DETAILS:

Professional Experience

April 2003 onwards:

Manager, Global Public Goods Network (gpgNet) Forum (retainer basis), Office of Development Studies (ODS), UNDP (based in Geneva) 

gpgNet intends to serve researchers, policymakers, business and civil society as a platform for information exchange and discussion, on issues concerning the theory, policy design and practice of providing global public goods.

 

Job profile and achievements:

• Creating the global 'public' policy network- gpgNet- to bridge research, policy and practise on global public goods

• Integrating activities of gpgNet with trade, finance, biodiversity, water, health and MDGs related negotiations happening at the regional and global level, and identification of experts and partner organizations 

• Setting up focus-groups ahead of landmark events, including the World Water Conference, Fifth WTO Ministerial Meeting, World Park Congress and World Summit on Information Society (WSIS)

• Managing e-forums of over 500 participants each, and assisting in preparation of reflection papers, on Achieving Millennium Development Goals, Multilateral Trade Regime, Agriculture Research and Development and Public and Private Dimensions of the Global Water Challenge

• Liaisoning with Geneva-based institutions and international community, and representing gpgNet in Geneva meetings

 

July 2001 - March 2003:

Policy Analyst, Office of Development Studies, United Nations Development Program, New York

ODS is the policy think-tank within the UNDP providing forward-looking  analyses on emerging issues and innovative policy too to development practitioners. It collaborates with development policy think tanks and experts around the world to foster joint research and knowledge exchange.

 

Job profile and achievements:

• Provided research and editorial support for the UNDP publication- Providing Global Public Goods: Managing Globalization, Oxford University Press, January 2003

• Undertook research on public-private mix and adequacy of public goods provision (peace and conflicts, biodiversity conservation, corruption-free governance and climate stability)- institutional and financing aspects

• Conducted research on global telecommunications network, the Internet and knowledge management as global public goods and addressing issues of access and adequate provision

• Conceived the global public goods Network (gpgNet.net) to link together researchers, policymakers and practitioners to move research results into policy debates and practise

• Managed the project: "Bridging Research and Policymaking / Research and Policy Network" in collaboration with Global Development Network (GDN), World Bank. A survey of 48 senior government officials in 32 countries was undertaken to understand the policymaking proces

 

January 1999 - September 2000:

Program Officer, Sustainable Development Networking Program (SDNP), Government of India

SDNP is a program implemented by the Government of India with the support of UNDP and IDRC, Canada to catalyze sustainable development through the  establishment of national knowledge networks.

 

Job profile and achievements:

• Managed a five-person team to create the first “Knowledge network on Sustainable Development" at http://sdnp.delhi.nic.in  The network has over 25 nodes on different subject areas and provides access to databases, government policies, and referral services on environment and development

• Monitored debates and negotiations on biodiversity, forestry, climate change, desertification, and clean technologies and prepared policy packs for use by the Union Minister and other government officials

• Liaisoned with government officials working on environment and development issue, and created avenues for participation of NGOs in select advisory committee and “right to information” meetings

• Selection, building information management capacity and networking skills, and networking together 15 SDNP's nodal organizations

• Provided consultations to government and funding agencies on how to make governmental information available electronically to citizens, especially in rural and thinly populated areas

• Managing the Query-Response/ Management Information System-for SDNP and UNEP's InfoTerra south asia hub.

• Voluntary Initiatives: Promoting NetAid launch concert and Online Volunteering for UNV in India

 

February 1998 - January 1999:

Policy Analyst, Policy and Advocacy Unit, ActionAid, India

ActionAid is an international development organisation with headquarters in UK and works in the area of food security, natural resources management, health and education in over 50 countries.

 

Job profile and achievements:

• Authored  technical papers on agricultural policy, food security and biotechnology

• Authored a comprehensive base paper on "Draft Model Indian Agricultural Policy" for discussion at state-level workshops on public investment in agriculture and food security

• Designed training modules and imparted training to partner NGOs on policy-advocacy

• Member of ActionAid's International Food Rights Campaign for promoting food security

• Participated in campaigning and initiating public dialogues on agriculture and WTO reforms

• Voluntary Initiative: Provided editorial support to the flagship Exchanges magazine of ActionAid

   

April 1996 - February 1998:

Programme Organizer (Monitoring), Aga Khan Rural Support Program India (AKRSP), Gujarat, India

AKRSP is an international NGO working on natural resources management in Asia and Africa

 

Job Profile and achievements:

• Managed a team of over 35 development professionals and participated in their half-yearly performance evaluation exercise

• Undertook monitoring of soil and water resources, forestry, agriculture, biomass energy, and watershed development programmes of AKRSP in over 250 villages

• Implemented the drinking water and sanitation programmes in 30 salinity-affected villages

