We are a passionate and hardworking team of few curious minds willing to be part of the change. Our team holds years of  experience and expertise across all relevant areas of the development sector.

Founder – Capt. Kumar Devashish

Devashish Mishra quit his Merchant Navy career, out of his quest for social service. To couple his extensive experience across the globe with knowledge and practices, he went back to IIM- Ranchi and pursued an Executive MBA. He was a Gold Medallist of his batch for academic excellence. Continuing on his sojourn, he joined the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister’s good governance fellowship and opted for a tribal district named “Jashpur” for his tenure. The district and associated experience helped him evolve a new thought process and to work for people in a meaningful manner. He worked intensively on Education, Tribal welfare, Water & NRM, Nutrition, Rural livelihood, Agri and allied sectors and came up with solutions, which became part of state / national drives. Driven by his passion for bringing sustainable social solutions, he founded the IRF (ISDG Research Foundation) in 2019.

Exe. M.B.A. (Strategy), IIM Ranchi

Master Marine (Foreign Going)

Mentor, MGNF, IIM Ranchi

Member, Selection Committee, TBI JUT

Ex. Adviser, Jharkhand University of Technology

Co-Founder – Sneha Mishra

Sneha Mishra has a long experience of teaching primary children. She has worked as a teacher and a principal for play groups and primary classes. She believes in making education accessible for everyone through preparing quality community teachers.

Her passion for bridging the gap in FLN (Foundational Learning and Numeracy) skills among the rural and tribal children, that was especially palpable during the COVID-19 pandemic, gave shape to “Gyanshala” – our Flagship Primary Education Program in 2019.

M.A. (Pol Science), D.El.Ed.

Chief Finance Officer – Arvind Sinha

Arvind Sinha is an economics postgraduate from the Delhi School of Economics, and an active Finance, Economics, and Taxation practitioner. He superannuated as Joint Commissioner of the Jharkhand State GST department.

He holds an Executive MBA from IIM, Ranchi in Financial Management. He has been an active finance consultant to different social organizations.

Manager (Projects) – Ashish Burman

A well-experienced professional with an experience of 15+ years in the field of Social Development with a demonstrated history of working in Research Organizations, the Consulting Industry, and state Govt. Departments. He holds expertise in Project Management, Impact Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation, Institutional Development, Capacity Building, Micro-Credit, Focus Group Discussions, Participatory Rural Appraisal, Primary and Baseline Survey, DPR Preparation and Documentation Work, etc.

Rural Development professional –Prabhu

Prabhu is a Rural Development professional having 13 years of experience. His area of expertise includes SHGs, Producer Groups, FPO formation, Project Implementation, training, and Capacity Building.

A graduate of Sido Kanhu Murmu University, Dumka, and a post-graduate in Rural Development from IGNOU, Prabhu believes in Teamwork as a key pillar of development work.

Program Associate – Akanksha Ojha

Akanksha is a post graduate in Rural Development and Governance from TISS (Tata Institute of Social Science), Hyderabad. She had been awarded Institute Gold medal for Best Student at TISS, Hyderabad. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Fergusson College, Pune. She’s passionate about development research and scalable rural development projects.