Dr. Santosh Gedam has an unconventional academic and professional trajectory. Guided by curiosity and inspiration, he has explored several disciplines and professional tracks. He believes knowledge gained through direct experiences of phenomena is more useful than the synthesized. Direct experiences add conviction to the public assertion of the gained knowledge and inspire others to take further action. As he has worked in the central public sector enterprise, the central government, multilateral, private, and not-for-profit organizations, he carries empirical and theoretical insights cutting across organizational types. One of the purposes of integrating with academia has been to build on these insights and contribute to academic literature. Dr. Gedam has multiple bachelor's and master's degrees across disciplines. As a result, he is exposed to multiple concepts that enable him to build multi-disciplinary thinking. Broadly, he advocates life-long learning, self-discovery through mindfulness, and meaningfulness in our actions. As he draws from rich experience and multiple disciplines, he aims to make a humble beginning by offering courses that invite students to challenge existing models, introduce new concepts, and encourage out-of-the-box thinking among future managers and change makers.

Dr. Santosh Gedam has an unconventional academic and professional trajectory. Guided by curiosity and inspiration, he has explored several disciplines and professional tracks. He believes knowledge gained through direct experiences of phenomena is more useful than the synthesized. Direct experiences add conviction to the public assertion of the gained knowledge and inspire others to take further action. As he has worked in the central public sector enterprise, the central government, multilateral, private, and not-for-profit organizations, he carries empirical and theoretical insights cutting across organizational types. One of the purposes of integrating with academia has been to build on these insights and contribute to academic literature. Dr. Gedam has multiple bachelor's and master's degrees across disciplines. As a result, he is exposed to multiple concepts that enable him to build multi-disciplinary thinking. Broadly, he advocates life-long learning, self-discovery through mindfulness, and meaningfulness in our actions. As he draws from rich experience and multiple disciplines, he aims to make a humble beginning by offering courses that invite students to challenge existing models, introduce new concepts, and encourage out-of-the-box thinking among future managers and change makers.

1.Impact assessment of agriculture and livelihood initiatives in Palghar district Impact assessment of a plantation project in western Maharashtra. (Proposal stage)

1. Appreciation by a union minister for contributions to rural development and public service delivery
2. Recipient of the Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship
3. UGC fellowship in Management and Social Work
4. Elected as a Resource Officer in the Early Career Network

• Highlighting policies that might have implications for the ongoing debate on the exploitation of mineral resources - The Leaflet, 14 March 2024
• Shedding light on the issues in the social life of India that need a more equitable policy approach than the current policy trends - The Leaflet, 5 February 2023
• Arguing that the case can be made for sustainable livelihood from community forest rights under India's Forest Rights Act - Ideas for India, August 2021
• Arguing how direct benefit transfers can affect students from marginalized communities - The Wire, 11 June 2019
• Reporting on how residential education can affect girls' residential school education - The Wire, 16 May 2019
• Highlighting challenges in the wider implementation of rights-based programs in the context of India's constitutional framework - Cultural Survival, 19 August 2021

Manuscript Under Review

• Conflicts in Forest Commoning: A Case Study of Indigenous Communities’ Struggle Against Decommoning Efforts in India’s Gadchiroli District

Manuscripts Under Development

• What Shapes the Process of Recognizing Rights Holders in Rights-Based Approaches? Evidence from the Implementation of India’s Forest Rights Act
• Role of States in Commoning: A Comparative Case Study of India’s Forest Rights Act in its Maharashtra and Odisha States
• How Subnational Governments Devolve Forest Management Rights? A Longitudinal Case Study of Implementation of India’s Forest Rights Act
• A longitudinal case study of district-level implementation of forest tenure reform policy in India
• Mid-level administrators’ role in reshaping administrative burdens in policy implementation

• Facilitating submissions from members for motions to be presented in the upcoming World Conservation Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi
• Presented papers in the 2025 conference organized by the International Public Policy Association (Chiang Mai University School of Public Policy, Thailand)
• Convened a panel at the 2024 Conference organized by the Indian Public Policy Network (Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay)
• Presented talks at the 2023 conference organized by the International Association for the Study of the Commons in Kenya (University of Nairobi)
• Received acceptance of two paper proposals for presentation at the 2023 conference organized by the International Public Policy Association (University of Toronto)
• Received acceptance of a paper proposal for presentation to the Public Management Research Conference 2023 (Utrecht University, Netherlands)
• Received acceptance of a proposal for the Public Administration Theory Network Annual Conference 2023 (Portland State University, the US)
• Presented a research talk at the 2022 conference organized by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and the India Public Policy Network (IIM Ahmedabad)
• Chaired panels on Bureaucracy and Good Governance and State Capacity and Social Policy at the 2022 conference organized by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and the India Public Policy Network (IIM Ahmedabad)

Received an offer to write a chapter related to “Indigenous Perspectives and Collaborative Governance” for a UK-based book publisher (Berghahn Books)

Greenwashing or Something More? A Public Policy Dilemma (under publication)