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The Asia Foundation

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region addresses five overarching goals—strengthen governance, empower women, expand economic opportunity, increase environmental resilience, and promote regional cooperation. Headquartered in San Francisco, The Asia Foundation works through a network of offices in 18 Asian countries and in Washington, DC.

The Asia Foundation leads the X-Border Local Research Network. As part of the programme, it commissions research in the borderlands of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and the maritime border area between the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. A primary focus of this research is to document the effects of state intervention, policy changes and other events on the livelihoods of border populations, patterns of trade and cross-border movement, and security dynamics.

Our team

Programme Manager
Nathan Shea

The Asia Foundation

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Research Manager
Tabea Campbell Pauli

The Asia Foundation

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Research Lead
Azeema Cheema

Verso Consulting

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Researcher
Jessica Olney

The Asia Foundation

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Researcher
June Nilian Sang

XCEPT Researcher

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Researcher
Khine Win

The Asia Foundation

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Researcher
Starjoan Villanueva

The Asia Foundation

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Our research

Research report

31st March 2025
Years of research on the experiences and perspectives of Rohingya communities in Cox’s Bazar, drawing attention to governance challenges and the need ...

Briefing paper

31st March 2025
This policy brief accompanies the paper “We no longer know of the peace we once had”.

Research report

31st March 2025
Bangladesh faces huge climate challenges with increasingly frequent and extreme weather events which intersect in complex ways with social and politic...

Briefing paper

31st March 2025
How have historical patterns in China-Myanmar relations shaped today’s conflict dynamics and political developments in Myanmar’s northern borderlands?...

Briefing paper

31st March 2025
Practical lessons and guidance from the X-Border Local Research Network (LRN)’s experience on supporting equitable, locally embedded research in fragi...

Blog

31st March 2025
Local knowledge and solutions are key to expanding access and ensuring effectiveness of climate action. 

Video

28th March 2025
The XCEPT program team reflects on their journey, sharing insights and lessons from seven years of the Local Research Network.

Briefing paper

28th March 2025
Since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, Kachin State, which lies along the Chinese border, has been deeply affected by ongoing civil conflict. This r...

Podcast

12th February 2025
Hear from the X-Border Women Research Fellows about what motivates their research project and how they overcome the challenges of doing research in fr...

Video

15th July 2024
Researchers working in borderland regions of Asia, the Middle East and Africa share their experiences and approaches to conducting fieldwork.

Event

29th April 2024
Researchers from across the Local Research Network gathered in Bangkok for a workshop hosted by The Asia Foundation.

Event report

15th July 2024
Researchers from across the Local Research Network gathered in Bangkok for a workshop hosted by The Asia Foundation.
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