Profile
Imad ul Riyaz is a public policy specialist with over nine years of experience working at the intersection of evidence-based policy design, ecosystem development, and technical public advisory. His work focuses on strengthening public institutional capacity and improving last-mile public service delivery through close engagement with governments, frontline workers, and community organisations.
Imad has held diverse roles across government-facing programmes and policy initiatives. He served as a Ministry of Home Affairs–Tata Trust Fellow in a Left Wing Extremism–affected district in Bihar, where he supported district and sub-district administrations in improving human development outcomes and localising the Sustainable Development Goals for a population of over three million people. During this engagement, he led the design and implementation of development projects exceeding INR 1 billion, leveraging Special Central Assistance, District Mineral Foundation Trust funds, NITI Aayog–JICA funding, and corporate social responsibility resources.
His work has also contributed to state-level policy roadmaps on economic development and inequality in southern India, with one of his research outputs helping shape significant policy reforms at both the central and state levels. Beyond government advisory, Imad has played a key role in strengthening citizen engagement and digital inclusion. He supported the design of the Samaj (Citizen Engagement) strategy at the eGovernments Foundation to enable last-mile adoption of Digital Public Infrastructure across India. He has also anchored the Impact Toolbox for Ashoka, supporting impact measurement, digital community-building, and resource access for small organisations, Ashoka Fellows, and youth-led initiatives.
Imad’s expertise spans policy design, social protection, government relations, SDG localisation, digital service inclusion, and evidence-driven public advisory, with a strong focus on inclusive governance and sustainable development.
He holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Delhi, specialising in social policy and communities, and an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge as a Commonwealth Scholar, with a focus on international development and the politics of development.
Imad has held diverse roles across government-facing programmes and policy initiatives. He served as a Ministry of Home Affairs–Tata Trust Fellow in a Left Wing Extremism–affected district in Bihar, where he supported district and sub-district administrations in improving human development outcomes and localising the Sustainable Development Goals for a population of over three million people. During this engagement, he led the design and implementation of development projects exceeding INR 1 billion, leveraging Special Central Assistance, District Mineral Foundation Trust funds, NITI Aayog–JICA funding, and corporate social responsibility resources.
His work has also contributed to state-level policy roadmaps on economic development and inequality in southern India, with one of his research outputs helping shape significant policy reforms at both the central and state levels. Beyond government advisory, Imad has played a key role in strengthening citizen engagement and digital inclusion. He supported the design of the Samaj (Citizen Engagement) strategy at the eGovernments Foundation to enable last-mile adoption of Digital Public Infrastructure across India. He has also anchored the Impact Toolbox for Ashoka, supporting impact measurement, digital community-building, and resource access for small organisations, Ashoka Fellows, and youth-led initiatives.
Imad’s expertise spans policy design, social protection, government relations, SDG localisation, digital service inclusion, and evidence-driven public advisory, with a strong focus on inclusive governance and sustainable development.
He holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Delhi, specialising in social policy and communities, and an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge as a Commonwealth Scholar, with a focus on international development and the politics of development.
