Description

About the Book

Public policy lies at the heart of democratic governance, social equity, and community well-being, yet conventional policy design often overlooks the nuanced, everyday realities of the people it aims to serve. This Public Policy Qualitative Participatory Action Research Fieldwork Fellowship Cohort 7 – Anthology of Essays underscores the indispensable role of grounded, community-centred inquiry in shaping responsive and accountable governance. Convened by the IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, this volume documents empirical area studies and participatory fieldwork conducted by emerging scholars under the guidance of leading social scientists, public health experts, and policy practitioners.

Moving beyond purely quantitative metrics and theoretical abstractions, the book captures non-numerical insights into human behavior, institutional delivery, and operational bottlenecks across diverse social contexts. Through intensive fieldwork, the contributors examine critical contemporary challenges: mental health awareness and help-seeking behaviors among college students in Chennai; urban heat vulnerability and the precarious working conditions of app-based cab drivers in Gurugram; student interactions with artificial intelligence; sustainable livelihoods among forest-dwelling communities near the Bor Tiger Reserve; the structural precarity of women construction workers; the invisible responsibilities of student caregivers; and the desensitization surrounding sexual violence in Indian media. Together, these studies demonstrate that effective interventions depend on listening to marginalized voices and understanding local cultural norms.

At its core, this volume emphasizes the need to equip emerging scholars, practitioners, activists, researchers, and policymakers with the critical perspectives and analytical tools required to engage with the evolving challenges of public administration through an empathetic, people-centred lens. By fostering reflective dialogue and interdisciplinary learning, the book contributes to ongoing efforts to cultivate participatory action research and advance public policy rooted in dignity, equity, and social justice.