Founder & Director
Dr Jyoti Pandey is a researcher and development professional working at the intersection of gender equality, livelihoods, informal economy, social inclusion, and urban and rural development. Her work brings together academic research, field-based evidence and policy engagement to examine the experiences, challenges and aspirations of communities and workers who are often excluded from formal systems and mainstream development processes.
She holds a PhD in Central Asian Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, where her doctoral research examined women's empowerment in Mongolia during 1996–2012. Her academic work in gender and development has provided a strong foundation for her broader research interests in gender equality, women's empowerment, livelihoods, informal work and inclusive development.
Dr Jyoti Pandey has professional experience in urban livelihoods, informal economy, social inclusion and development research, including her work with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), New Delhi.
During her association with NIUA, she contributed to research and knowledge initiatives focused on urban livelihoods and informal workers, including work related to the Centre for Sustainable Urban Livelihoods (CSUL) and urban livelihood programmes and initiatives.
Her professional engagement included research and documentation related to street vendors, informal workers, livelihood security, social protection, financial inclusion and urban development. She has also contributed to evidence generation and knowledge products associated with programmes and initiatives such as DAY-NULM, PM SVANidhi and other urban livelihood interventions.
This experience has strengthened her understanding of the relationship between urban policy, informal economies, livelihood systems and the everyday realities of workers and vulnerable communities.
Her work has involved research design, field-based inquiry, stakeholder engagement, documentation, evidence synthesis and the translation of research findings into policy and programme insights.
Dr Jyoti Pandey's professional approach combines research rigour with field realities. She is particularly interested in understanding how policies, institutions and development programmes affect people whose livelihoods operate outside or at the margins of formal systems.
She brings an interdisciplinary perspective to development research, with particular emphasis on gender, livelihoods, informal economies and inclusive urban and rural development.
As Founder & Director of RIDF, Dr Jyoti Pandey provides strategic leadership to the organisation's work on gender, livelihoods, informal economy, social inclusion and inclusive urban and rural development. She contributes to RIDF's research agenda, institutional development, partnerships, knowledge initiatives and evidence-based policy engagement.