to enhance its partners’ communications capacity, global networking, knowledge base, research skills and training capacity.
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S1E3 | Competence, Culture, and Competition: The Operational Code of Asia Centre
Asia Centre's Big Ideas: Competence, Culture, and Competition: The Operational Code of Asia CentreWhat does it take to build a "bubble of competence in a sea of incompetence"? For Dr James Gomez, founder and Regional Director of Asia Centre, the answer led to expanding across four countries and multiple hubs — while holding the line against shrinking civic space, aid collapse, and an information ecosystem increasingly flooded by AI-generated disinformation. He returns to the show to unpack the operational reality of running a multinational CSO in Asia: the talent challenges, the cross-border fault lines, and the high-stakes question of whether AI can be trusted to support — rather than distort — civil society research. Hosted by Kelvin Param.
2 Apr 2026
S1E2 | Freedom from Academia: How Unencumbered Research Empowers Civic Action
Asia Centre's Big Ideas: Freedom from Academia ─ How Unencumbered Research Empowers Civic Action
What happens when academic conventions get in the way of speaking truth to power? Dr James Gomez walked away from the ivory tower to build something more agile — founding Asia Centre on the principle of "freedom from academia." By replacing the strictures of academic institutions with collective expertise and real stakeholder input, he's created a model that's faster, sharper, and that can be harnessed for advocacy and capacity-building bringing the research closer to the ground — and one that's actively equipping civil society leaders in Asia to challenge power on their own terms. Hosted by Kelvin Param.
12 Feb 2026
S1E1 | The Donut Model: A Self-Funding Architecture for Civil Society in the Trump 2.0 Era
Asia Centre's Big Ideas: The Donut Model ─ A Self-Funding Architecture for Civil Society in the Trump 2.0 Era
The return of the Trump administration in 2025 triggered a $60 billion reduction in U.S. foreign aid, dismantling the USAID structure and leaving a 'seismic disruption' in its wake. So when the grants stop, how does the work continue? As legacy INGOs retreat, local organisations are stepping up with a new, adaptive financial model. Dr James Gomez, founder of the Asia Centre, explains how his organisation bypassed the donor mentality through self-funding infrastructure and diversifying into a range of revenue-generating activities to overcome the funding crunch. Hosted by Kelvin Param
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