People’s Science Institute

Our Approach

Research, local needs and partners, working together.

How we turn research into action

  1. 01

    Start with communities

    PSI combines deep research and technical expertise together with communities' own lived experiences to address the challenges in socio economic development.

    Keeping local needs and experiences as the foundation of the work, it helps in strengthening their institutions.

  2. 02

    Make solutions last

    This foundation leads to offering solutions that are adaptable and could be used in different social contexts.

    The involvement of communities promotes local ownership, self reliance and the equitable use of resources.

    Its work experience of more than three decades shows that this approach can support large scale development and sustains the efforts on ground for a much larger time.

  3. 03

    Put research at the core

    Research and innovation are central to PSI’s work. The organisation focuses on developing and testing new technologies and approaches to community mobilisation along with supporting their adoption and wider use.

    PSI places research at the core of its development work. Its interventions are informed by the needs and priorities of local communities.

    This approach guides its work across watershed development, environmental quality monitoring, climate change, disaster management and livelihood improvement.

    • Watershed development
    • Environmental quality monitoring
    • Climate change
    • Disaster management
    • Livelihood improvement
  4. 04

    Deliver with partners

    If research guides PSI’s approach to development, then collaboration supports its implementation on the ground.

    The organisation works closely with government institutions and local voluntary organisations to put its findings and plans into practice.

    PSI continues to build skills and institutional capacity through technical support, consultancy and knowledge sharing. It also brings its interventions into policy discussions and into governments’ larger welfare programmes.

Our partners and supporters

  • Sir Ratan Tata Trust
  • WWF-India
  • ICIMOD
  • GIZ
  • ACWADAM
  • IIT Roorkee
  • University of Birmingham
  • University of Arizona
  • University of Delhi
  • IWMI
  • CGIAR
  • Hero MotoCorp
  • NIUA
  • MoHUA
  • USAID
  • CAPART
  • Department of Science and Technology
  • Planning Commission
  • BIOME Environmental Trust
  • CEDA
  • IIT Kanpur
  • ICAR-NBFGR
  • Gwalior Municipal Corporation
  • Government of Uttarakhand
  • MoRD