On Sunday, Patna Centre of Tata Institute of Social Science
(TISS) would be launched and is named as the Centre for Development Practice
and Research (CDPR). It is due to the efforts of Bihar's social sciences
researchers for undertaking quality research in state centric development
scenario.
This initiative is supported by Takshila Educational Society TES), promoters of DPS Patna, Pune, Coimbatore and Ludhiana. S Parasuraman, TISS's director from Mumbai will inaugurate it. TES has offered to host the Centre at the senior wing of Delhi Public School Patna.
It will be providing all facilities i.e. infrastructural support and associated facilities such as office space, electricity, water, furniture, etc free of charge. The TES will also provide budget support to the Centre to meet costs related to salaries, fellowships, computers and consumables, etc. The Centre will undertake research to deal with development issues and processes relevant to Bihar and the eastern region as the whole. For this, it will have to raise resources.
It will also help out by contributing its building space for field practice, organizing seminars, workshops, public lectures, conferences, publications, consultancy and capacity building pogrammes for the state and civil society institutions.
To promote research, it will invite PhD Research Scholars and Post-doctoral scholars on fellowship to pursue research in the priority areas of the Centre and disseminate research output in the form of publication.
As per professor and Incharge of TISS Patna centre Pushpendra Kumar, the centre will conduct research programmes to contribute in sound policymaking and the Centre will strive to build a strong social sciences research culture and create a stimulating environment with the key research areas being Migration and development. A migration observatory will be established at the Centre; Rural employment; Rural livelihoods; Elementary Education; Public Health; and Social Welfare.
Kumar further added that in the first phase, the Centre will organize Summer/Winter School on the thrust areas of its research. To begin with, it will organize a Winter School on Migration and Development for researchers, academics, civil society activists and trade unionists. It will focus on Bihar and its disadvantaged sections. The Centre will engage actively with South Asian and other international Centres and Universities.
Basically, it will be an autonomous research centre of TISS under director's office. All the rules of the parent body (TISS, Mumbai) will be applicable on the Centre. The Centre will be headed by a chairperson to be appointed by the director for three year tenure. He will approve expenses as per the budget.