• Designed the significant change monitoring & evaluation frameworks for the EU funded project on community management of natural resources, and wrote periodic reports for the donors

• Conducted participatory rural appraisals (PRA), impact assessment and baseline monitoring

• Authored evaluation reports on gender and soil-water conservation programmes

• Voluntary Initiatives: Initiated the children development programme and farm-based programmes for tribal communities of African descent

Founder Head / Voluntary Actitivites

Founder, Digital Governance Initiative, July 2000 onwards

[ www.digitalgovernance.org ]

 

Digital Governance initiative was launched at the second Global Development Network (GDN) conference, World Bank, in Tokyo 2000 to identify, propagate innovative e-governance models in developing countries through peer-support. Through a network of over 1800 researchers, policymakers, practitioners and interested individuals from over 40 developing countries, the project identified five generic E-governance models applicable for developing countries.  Efforts are underway to create an E-governance Tool-kit and an e-Leadership Map to foster south-south learnings and set-up a mentor group on E-governance.  The project draws experiences and expertise from over 1050 E-governance practitioners and users from Asia, Africa, Middle East and other parts of the world. Sign project updates by sending blank email at digitalgovernance-subscribe@yahoogroups.com 

 

The e-governance models and the website developed under the project are used as teaching material in several institutions including, the London School of Economics (UK), Bilkent University (Turkey), Virgina Tech University (USA), University of Washington (USA), and USDA online teaching modules.

 

Founder, KnowNet Initiative, April 1999 onwards

[ www.knownet.org  ]

 

KnowNet Initiative was launched and presented at the Global Knowledge Partnership conference in Malaysia in 2000.  KnowNet catalyzes formation of knowledge societies in developing countries through strategic application of knowledge and use of ICT and ‘remote volunteering’. The initiative has recruited and trained over 150 volunteers/NGOs on use of ICT for development and knowledge management.KnowNet volunteers and network provide support to World Computer Exchange (USA) to ship donated computers to schools and NGOs in Asia.  The KnowNet website and web tools- KnowNetWeaver.org and TechKnowNet.org have been fully developed through efforts and expertise of KnowNet corp of volunteers. The toolkits- www.KnowNetWeaver.org  and www.TechKnowNet.org  are available for free and are useful in designing websites and initiating electronic networks. Support is provided by KnowNet Corps of remote volunteers in applications of these tools.

 

KnowNet Corps support: the World Computer Exchange (USA) in identifying recipient organizations for donated computers, the Human Development Report office (UNDP) in identifying ICT case-studies, and the HelloLife.org to bring information on grassroots development initiatives into the public domain The KnowNet.org website has emerged as a one-stop place for showcasing knowledge management projects, accessing publications, case-studies, and news updates on these issues.  

 

Founder, DevNetJobs.org Initiative, June 1999 onwards

[ www.devnetjobs.org  ]

 

DevNetJobs.org is a web-network managed by KnowNet Corps and dedicated e-Teams and provides information on jobs and career opportunities arising in the environment and development sector. It also brings out a weekly newsletter which is subscribed by over 38000 individuals through which it circulates job vacancies posted by over 850 organizations.

 

Several initiatives have been launched through the DevNetJobs.org platform, including http://www.hellolife.org/. Hello Life periodically features an extraordinary individual who has made the difference where it counts: at the grassroots. The aim is to link up and share information on initiatives which so far have an inadequate web presence.

Consultancy Assignments

• Create the ‘Southern Portal on Information for Knowledge and Empowerment’ (S.P.I.K.E) to represent concerns of the South in international fora, and for use by negotiators and delegations. South Centre (an inter-governmental organization), Geneva. May 2003 (ongoing)

• Evaluation of ICT and sustainable livelihoods project involving UN volunteers in Mongolia. United Nations Volunteers, Mongolia and Germany. August-September 2003

• Designing a 3 years project on use of ICT in agriculture extension and creating the Agricultural Knowledge Generation and Sharing network (PN-KnowNet) for Near East and North Africa region. International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), Rome, Jordan, Egypt. April-May 2003

• Evaluation of UNDP-UNV Tele-Access Community Centers (TACCs) project in Egypt. The report was well received and is being used for devising future strategies for setting up tele-centers with a development outreach goal. United Nations Volunteers, Bonn, Germany. June 2001

• Conceptualization and financial estimation for initiating the Global Public Goods Network (gpgNet). Preparing a base document for creation of International and Regional Knowledge Networks on Global Public Goods (GPG). The document outlined the strategy to initiate knowledge networks between North and South and within South on GPG issues. United Nations Development Program (UNDP), New York. March 2001

