Rajesh Tandon


Rajesh Tandon is an internationally acclaimed leader and practitioner of participatory research and development.
He is one of the founding fathers of Participatory Research. His work in this field has given new meaning to relationships between the researcher and researched subjects.

Early life and education

Rajesh Tandon was born in a middle-class family in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh and did his schooling there. He went to IIT Kanpur to study Electronics Engineer. He completed his post graduation in management from IIM Calcutta. He received his PhD from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, United States.

Career

He started his professional career in the development sector as an active intervener in the processes of social change in rural areas of India. While working with villagers on educational training, he observed the power of new learning opportunities in the hands of those who have otherwise been denied such access. He questioned the methodology of an objective, scientific system in transforming social realities and began experimenting with the idea of a bottom-up acquisitive system, thereby discovering a new faith. His work was labeled as unscientific, and some wondered if it served only to further political ideology. Others would look at it merely as a development tool.
He founded the Society for Participatory Research in Asia as a vehicle to strengthen learning opportunities at the grassroots level and to articulate knowledge for wider social influence, in 1982. He developed participatory training, monitoring, and evaluation methodologies supported by and to enhance adult learning and community knowledge.
His contributions revolve around issues of participatory research, advocating for people centered development, policy reform and networking in India, South-Asia and beyond. He has advocated for a self-reliant, autonomous and competent voluntary sector in India and abroad. Building alliances and partnerships among diverse sectors in societal development is another current area of his work.

Positions of responsibilities

He has held various positions of responsibilities within India as well as abroad.

2000 - Present

He has authored more than 100 articles, a dozen books and numerous training manuals on themes such as democratic governance, civic engagement, civil society, governance and management of NGOs, participatory research and people-centered development. He has authored/co-authored several books, including
In addition to these, he has also co-edited several books, including

He was married to eminent social worker Martha Farrell. She was one of the four Indians killed in the 2015 Park Palace guesthouse attack. An expert on women's empowerment, Farrell was running a series of workshops on "gender mainstreaming" in Afghanistan for locals and government officials.
The has been set up to carry forward Martha’s spirit and legacy by advancing her pioneering work on gender mainstreaming and adult education, with the overall goal of achieving gender equality in India and around the world.