Aspirants for research in diverse areas of social sciences can make use of the rich facilities at the Gujarat Institute of Development Research (GIDR), Gota, Ahmedabad, a premier organisation recognised and supported by the Indian Council of Social Science Research.
The institute (Website: www.gidr.ac.in), which was established in 1970, undertakes analytical and policy-oriented research concerning development issues. There are four broad thrust areas: natural resource management; human resource development; industry, infrastructure and trade; and decentralised planning.
Natural resources
The studies in natural resource management involve development interventions such as participatory irrigation management, watershed development programmes, joint forest management and protected area management. There is a visible focus on economic viability, equity and institutional mechanisms. Relations among community, government and civil society are explored.
Natural resources and sustainable development constitute one of the rapidly expanding portfolios of research. Environmental degradation, groundwater, watershed development, water harvesting for domestic use, sustainable development of inland fisheries and forests are subjected to studies. The institution focusses on multi-patterned links between natural resources and human wellbeing.
Some of the typical studies are in natural resources and chronic poverty in India; water policy and water laws in India; comprehensive assessment of watershed projects in India; impact of WTO on women in agriculture; and community-managed water and sanitation programme in earthquake-affected villages.
Human resources
The studies relate to quality of life, education, social infrastructure, diversification of economic activities and migration. The focus is on population, labour, poverty and social security issues. The studies are not pure academic exercises; they provide fuel to policy formulation in respect of better labour conditions and social security reforms. Health and family welfare is another vital area.
Gender issues receive a central place in all research projects. Population research in the institute goes beyond pure demographic projections; they touch issues regarding the quality of life. It studies demographic transition in India, fertility decline, contraception and reproductive health. The significance of social infrastructure in health, education, water and sanitation in human development is taken into account.
The insecurities arising in the labour market and the deterioration in the workers’ living conditions are matters of serious concern. The reduction of jobs in the formal sector and the rising importance of the informal economy are studied with a view to arriving at solutions. The State has to provide basic security. A research cell on informal sector studies has been constituted to study these issues.
The institute has gathered data on child labour for the International Labour Organisation. Similarly data collection on employment in the informal sector has been made for the Union government. The impact of disasters such as an earthquake on livelihood of people is another area of research. The institute works in collaboration with various national and global organisations.
Some of the typical studies are shown below:
Access to medicines: initiatives in policymaking and delivery of drugs, a case study of district hospitals in Tamil Nadu.
Maharashtra employment guarantee scheme: lessons for the national rural employment guarantee scheme.
Social income and economic insecurity.
The Tribal Resource and Research Centre in the GIDR studied the status of the tribal people of Gujarat in the areas of agriculture and irrigation.
Demographic transition in Andhra Pradesh: determinants and consequences.
Social income and economic insecurity.
Health issues in tribal-dominated districts.
Dissemination of findings from Abortion Assessment Project – India.
Industry
The industrial policies of governments change from time to time depending on emerging technologies or changes in the political formations at the helm. How the micro, small, and medium industries should respond effectively to such policy changes for maximum gains has to be studied in detail.
Intellectual property regimes and the surfacing of new technologies such as biotechnology, bioinformatics and nanotechnology and new digital developments are sure to throw up fresh challenges. These have to be addressed with innovative skills for survival in highly competitive environments. The institute focusses on the linkages between infrastructure and growth as well as aspects of governance.
Effectively linking micro processes to macro issues involves a rich knowledge base and remarkable skills, which are indeed strong points of GIDR. It has developed policy-sensitive databases, covering regional and national levels. The institute conducts substantial empirical research. Findings are shared with governments, NGOs, policy framers, and academics. It conducts collaborative research with the cooperation of international organisations.
Some of the typical studies are shown below:
Impact of industrialisation and related activities on the Marine National Park, Jamnagar.
Challenges, opportunities and imperatives for techno-economic institutional reforms under trade liberalisation.
Policy and status paper on cluster development in India.
Indian plant biotechnology regulations: issues in enforcement.
Job creation potentials of micro and small enterprises in clusters and public policy.
Trade, investment, and economic cooperation between China and South Asia.
Food security and sustainable production systems in India.
Institutionalising Indian medicines: Challenges to governance and sustainable development.
Decentralised planning
The GIDR was originally known as the Gujarat Institute of Area Planning (GIAP). It had mostly taken up area planning exercises. Whereas macro planning exercises end up with indicative plans for potential growth scenario and investment strategies, the micro plan exercises aim at development of blueprint plans. The implementing agencies could directly translate the area plans into programmes. The institute had the privilege of being the motivator in several initiatives in agriculture and irrigation in Gujarat.
The GIDR has undertaken evaluation studies of several development programmes, such as the Integrated Rural Development Programme and the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas, implemented by the Union government.
Some of the typical studies are about the clay workers’ craft in Gujarat: problems and prospects; milk cooperative and milk economy; and development of social indicators.
Published - July 16, 2012 05:32 pm IST