• Documentation of developmental impacts and preparing a perspective plan of future directions and activities. During the consultancy, an exploratory participatory rural appraisal was done to assess the use of ICT in promoting sustainable agriculture. Ambuja Rural Development Foundation, Gujarat, India. July 2000

   

• Sacred Forests - an emerging ethno-religious practice for the conservation of plant resources and bio-diversity. Bringing out a status report on Sacred Forests in western India and suggesting policy measures to build up participation of the local communities for their preservation. The project culminated with financing of large-scale afforestation of religious tree species on these lands. Agricultural Finance Consultants, New Delhi, India. Oct. 1995 - Dec. 1995

   

• Developing Models to measure the Impact of Natural Resources related interventions on the status of the Common Property Resources.   Independent models were developed to assess the impact of afforestation, land resources development, alternate-energy, and animal husbandry program on the status of common property resources. CHIRAG, Uttar Pradesh, India. May 1995-July 1995

   

• Review of the forest management practices of the State Forest Department for the conservation of Kanha National Park. The review involved the study of the joint forest management approach adopted under the World Bank's Eco-development Program for encouraging participation of the local communities in managing of forests. A review of the non-farm income generating activity of World Food Program (WFP) was also carried out. Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India. Dec. 1994 - Feb. 1995

Research Papers and Publications

Publications

• Institutionalizing the use of ICT for agricultural extension and development (upcoming)

• Digital Governance Models: moving towards good governance in developing countries. Innovation Journal. April 2003

• Provision of Connectivity: an assessment of cost of action and inaction and potential benefits.  In Providing Global Public Goods: Managing Globalization, Oxford University Press Jan 2003

• The Coming Revolution- Digital Governance Models: Moving towards good governance in developing countries. Cover Story.  E-Commerce. Volume 2, No. 4 July 2002

• ICT enabled Institution for Empowerment and Governance: voices to the South, Beyond Economics: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Development, GDN Book Project (upcoming)

• Digital Governance: moving towards Good Governance in South. Journal on Aspects of Local Government. Issue 2(10)- Spring 2001. 

• Empowerment and Governance through Information and Communication Technologies: women's perspective. International Information and Library Review Journal. December 2001. Article is also available at http://www.cddc.vt.edu/knownet/iilr-women-ict.pdf

• "ICT enabled Knowledge Societies for Human Development". Information Technology in Developing Countries, IFIP Working Group 9.4, Volume 10. Number 2, August 2000

• "Knowledge Networking and Sustainable Development Networking Programme (India), Enviro News, Volume 3, Number 9, September 1999

• "Re-engineering of our future, a debate on genetic engineering", Exchanges, Issue no. 23, 1998

• "Coping mechanisms of the Santhal Tribals", Exchanges, Issue no. 23, 1998

• "Impact Assessment of the Biogas Program in Naturally Degraded Areas", Exchanges, Issue no. 22, 1998

• "Impact study of Land Development Programs in Degraded Areas", Exchanges, Issue no. 20, 1998

• "Impact of development interventions on the status of women", Aga Khan Rural Support Program India, 1998

• "Impact of contour bunding and land leveling on degraded areas", Aga Khan Rural Support Program India, 1997

Research and Technical Papers

• Provision of Connectivity: an assessment of cost of action, cost of inaction and potential benefits of providing connectivity to all. 2002

• Enhancing Connectivity-- A High-return Investment Opportunity for All. 2002

• World Bank: a step forward and a step backward. Do we still need this institution. London School of Economics. September 2001

• White Collar Invasion: developed countries policies leading to environmental degradation in South, London School of Economics, August 2001

• Inter-relationships between food policy and environmental policy in contemporary policy practices in India, London School of Economics, March 2001

• Political Decentralisation- Complementary rather than Substitution Approach, London School of Economics, February 2001

• Aiming Rio + 10 : failures, achievements and the way forward, London School of Economics, January 2001

• Critical assessment of Community-based approaches to Environment and Sustainable development, London School of Economics, December 2000

• "Heralding ICT- enabled Knowledge Societies" way forward for developing countries; Sustainable Development Networking Program, India, April 2000

• Barriers to Knowledge Societies; One World Europe Think Tank, April 2000

• Knowledge Networking for Sustainable Development; Sustainable Development Networking Program, India, April 2000

• "Modeling Impact of Pollution: a framework" -interpretive Structural Modeling through Strategic Impact Assumption- Identification Method (SIAM), Sustainable Development Networking Program, India, 1999

• "Towards Knowledge based Information Systems", Sustainable Development Networking Program, 1999

• "To buy or to produce food - dilemma of a small farmer"- Modeling farmer's decision using Monte Carlo Simulation, ActionAid India, 1999.

