Policy Impact and Public Engagement
At the Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies, we believe that boundaries between rigorous scholarship and real-life change can be porous. Established in the complicated socio-political context of South Asia, the Institute’s research agenda is distinctly tied to the urgent issues faced by civil society actors, government, and transnational institutions of governance. Our work is not only methodological sound and scholarly rigorous, but pragmatic and of the highest possible policy relevance as an evidence-based resource for decision-making, action for justice, equity and resilience in the region.
Over the years, the Institute has developed into a trusted interlocutor for South Asian governments and international governments, and global policy organizations seeking empirically-informed and ethically-driven insights into the critical dynamics in the region. Our work through applied research has served to mitigate climate vulnerability, humanitarian crises, global public health disasters, economic disparity, and democratic erosion. Ultimately, our research works in collaboration with state and non-state entities, contributing to the complexity of both national strategies and global policy dialogues.
Environmental Sustainability and Climate Resilience
In light of heightened vulnerabilities arising out of climate change, the Institute was tasked through the South Asian Climate Resilience Forum, to create a comprehensive policy framework. The South Asian Climate Resilience Blueprint, represents an integrated vision for sustainable development at a regional level, and addresses sector-based challenges in agriculture, water security, and disaster preparedness in South Asia. Using multi-disciplinary approaches, the Blueprint provided specific strategies to guide decision making for embedding climate resilience in a comprehensive governance framework, infrastructure planning, and local adaptation processes. The policy impact of this initiative has been evidenced in that it has been adopted across several jurisdictions triggering a shift toward ecologically sustainable development across the region.
Economic Equity and Inclusive Growth
Despite positive macroeconomic indicators, structural inequalities continue to hinder inclusive development across South Asia. Recognizing this disconnect, the Indian Ministry of Economic Development commissioned a flagship research project led by our Institute focused on equity of access to economic opportunities for historically marginalized groups (HMG). The results of the study were directly used to develop the National Inclusive Growth Strategy that included several direct interventions, such as: the expansion of access to financial services for the unbanked groups, setting up vocational training classes for women and laborers who belong to HMG, and upgrading rural regions’ infrastructure to counter geographical disadvantages, which are historically based on socio-economic variables. All of this is now starting to address existing socio-economic asymmetries and create some pathways for shared prosperity.
Healthcare Accessibility and Public Health Reform
To address chronic disparities in rural healthcare delivery, the Institute carried out a regional analysis, Bridging the Divide: Healthcare Access in Rural South Asia, for the South Asian Public Health Consortium. This statistical analysis revealed structural barriers to the provision of healthcare and provided evidence-based recommendations to address these barriers. A number of local governments have since adopted mobile health units, telemedicine platforms, and community-based health worker programs in the region to increase the reach and responsiveness of healthcare systems to historically underserved rural populations.
Governance and Democratic Reform
In new polities, democratic consolidation remains vital, if an imperative, across South Asia. The Institute conducted a focused assessment of democratic institutions and governance in transition through its work with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Our report, Strengthening Democratic Foundations in South Asia, supported a reformist agenda focused on strengthening institutional responsibility, civic engagement, and access to electoral processes. It has informed numerous policy actions, including anti-corruption policies, enhancing civil society systems, and broadening democratic rights in precarious political environments.
Human Rights and Social Justice
The Institute considers the dignity of humanity as an essential ethical and policy imperative. In partnership with the South Asian Human Rights Initiative, we contributed to developing the Human Rights and Social Justice Framework for South Asia, which serves as both a normative and operational framework for the protection of vulnerable groups and the challenge of structural injustice. The Framework was useful for informing law reform across the region. For example, anti-discrimination legislation has been proposed and some have been passed, which protect women, children, ethnic minorities and other communities previously pushed to the margins.
An Ethic of Applied Scholarship
The central idea for the Sundar Singh Institute’s vision is a commitment to saying: research should not only understand the world, but help to change it. Our researchers appreciate the ethical responsibility of every project, so that legitimacy of knowledge reflects otherwise untold realities, struggles for liveability, and ultimate equity, human dignity, and collective wellbeing.
We welcome scholars, practitioners and organisations across the globe to help us, collectively, to create a South Asia that is marked by equity, stability and collective human flourishing.