Subrata Lamsal holds a Bachelor of Arts, Legum Baccalaureus (B.A.L.L.B) from Tribuvan University. As a junior policy research fellow at ASD, she has focused her research on the various coping mechanisms the communities demonstrated in the aftermath of the earthquake in 2015. Her paper discusses and identifies the areas where the government can reform its policies to better support coping strategies of local communities in the long run.

Narayani Devkota holds a Master’s degree in Sociology from Central Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tribhuvan University. She has worked as an active Central Committee member of All Nepal National Free Student Union (ANNFSU). She has garnered experience from GalliGalli as a communication manager and published more than 50 articles on a variety of gender and urban issues for both print and online media. As a junior policy research fellow at ASD, she focuses her research on the identification and management of open spaces in Kathmandu in the aftermath of the earthquake in 2015. Her paper discusses on the utilization and discrepancies of the identified spaces and highlights the possible solutions to address the challenges for better management of open spaces.

Sushma Thapa holds a Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B) from Kathmandu School of Law affiliated with Purbanchal University. She has worked as a mobility officer at INHURED International for the rapid assessment of the human trafficking during earthquake based in Rasuwa. As a junior policy research fellow at ASD, she has focused her research on an analysis of the policies related to recovery of destroyed houses in post-earthquake rebuilding. Her paper critically assesses the housing recovery procedural guidelines of Government of Nepal, based on the identification of the beneficiaries, financial and technical assistance and challenges relating to them through literary discourse and field visits.

Rina Chaudhary holds a Master of Arts in Sociology from Tribhuvan University and Graduation Diploma in Social Sciences from Nepa School of Social Science and Humanities, Kathmandu. As a junior policy research fellow at ASD, she has focused her research on the impact of the April earthquake on women, young girls and women with disabilities. The paper provides critical insight on disaster preparedness in Nepal and how women suffer due to the lack of basic necessities and suitable living conditions. The paper also highlights the shortcomings in the national policy of Reconstruction and Rebuilding and offers recommendations that can contribute to future disaster preparedness plans.

Barsha Paudel holds a Master’s degree in Specialized Economics from the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering. As part of her fellowship at ASD she has focused her research on analysing the status of e-governance in Nepal and the existing gaps in the implementation of the national IT Policy formulated in 2010. As part of her research she has outlined the various factors contributing to the lack of progress made in attaining the ideal phase of e-governance whereby IT is at the core of service delivery.

Bhola Paswan is an activist for Dalit rights and is affiliated with several organizations working on behalf of the Dalit community. He is also a journalist who has worked for various papers on a national and local level. He has mainly reported on issues related to the existing discriminatory practices against the Dalit community in the terai region of Nepal. He received the Sancharika Equity Award in 2007 for his contribution to journalism. As part of his policy research fellowship at ASD, his paper is focused on assessing the various policies directly related to the Dalit community. He also looks at the contradictory contestations prevalent in these policies and the possible impact of these inconsistencies on the Dalit community.

Binit Gurung holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Social Work from St. Xavier’s College at Tribhuvan University. He was the member of the US Embassy Youth Council in 2014. As a Junior Policy Fellow at ASD, his research looks into the advocacy strategies employed by local-level NGOs in Nepal.

Deepak Marahatta is a lecturer of Rural Development and Research Methodology at various campuses affiliated to Tribhuvan University, Purbanchal University and the Indira Gandhi Open University. He completed his Master’s Degree in Rural Development with distinction from Tribhuvan University and also holds a Master’s Degree in Environment Education and Sustainable Development (EESD) from Kathmandu University. He also runs a Volunteering Organization named Bikalpa Nepal (reason to live, serve and work) which is currently working for school children and rural communities. He has conducted several research projects in the areas of environment, agriculture, tourism and community development and his research works have been published in international and national journals. As part of his ASD policy fellowship research, he is looking at the status of data in the policy making process in Nepal.

