About
Evidence, patiently gathered.
Public Policy Researcher & Development Professional
Biography
A practice built between the field and the policy table.
I work at the intersection of social work practice and public policy research. Over the last decade my work has moved between village-level implementation and the evaluation frameworks that decide whether such implementation is judged a success.
My research concentrates on inclusive development: how women's collectives alter household bargaining power, how corporate and public spending reaches — or fails to reach — underserved districts, and how impact is measured in ways that do justice to slow institutional change.
I use mixed methods by conviction rather than convenience. Numbers establish scale; sustained conversation establishes meaning. Neither is sufficient alone.
Evidence is only useful when it survives contact with the people it describes.
Academic Journey
2024 — Present
NBRF Research Fellowship
Doctoral-level research on inclusive development, women's economic agency and measurement practice.
2019
UGC-NET Qualified — Social Work
National eligibility qualification, formalising the transition to full-time research.
2017 — 2019
Master of Social Work
Specialisation in community development, with a dissertation on women's collectives and household bargaining.
2014 — 2017
Bachelor of Social Work
Foundational training in community organisation, casework and rural field practicum.
Professional Journey
2024 — Present
Independent Researcher & Policy Advisor
Advising funders and state agencies on evaluation design, measurement frameworks and evidence use.
2022 — 2024
Research & Evaluation Lead
Led impact assessments and monitoring systems for CSR-funded and state-supported programmes.
2019 — 2022
Development Practitioner
Field-based work with rural livelihood and women's collectivisation programmes across central India.
Research Philosophy
Research should be designed backwards from the decision it is meant to inform. Method follows question; the question is set with the people whose lives it describes.
Mission
To make grassroots evidence legible to policy — and to keep policy accountable to what actually happens in a village, a block office and a household.
Vision
An independent evidence practice in India where measurement is slow enough to be honest and open enough to be contested.
Academic Interests
- Inclusive development
- Women's economic agency
- Evaluation methodology
- Development finance
- State capacity
Skills & Methods
- Mixed-methods research design
- Impact evaluation
- Survey instrument design
- Qualitative fieldwork
- Stata & R
- Policy writing
Languages
- Hindi (native)
- English (professional)
- Bundeli (conversational)
Awards & Recognition
- 2024NBRF Research Fellowship
- 2019UGC-NET Qualified — Social Work
Personal Values
The commitments the work is held to.
Evidence before advocacy
Positions are held provisionally and revised when the data refuses to cooperate.
Proximity to the field
No conclusion is written about a district that has not been visited more than once.
Method transparency
Instruments, sampling frames and limitations are published alongside findings.
Respect for respondents
People surveyed are collaborators in the research, not extraction sites for data.
Research Impact
Work measured at scale.
Cumulative reach across evaluations, surveys and programme support engagements.
0+
Self-Help Groups studied
0+
Women covered
0+
Survey respondents
0%
Income improvement
0%
Women's participation in decisions
Outcome indicators — endline vs. baseline
- Savings behaviour86%
- Enterprise survival64%
- Household decision-making80%
- Income improvement71%
- School continuation58%
Reading the numbers
Decision-making participation moves earlier and more evenly than income. Where an income endline reports 71%, the agency instrument had already recorded 80% — eighteen months before the money became visible in the household ledger.
Questions
Frequently asked
- Who is Shashank Shrivastava?
- Shashank Shrivastava is a Public Policy Researcher & Development Professional. UGC-NET qualified social work researcher working on inclusive development, impact assessment, women's empowerment and public policy in India.
- What does Shashank Shrivastava research?
- Current research focuses on Public Policy, Women's Empowerment, Rural Development, Impact Assessment, Corporate Social Responsibility, Monitoring & Evaluation, Social Work and Development Studies.
- What is Shashank Shrivastava's mission?
- To make grassroots evidence legible to policy — and to keep policy accountable to what actually happens in a village, a block office and a household.
- What is Shashank Shrivastava's research philosophy?
- Research should be designed backwards from the decision it is meant to inform. Method follows question; the question is set with the people whose lives it describes.
- What is the reach of Shashank Shrivastava's work?
- 2509+ Self-Help Groups studied; 28000+ Women covered; 1500+ Survey respondents; 71% Income improvement; 80% Women's participation in decisions.
- Which languages does Shashank Shrivastava work in?
- Hindi (native), English (professional), Bundeli (conversational).
- How can I contact Shashank Shrivastava for research collaboration or speaking?
- Enquiries about research collaboration, programme evaluation, advisory work and speaking invitations can be sent through the contact page or by email at mail@shashankshrivastava.online.