Research

Our Work

Navara Institute conducts interdisciplinary, community-driven research that informs policy, mobilizes resources, and advances justice. Our work spans climate resilience, economic systems, and local development, led through four flagship research streams.

Each stream is rooted in deep expertise, grounded in field-based partnerships, and designed to produce solutions that communities can own, scale, and sustain.

Our Current Projects
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Project Dawn

Community, Climate & Conservation

Led by Dr. Akriti Khadka

Project DAWN centers the voices, knowledge, and leadership of vulnerable communities, especially those directly dependent on natural resources yet often overlooked in research and decision-making. We partner with these communities to co-create rigorous, locally grounded research that advances:

  • Strengthening community resilience and adaptive capacity
  • Promoting inclusive and sustainable livelihoods
  • Supporting equitable governance of natural and cultural resources
  • Advancing social and environmental justice from the ground up

Our approach recognizes that no single solution fits all. By deeply understanding local realities, we empower communities to define their priorities, lead their own solutions, and build pathways toward lasting, meaningful change.

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Project Ascend

Economic Development, Socioeconomic Inequality & Public Policy

Led by Dr. Saroj Dhital

Project Ascend explores issues of economic development, socioeconomic inequalities, macroeconomic, monetary, and public policy. The project explores how economic structures shape social outcomes and community well-being across sectors.

We design economic frameworks and strategies that redistribute resources, support inclusive growth, and realign policies with community priorities.

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Project Echo

Socioeconomic Impacts of Financial and Technological Innovations

Led by Dr. Saroj Dhital

Project Echo is a research initiative focused on the socioeconomic impacts of financial and technological innovation. It examines how emerging technologies, such as decentralized finance, digital currencies, algorithmic credit systems, emerging infrastructure and automation, are transforming markets, access to capital, governance structures, and the everyday socioeconomic lives of individuals and communities. The project is particularly interested in how these innovations interact with inequality, regulation, and financial stability, especially in underserved or rapidly changing economies.

By combining rigorous economic tools with real-world data and policy insight, Project Echo aims to inform the design of inclusive, forward-looking economic and financial systems that serve the needs of diverse communities in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

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Project Odar

Tourism, Recreation & Regional Development

Led by Dr. Leah NgaNga

Project ODAR investigates how tourism, recreation, and place-based economic activities can serve as catalysts for sustainable, inclusive regional development. Our research supports communities in designing integrated development strategies that:

  • Foster resilient local economies beyond tourism, including recreation, creative industries, and cultural enterprises
  • Preserve and celebrate cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge
  • Promote sustainable land use, ecosystem protection, and climate-sensitive planning
  • Enhance community well-being through diversified livelihood opportunities and equitable resource access

By partnering closely with communities, we help co-create development pathways that generate jobs, protect ecosystems, strengthen cultural identity, and build resilient regions that thrive economically and socially.

Our Approach

Across all three projects, we:

  • Collaborate closely with communities at every stage, from research design to knowledge sharing and implementation
  • Employ interdisciplinary methods that address complex social, economic, and environmental systems holistically
  • Prioritize solutions that are locally grounded, replicable, scalable, and centered on equity and justice

Together, our work challenges entrenched development paradigms and builds new models that advance community-led resilience, sustainable prosperity, and systemic change.