PUKAR
PUKAR is a Mumbai-based nonprofit research collective that trains marginalized urban and tribal youth as 'Barefoot Researchers' through a TISS-accredited Community Based Participatory Action Research fellowship, serving communities across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Palghar district.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersMumbai, India
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What PUKAR does
PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action and Research) is an independent nonprofit research collective headquartered in Bandra East, Mumbai, India, operating across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Palghar tribal district. Founded in 2002 (with its Youth Fellowship Program launching in 2005), PUKAR conducts multi-sectoral, cross-disciplinary Community Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) on urbanization and globalization, anchored in the principle of 'Right to Research' articulated by co-founder Professor Arjun Appadurai. The organization runs three interconnected research verticals — Youth & Urban Knowledge Production, Urbanism: Spatial Utopia and Contested Realities, and Healthy Cities Wealthy Cities — and has trained over 10,000 'Barefoot Researchers' who have engaged 400+ communities and reached more than 1 million people.
The organization's core methodological asset is the CBPAR framework combined with a four-phase experiential learning pedagogy (Self & Team, Research Ethics and Instruments, Advocacy, Transformation) delivered through a year-long Youth Fellowship Program of 40-42 weekend sessions, accredited by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences since June 2017. Operational products include the TISS-accredited Diploma/Certificate Course in CBPAR, an E-Sevak initiative deploying 14 fixed and mobile e-governance kiosks in tribal villages, and structured projects across health, gender, urban governance, and environmental conservation. Underlying technology consists of mapping tools, photography-based documentation (25,000 photographs of city transformation), RTI applications, and digital literacy training — not proprietary software platforms.
PUKAR's business model is philanthropic-grant-based rather than commercial. Revenue is sourced from a portfolio of Indian and international foundations (Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, Edelgive, American Jewish World Service, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Greencliff Foundation, among others), supplemented by individual donations organized via tiered giving levels on the organization's website. Programs are delivered free of cost to beneficiaries — marginalized youth aged 18-45, adolescent girls, Adivasi communities, and Gram Panchayat members — and financial figures are not publicly disclosed. Revenue concentration is diversified across multiple foundations, but the funding model itself is structurally constrained by grant cycles and donor priorities.
PUKAR firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PUKAR
- Legal name
- Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action and Research
- Website
- https://pukar.org.in
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- PUKAR is a Mumbai-based nonprofit research collective that trains marginalized urban and tribal youth as 'Barefoot Researchers' through a TISS-accredited Community Based Participatory Action Research fellowship, serving communities across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Palghar district.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PUKAR industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community-Based Participatory Research Services
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB), Community Health, Health Promotion & Behavior Change (SBCC) (BPADAIAL)
Keywords
Where PUKAR is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mumbai
- HQ country
- India
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
PUKAR business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Philanthropic Grants and Donations: PUKAR operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through grants from philanthropic foundations and individual donations. Funding supports specific programs including Youth Fellowship, e-governance initiatives, health programs, and community development projects. The organization maintains FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) compliance for receiving international funding.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | One time | Journey Towards Dignity: $45 (INR 3150) |
| Other | One time | Social Determinants of Slum Health: $275 (INR 19,250) |
| Other | One time | Youth Fellowship Program Workshop: $215 (INR 15,000) |
| Other | One time | Youth Fellowship TISS Registration: $43 (INR 3,000) |
| Other | One time | Youth Fellowship Year-Long Program: $5,715 (INR 4 Lakhs) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
PUKAR product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PUKAR is a nonprofit research collective that trains marginalized youth aged 18-35 as "Barefoot Researchers" through Community Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR), conducting action research on urbanization, governance, public health, and gender issues. It delivers a flagship year-long Youth Fellowship Program, a TISS-accredited Diploma/Certificate Course in CBPAR, and operates E-Sevak digital literacy/e-governance kiosks across tribal villages in Maharashtra.
Product overview
PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action and Research) is an independent research collective based in Mumbai, India, that operates three interconnected research programs: Youth & Urban Knowledge Production (flagship Youth Fellowship), Healthy Cities Wealthy Cities (public health focus), and Urbanism: Spatial Utopia and Contested Realities (governance focus). The organization also offers an accredited Diploma/Certificate Course in Community Based Participatory Research and Advocacy in partnership with TISS. All programs are built on the principle of Community Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR), empowering marginalized youth to become 'Barefoot Researchers' who create evidence-based knowledge for transforming themselves and their communities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Youth Fellowship Program PUKAR's flagship year-long program that engages marginalized youth aged 18-35 (groups of 8-10) through 40-42 Sundays of Community Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) training. Delivered free of cost to participants with research funds provided. TISS-accredited certificate awarded upon completion. Targeted at youth from underserved communities in Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
- Diploma/Certificate Course in Community Based Participatory Research and Advocacy (CBPAR) A year-long activity-based weekend course accredited by TISS Mumbai that offers youth an avenue to identify, understand, and study the issues of local communities, promoting their right to research. Delivered as a structured diploma/certificate program with TISS-issued certificates.
- Youth & Urban Knowledge Production Research program vertical that channels youth power through participatory action-research to create experience-based knowledge resulting in self and community transformation. Has trained 10,000 Barefoot Researchers and reached 1,000,000 people across 400 communities in Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
- Healthy Cities Wealthy Cities Research program where research-based actions help change health-seeking behaviours, creating healthier citizenry and wealthier communities. Focuses on urban health, maternal/newborn health, TB case finding, mental health, and community health interventions in informal settlements.
- Urbanism: Spatial Utopia and Contested Realities Research program where documentation becomes intervention and demand for distributive justice and good governance leads research-based action. Covers e-governance (E-Sevak Initiative), local democracy (Strengthening Local Democracy project), digital literacy, and urban governance issues across 47 tribal villages.