Harsha Man Maharjan holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. He is a media researcher and is the co-editor of the annual Nepali journal Media Adhyayan, published by Martin Chautari.  As a research fellow at ASD,his paper looks into the policy agendas related to the financial support provided by the Nepali government to the media sector.

Kranti Pageni holds a Bachelor’s in Business Management with a specialization in Finance from Brindavan College, Bangalore University. She is the recipient of the General Cultural Scholarship provided by the Indian Embassy. She was actively associated with the Federation of International Students’ Association at university in Bangalore. She has recently worked in the Nepal Institute of Policy Studies (NIPS). As a Junior Policy Fellow, her co-authored paper analyses the political manifestos of major political parties of Nepal and to what extent pre-election promises are translated into national policies.

Raj Kumar Pariyar has extensive experience as a researcher in the development field. He has been the research fellow at the Consortium for Land Research and Policy Dialogue (COLARP). He has been the District Coordinatorfor the Disaster Risk Reduction Programme organized by UNICEF in Saptari. He has also been a regular contributor to national dailies like the Kathmandu Post. As a research fellow at ASD, his research looks into the process of how demands for policy intervention are institutionalised or sidelined by policymakers.

Rojy Joshi holds a Bachelor’sdegree in Development Studies from the National College at Kathmandu University.She has worked for Oxfam, the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) and Radio Sagarmatha and has also worked as a Field Facilitator for Landesa in New Delhi. As a Junior Policy Fellow, her co-authored paper analyses the political manifestos of major political parties of Nepal and to what extent pre-election promises are translated into national policies.

Shalinta Sigdel is a finance graduate and as a trained Reality Check Approach researcher, she has worked in the Far Western Development Region of Nepal. As a Junior Policy Fellow at ASD, her research looks into the formulation phase of the national budget and its implementation.

Hindu Sanskriti Karki holds a Master’s in Development Studies, School of Arts from Kathmandu University in Nepal. She has experience as a documentary producer, focusing on areas of health education, conflict and peace, women empowerment, food insecurity, women trafficking, environment and climate change.As a research fellow at ASD, her paper highlights the need for urgent policy reform and policy intervention in the penitentiary system of Nepal.

Prakash Acharya holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Tribhuvan University. He isa journalist and a lecturer by profession.His research for the ASD Policy Fellowship was an investigation into the different media-related policies of Nepal and the policy environment that led to their formulation.

Raju Sharma holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Governance from the North South University under the NOMA Scholarship and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Rural Development from Purbanchal University. He has served as the Deputy District Project Coordinator in the IFAD supported Western Uplands Poverty Alleviation Project in Bajhang. As a research fellow at ASD, his paper critically analyses the concept of participation-based development programs executed by local government institutions in Nepal.

Sushma Phuyal holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from Kathmandu University.Her research paper for the ASD fellowship assesses the level of accountability and transparency existing in local-level institutions while using and distributing women specific grants.

Bijaya Raj Poudel holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology from the Central Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tribhuvan University. He has been actively involved in policy research and advocacy, focusing especially in the area of youth empowerment and issues of inclusion and peace-building in Nepal. As a research fellow at ASD, his research focuses on identifying the challenges linked to the current age bracket used to formulate the National Youth Policy and whether it serves the interest of the population it is targeting.

Yam Bahadur Pun is on the board of LEARN (Lifting Education, Advancing Nepal),an NGO which has been providing primary teachers with leadership training for School Management Committee and Parent Teachers Associationin order to enable them to offer quality education in rural schools in Myagdi District. As a research fellow at ASD, his paper evaluates the implementation of the education policy requiring private schools to offer scholarships to students from marginalised and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Gopal Shubhechchhu Acharya holds an M. Ed. (English Language) and a Master’s in Political Science from Tribhuvan University. He has participated in the process of formulating the draft of the Higher Education Policy of Nepal which is in the process of getting necessary approval from the Constituent Assembly. His ASD Fellowship research paper is an assessment of the implementation of the education policy introduced to establish the Continuous Assessment System (CAS) in schools in Nepal.

