From 2007-2011, HEIRA's objective in this focus area was to develop sustainable networks among researchers and field workers to create socially relevant curricula. The Eastern India and Maharashtra projects, which were housed at the School of Women’s Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, and the Women’s Studies Centre, University of Pune, created active networks of undergraduate colleges and NGO groups, which drew upon the experience of field workers to reinvigorate curricula and also fed back into programmes of providing systematic education for field workers. This resulted in new teaching materials in three Indian languages (Marathi, Malayalam and Bengali) used by about 4000 students, which have built capacity of 100 instructors both within Universities and the development sector.

The readers and manuals produced by partners in this area have directly impacted the introduction of gender-sensitisation courses at all levels in the higher education system in Maharashtra, Bengal and Kerala. The project partners have provided new benchmarks for direct impact across the range of women’s studies centres in the country through their interventions in inter-disciplinary research training, curriculum design and production of teaching materials. The initiative thus enhanced cross-sectoral engagement through teaching, research training, and materials production, to directly address the areas of education, livelihoods, health and human rights. 

HEIRA is currently in the process of incubating projects in this area which focus on law and legal education, exploring the networks between legal education and the practice and development of the law.