- E-Sevak Initiative E-governance and digital literacy initiative operating 14 fixed computer kiosks and mobile kiosks in tribal villages of Palghar district. Local youth (E-Sevaks) are trained in ICT, research, and governance to deliver government services (Aadhaar, scheme access, document processing) door-to-door and through community kiosks. Has facilitated 65,000+ service accesses and saved INR 2.1 million in travel costs.
Quantifiable outcome
- 10,000+ barefoot researchers trained
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use PUKAR
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
PUKAR technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
PUKAR partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)coreAcademic partner providing accreditation for Youth Fellowship Program certificate (from June 2017). Also partner for Youth Fellowship and various research initiatives.
- Harvard School of Public HealthmajorResearch collaborator on urban health determinants project (2008-2012) along with NYU. Contributed to peer-reviewed publications and international conference presentations.
- Max Planck Institute of Religious and Ethnic DiversitiesmajorAcademic partner for Urban Aspirations in Global Cities project (2010-2013). Founding Trustee Arjun Appadurai is Senior Research Partner at the Institute.
- University of California BerkeleymajorCollaborated on MHADA Housing Socio-Economic Exploration project. Listed as global partner with ongoing research collaborations.
- University of ChicagomajorAcademic collaborator on urban health research. Dr. Anita Patil-Deshmukh worked with India Development Service based in Chicago.
- Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B)majorCollaborated on Research on Internet Access project (2014-2015) with Ford Foundation support. Also partner for e-governance initiatives.
- Cipla FoundationminorPartner for Community Assessment at Vikroli Surya Nagar project to understand health-related needs of informal settlement community.
- SWASTH FoundationmajorPartner for Low Cost Health Clinics project (2016-2019) evaluating healthcare needs in informal settlements and assessing health impact of clinics.
- Foundation for Medical ResearchmajorCollaborator on active tuberculosis case finding prototype project in Kaula Bandar, providing technical expertise in TB research methodology.
- New York University (NYU)majorResearch partner with Harvard School of Public Health and PUKAR on urban health determinants project (2008-2012) exploring health in urban slum communities.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights6 records
PUKAR competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sangath: India-based nonprofit conducting community health and adolescent wellbeing research with participatory methods, including 21st-century life skills curricula. Comparable in research-driven delivery, marginalized-youth focus, and academic publication strategy.
- Restless Development: Global youth-led development agency operating in India and Africa that trains young people as peer educators and community researchers. Closely comparable in 'youth as researchers' thesis, 21st-century life skills focus, and rights-based advocacy with marginalized populations.
- Jan Sahas Social Development Society: India-based nonprofit addressing gender-based violence, migration, and Dalit/Adivasi rights through community action and survivor-led research. Comparable in participatory action with marginalized communities and human-rights framing.
- SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action): Mumbai-based nonprofit operating community-based participatory models in informal settlements to address maternal health, gender violence, and child nutrition. Directly comparable in geography (MMR), beneficiary profile (urban poor), and CBPAR-style community engagement methodology.
- Seva Mandir: Udaipur-based nonprofit using community-led development and participatory action research with tribal and rural communities across southern Rajasthan. Highly comparable in CBPAR methodology, tribal focus, and empowerment-of-marginalized-populations mission, though regional rather than urban.
- Centre for Health and Social Justice: India-based think-and-do tank advancing participatory research on gender, masculinity, health, and marginalized communities. Comparable in participatory action research methodology and gender/health intersection focus.
- Janvikas: Ahmedabad-based NGO working with marginalized communities on livelihoods, health, and rights through participatory programs. Comparable in community-empowerment methodology and rights-based framing for tribal and Dalit populations.
- Alert India: Mumbai-based nonprofit conducting community-based TB, leprosy, and public health research with marginalized urban populations. Directly comparable in MMR geography, community health worker models, and university-linked research output.
Broad incumbents
- Pratham: One of India's largest education nonprofits, operating nationwide youth learning and assessment programs with strong research underpinnings (ASER). Comparable in scale of youth engagement and research-driven pedagogy, but a much broader education-focused incumbent.
- Aga Khan Foundation (India): International development foundation funding and operating rural and tribal community-development, education, and health programs across India. Comparable funder/operator model and rural-tribal beneficiary focus, but a much larger multi-sector incumbent.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
PUKAR social profiles
Digital presencePUKAR compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
PUKAR financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PUKAR leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
PUKAR funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PUKAR M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about PUKAR
What does PUKAR do?
PUKAR is a nonprofit research collective that trains marginalized youth aged 18-35 as "Barefoot Researchers" through Community Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR), conducting action research on urbanization, governance, public health, and gender issues. It delivers a flagship year-long Youth Fellowship Program, a TISS-accredited Diploma/Certificate Course in CBPAR, and operates E-Sevak digital literacy/e-governance kiosks across tribal villages in Maharashtra.
Is PUKAR a public or private company?
PUKAR is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was PUKAR founded?
PUKAR was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is PUKAR based?
PUKAR is headquartered in Mumbai, India, in the Asia region.
How does PUKAR make money?
One revenue line is on record: philanthropic Grants and Donations.
Who are PUKAR's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sangath, Restless Development, Jan Sahas Social Development Society, SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action), Seva Mandir, Centre for Health and Social Justice, Janvikas and Alert India. Broad incumbents are Pratham and Aga Khan Foundation (India).
Does PUKAR have an API?
No public API is recorded for PUKAR.
What industry is PUKAR in?
PUKAR's product category is Community-Based Participatory Research Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAH, Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits, with a secondary code of BPAGADAB, K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits. Its NAICS code is 54172 and its SIC code is 8300.