Kabin Maharjan holds a Master’s degree in Human and Natural Resources Studies (HNRS) from Kathmandu University.His interest lies in the domain of natural resources and its management and utilization. His research as part of his fellowship at ASD focuses on analysing the multiple claims and contentions impacting the demands made by the indigenous communities of Nepal for land ownership.

Rajendra Senchury is the FK Norway Fellow at the Delhi ShramikSangathan in New Delhi. He is also involved with the Samata Foundation as a researcher. Besides publishing Conflict Management – Monthly, he writes for the national dailies on a regular basis. He is the 2012 Gold Medalist of Tribhuvan University for Conflict, Peace and Development Studies pursued under the NOMA Fellowship Programme in Nepal and Sri Lanka. For his 2013 ASD Policy Fellowship, his research was titled “.”

Subita Pradhan holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from Purbanchal University. At SIAS, she worked as a researcher for reports like “Political Economy Analysis of Local Governance in Nepal” and “Study on Local Drivers of Conflict and Governance”. Her policy paper for ASD Fellowship is a critical assessment of the National Youth Policy and its lack of implementation.

Ramesh Rai has extensive research experience in the areas of social inclusion/exclusion, student politics, media politics, Maoist’s disqualified combatant and urban issues. His fields of interest are urban studies and (geo)-politics of development and comparative study of social movement in Nepal.He was involved in the project “Higher Education Reform in Nepal” at Martin Chautari, which is a trend tracking project in policy shift and reform of Nepal’s higher education. He has a Master’s degree in Geography from Tribhuvan University.

Swarnima Bhandari completed her Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Gender Justice from the Kathmandu School of Law atPurbanchal University. As a research fellow at ASD, she tried to reviewthe implementation of the National Action Plan introduced by Nepal in order to fulfil its role as a signatory of the UNSCR’s resolution on women, peace and security.

Amrita Limbu has a Master’s degree in South Asian Studies from the Pondicherry University in India, and also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Rights. She has a keen interest in labour issues and has co-authored papers like “Governing Labour Migration in Nepal: an Analysis of Existing Policies and Institutional Mechanisms” and “Trafficking and Forced Labour in Nepal: a Review of the Literature”. As part of her research at ASD, she looks at how the age demographic of Nepal has been affected by decreasing mortality rates and increasing fertility rates and she focused on offering policy alternatives to better support the elderly population of Nepal.

Chiranjibi Bhandari holds a Master’s degree in Conflict, Peace and Development Studies from Tribhuvan University and a Graduate Diploma from the Nepal School of Social Sciences and Humanities.As the planning and implementation officer of the Secretariat of Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist Army Combatants, Bhandari played a key role in facilitating integration and re-integration process of ex-combatants between 2011 and 2013. He has also served as a conflict expert for the vertical monitoring of Nepal Peace Trust Fund Projects with a concentration on cantonment management and rehabilitation of ex-combatants. His paper for the ASD fellowship was an insight into the nature of intra-party conflict since 2006 between the three major political parties: UCPN (Maoists), Nepali Congress and CPN (UML). The paper explores the nature and impact of intra-party conflict on national politics and public policies.

Dal Bahadur Bishwakarma is a law-student who has been working as a social worker since 1995. His areas of interest include government policy, law regulation and implementation. His paper for the ASD Policy Fellowship offeres a critical analysis of the impact and effectiveness of education policies targeting the marginalised Dalit population of Nepal.

Devraj Humagain holdsa Master’s degree in Business Studies from Tribhuvan University. He is one of the editors of the Media Studies Journal published by Martin Chautari and has extensive experience as a researcher in the field of media in Nepal. He has presented his research at various national and international forums including University of London, School of Oriental and Asian Studies, Centre for South Asia Studies and the Britain-Nepal Academic Council. He has also presented his work at a seminar in Japan organized by the Japan Foundation and WasedaHoshein. His paper for the ASD Policy Fellowship isan assessment of the FM Radio Policy of Nepal and its impact on the desired public ownership of the medium.