• "Cash Crop Production vs. Food Crop Production - a Monograph", ActionAid India, 1998

• "Base Paper on Model Agricultural Policy (with a perspective on Food Security)", ActionAid India, 1998

• "Decline of Public Investment in Indian Agriculture", ActionAid India, 1998

• "Bringing Fallow Lands into Cultivation", ActionAid India, 1998

• "Coping mechanisms for Food Security" - a case study of tribals in Eastern India, ActionAid; India, 1998

International Conference Presentations

• Key Issues in E-Governance: for development and transition, International Forum on National ICT Strategies and E-governance, UN ICT Task Force and UNDP Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov  6-8, 2003

• International Perspectives on Achieving E-Government, E-Government for All: Virtual Conference, Benton Foundation, November 3-14, 2003

• ICT for Inclusive Development, Transforming and sustaining inclusive development communities: an evidence-based approach, International Institute for Communications and Development, The Netherlands, September 19, 2003

• ICT and Weaving Politically Relevant Networks, International Civil Society Forum / International Conference on New or Restored Democracies, Mongolia, September 6-10, 2003

• Digital Initiative for Development, International Consultative Workshop, Lebanon Centre for Policy Studies, Beirut, Lebanon, September 11-12, 2001

• Introducing e-governance models in the South, The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Stockholm, Sweden, June 27-29. 2001

• Bridging Research and Policy Workshop, Department for International Development and University of Warwick, Warwick, July 15-16, 2001

• Networking Networks: Virtual ICT-Networks, Global Development Network, World Bank, Tokyo, Japan, December 2000

• Empowerment and Governance through Information and Communication Technologies: women's perspective, International Conference on Opportunities for Women in ICT era, October 23-24, 2000, UNDP, Malaysia

• Knowledge Networks on Environment and Development, Global Knowledge Partnership, Malaysia, June 2000

Guest Lecture presentations

• E-Development Course for Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Country Gateways, World Bank. March 2003

• Comparative Public Administration Policies: a southern perspective. University of Delaware, USA, December 2001

• USDA online course on ICT for Developing Countries. June 2001

• ICT-Networking Models for Empowerment and Governance, University of Brighton, United Kingdom, November 2000

Educational Qualifications

Masters Degree (First Class), Environment and Development, London School of Economics,

United Kingdom. September 2000 - August 2001

 

Main subjects: Environmental economics, Environmental regulations and implementation policy, Environment impact assessment, Development theories and Dynamics of institutions

 

 

Masters Degree (First class), Forest Management, Indian Institute of Forest Management, 

India. June 1994 - April 1996

 

Main Streams : Development theory and alternate approaches to development economics, Environmental laws, issues and treaties, Globalization and developing countries, Natural resources valuation, Institutions and development theory, Natural resources management and watershed management, Management of NGOs, and application of GIS in development projects

 

 

Undergraduate Degree (First Class), in Mathematics (Honours), St. Stephens College, Delhi University, India. April 1991 - June 1994.

 

Specialization: Mathematics and Statistics

Computing Skills

• Adept in creation of HTML / modular websites, Lyris List servs and discussion forums, and setting up electronic knowledge networks using Front Page, Dream Weaver, and Adobe Photoshop

• Familiarity with web-server management: Windows NT and Apache

• Knowledge of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) - ArcInfo, MapInfo and IDRISI

• Experience of using of modeling and system dynamics software - Stella, Vortex, Professional Dynamo and Pondsimula for systems modeling on environmental issues

• Languages known: C, HTML, SQL*, PL/SQL, Fortran and Java (basic)

Professional Scholarships, Awards, Achievements

• Interviewed by Azerbaijan National Newspaper “The Zerkalo (The Mirror)” on use of ICT in private sector, November 8, 2003

• Interviewed by National Mongolian TV on civil society and social development issues, Ulanbaator, Mongolia, September 7, 2003

• Advisory Council, Knowledge for Development, Development Gateway, World Bank

• Inlaks Scholarship for the year 2000-1, London School of Economics, UK

• Interviewed by New York Times about the Developmentspace.com initiative. April 11, 2002

• BBC-UK World Service's panelist on their program "Outlook" on the impact of Computers in Developing Countries. November 2000

• International Advisory Council Member, World Computer Exchange. 2000-2005

• Member of Global Knowledge Leadership Map, Entovation International, USA

• Scholarship of Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. 1994-96

• Certificate holder of National- Level Mathematics Olympiad, 1991

Extra-Curricular Achievements

• Spearheading mountaineering expedition to Kanchenjunga Base Camp (6000 m),  India (2000) 

• Spearheading mountaineering expedition to Khatling Glacier (4500 m),  India (1994)

• Runner's up of Delhi State Indoor Rock Climbing Championship, 1994

• Rock Band Member, Ashtoreth, India