Participatory Rural Research in aid of Sustainable Development in India
November 2, 12:00 PM
Depicting cross cutting theme of women’s empowerment and climate change within all our programs.
An introduction to the work of Sehgal Foundation, which works to strengthen community-led development initiatives to achieve positive social, economic, and environmental change across rural India. We envision every person across rural India empowered to lead a more secure, prosperous, and dignified life. Sehgal Foundation has five main program areas: Water Management, Agriculture Development, Local Participation and Sustainability, Transform Lives one school at a time, and Outreach for Development. These programs are supported by Rural Research and Development that engages in participatory research, impact assessment, and interactive dialogues to determine informed actions to achieve sustainable results. Rural Research and Development maximizes the impact of poverty alleviation initiatives for rural communities through using participatory research and impact evaluation as practical tools informing action, outcomes and learning. This focuses on integrating all components of the research process which are undertaken to design, implement and sustain the interventions by Sehgal Foundation in the rural areas of the country. These components largely include needs assessment, baseline surveys, mid-term assessment, and sustainable impact evaluation (SIA).
About the Speaker
Jay Sehgal serves as executive vice president of Sehgal Foundation in the US and as trustee of S M Sehgal Foundation in India. He represents Sehgal Foundation on the board of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment and serves on the board of Hytech Seed India. After earning degrees in Business Administration/Management Information Systems with emphasis on Computer Science from the University of Iowa, he was working in IT in the private sector when recruited by Proagro Seed in India. In 2001, Jay joined S M Sehgal Foundation in India as executive director during the seminal shaping and development of the organization. In 2008, Jay returned to Des Moines to represent Sehgal Foundation to American donor organizations and development institutions, create linkages with research organizations and foundations; attract volunteers and students from the US to work at the foundation to gain exposure to rural India, and more recently to focus on Transform Lives one school at a time, an initiative that combines the foundation’s key programs in water management, agriculture development, and good rural governance to ensure that every schoolchild—especially girls, who have long been disadvantaged—has a more promising future. Jay was recognized with the 2017 Iowa Ag Leadership Award for outstanding service in agriculture by then Secretary of Agriculture Mr. Bill Northy. Jay is the recipient of the International Impact Award from the University of Iowa.
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