Deepak Gopinath

Research interests

Governance and the politics of development in the Global South, inter-disciplinary research on poverty, comparative studies in the planning of mega-cities, Kerala's development experience, environmental resource management, South Asia.

Qualifications

• Doctoral student, Town and Regional Planning, University of Sheffield
  (expected submission date: 11 July 2008)
  
• Master of Urban Planning, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, India
  (2nd rank, First class with distinction): 2001
  
• Bachelor of Architecture, Govt. College of Engineering, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
  (Good honours degree): 1998
  

Experience

• In-depth knowledge on governance practice in Kerala developed during the Ph.D. based on extensive literature review and detailed qualitative research work: 2003-07.
• Experience of assessing planning applications by working with the Centre for Protection of Rural England (CPRE): 2005
• Worked on a special team in the Delhi Development Authority to prepare the Master Plan of Delhi (2001-21): 2001
• Worked for consultant, AMDA (Association of Metropolitan Development Authorities) for the project "Land policy for development considering the techniques of land pooling": 2002
• Understanding of participatory initiatives and engagement with poor and disadvantaged communities by working on projects carried out in different areas of Northern and Western India: 1999-2001
• Carried out an in-depth study of traditional water systems in Jodhpur (in the state of Rajasthan) to understand the range of factors that might influence how communities responded to efforts to manage water resources (2000)
• Experience of conducting research within South Asia and within following areas in the Indian context: Kerala, Delhi, Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Bhavnagar (Gujarat), Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) and Vridavan (Uttar Pradesh)

Title of Ph.D.

Governance practice in Kerala: developing an empirical understanding

Supervisors:

• Prof Heather Campbell (primary supervisor)
• Dr Steve Connelly (secondary supervisor)

Abstract of PhD

This research set out to explore governance practice in Kerala starting with the Peoples' Plan Campaign (1996-2001) to the Integrated District Development Plan model (2001-2006). From literature, two issues were identified. Firstly, there have been contesting claims on what a particular governance arrangement set out to do. This raised questions on whether there were gaps between rhetoric and reality. Secondly, most literature examined the PPC alone - through assessment studies on one hand, and in theorising the PPC as the new 'Kerala model' on the other. Thus, there appeared to be gap in current understanding of why the IDDP emerged as an alternative to the PPC. Unfortunately, there has been limited investigation in this regard, except that the shift from the PPC to the IDDP has been due to changing political establishments in the state legislature. That might well be one of the reasons, but it appeared to provide a limited understanding of different factors that might shape governance practice in Kerala.

This then required the building of an empirical understanding of governance practice in Kerala. Empirical evidence was collected through fieldwork and detailed analysis was carried out. The inside story of governance practice seems to throw up a few surprises and brought out significant gaps between rhetoric and reality. But more interestingly, it emerged that such gaps were influenced by different factors that shaped governance practice in Kerala (including the transition from the PPC to the IDDP). In particular, these factors were embedded in tensions, of who decides on governance; and which seems to be manifested in competing discourses and practices, around who should be involved in policy making. Further, these competing discourses and practices seem to be drawing on, from Kerala's history and culture, where tension had existed between an exclusively elitist approach, and a more inclusive participatory approach.

Membership

Member of Development Studies Association (UK), Association of British Scholars in India, Council of Architecture (India)