Gunjan Dhakal holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Oregon State University, with a focus on development policies. Asa Research Fellow in the Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS), she conducted two different research studies; “Political Economy Analysis of Local Governance in Nepal” and “Local Drivers of Conflict and Governance.”Her areas of interest are local governance, community development, gender equality and social inclusion, and existing barriers to service delivery. As the ASD Research Fellow, her paper assesses the shortcomings in the state restructuring efforts in Nepal and offered an insight into how experts from different areas could be effectively included and used in the policy making process.

Kamal Devkota holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies and as aResearch Fellow at the Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS),he has been involved in research related to local governance, urbanization and public policy. As a specialist in policy and governance, he contributed to a research project titled “Political Economy of Water Security, Eco System Services and Livelihoods in the Western Himalayas”, conducted in collaboration with Cambridge University.Given his interest in urban governance, his paper for the ASD fellowship focuses on tracking the patterns and trends of urbanization in Nepal and the challenges linked tothe governance and management of rapid unplanned growth in the country.

Ram Gaire holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy from Kathmandu University with a focus on Development Studies.Some of his published research works include “Education Status of TeraiDalits Children and Access in Scholarship” and his most recent research work was titled “Education Budget Analysis from the Perspective of Civil Society.”His paper for the ASD Policy Fellowship focuses on the type of policy intervention required for the management of temporary teachers in order to ensure the delivery of quality education.

Sandesh Silpakar holds a Master’s in Development Studies from the College of Development Studies in Nepal and also has a Graduate Diploma in Public Administration from the Crawford School. As an AusAID scholar pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Policy at the Crawford School of Public Policy of the Australian National University in Canberra., he undertook a policy research internship at the Conservation Council ACT, Canberra,under the Australian National Internship Program.He has also worked as a project manager in Federation of Community Forestry Users, Nepal (FECOFUN) where he contributed to the advocacy and campaigning activities. As the ASD Policy Fellow, he looks into policy advocacy strategies employed by civil society organizations in Nepal.

Stuty Maskey holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy with a special focus on Environment Policy from the Oregon State University. In the past, she worked as an Outcome Manager for the Multi Stakeholder Forestry Programme, a joint venture between the governments of Nepal, Finland, Switzerland and the UK. For her research as part of the ASD fellowship, she offers a critical analysis of the development sector’s growing reliance on group-based approach in development programmes.

Tara Bajracharya holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable International Development with a focus on Economics and Development Research from Brandeis University.She has conducted research on the status of women in the garment industry of Bangladesh, and has done an impact assessment of the Adolescent Girls’ Employment Initiative of the World Bank. Given her interest in gender, her ASD fellowship paper looks on how social protection for women in Nepal’s informal economy can be safeguarded through policy initiatives by the government and donor agencies.

Ujjwal Acharya has a keen interest in new media and its impact on traditional journalism. Acharya holds a Master’s in Journalism and Mass Communication from Tribhuvan University. Acharya is a media rights activist having served as the executive committee member of the Federation of Nepali Journalist (FNJ) and the chair of the Digital Media Committee. He has also worked in the area of media development and rights with UNESCO in Kathmandu, and works as the South Asia Coordinator for International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). During his fellowship at ASDin 2012, he conducted a research which looks at the state of online media and the need for policy intervention in the sector

Ujjwal Prajapati has a Master’s of Philosophy in Media Studies from the University of Oslo and a Master’s degree in Journalism. He also holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Tribhuvan University. He is an experienced print and television journalist; and for the last few years he has been working independently as a media researcher and is the co-author of the book Select Media Topics. As the ASD Policy Research Fellow, his paper offers a critical analysis of the threat to media’s role as the guardian of public interest against increasing privatisation of the sector.