Local governance in limelight (commentary by Patrick Heller)
February 3, 2021 The Hindu
Patrick Heller provides commentary on the rapid growth of Kerala.
Patrick Heller
Why These Countries Value Happiness Over Endless Economic Growth (commentary by Patrick Heller)
December 2, 2020 HuffPost
Patrick Heller in the Huffington Post, "This isn’t magic...The kind of investments required – in high-quality education, health care and safety nets ― are relatively straightforward. Making them effectively is the challenge."
A virus, social democracy, and dividends for Kerala (written by Patrick Heller)
April 20, 2020 The Hindu
Patrick Heller penned this article explaining the ways in which the state of Kerala has reacted to the growing pandemic, including flattening the curve and a pivot within local governments.
Urban Spatial Observatory Creates COVID-19 Response Maps
April 7, 2020
In March 2020, Patrick Heller collaborated with Georgetown University and the Urban Spatial Observatory led in part by former Watson postdoc Rajesh Veeraraghavan to create India's first Covid-19 map.
Watson Professors Receive Ford Foundation Grant
February 21, 2020
In February 2020, Patrick Heller and Ashutosh Varshney received a grant of $200,00 from the Ford Foundation for their ongoing project on Citizenship and Urban Governance in India. The grant will allow them to do research in several Indian cities.
Citizenship Amendment Act — Protests, Democracy & Politics: Lessons from Latin America (interview with Patrick Heller)
January 22, 2020 CPR ThoughtSpace
In this podcast epsiode, President and Chief Executive of CPR ThoughtSpace, Yamini Aiyar, talks with Watson faculty member Patrick Heller about the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Latin America.
Watson Professors Receive Ford Foundation Grant
September 24, 2018
Professors Ashutosh Varshney and Patrick Heller recently received a Ford Foundation grant of $200,000 for their ongoing project on Citizenship and Urban Governance in India.
Does Citizenship Abate Class in Bangalore, India? A working paper by Ashutosh Varshney and Patrick Heller
November 29, 2016
Two Watson scholars, Ashutosh Varshney and Patrick Heller, along with fellow experts, recently released a working paper on the quality of urban citizenship and access to services in Bangalore.
So far from smart: Missing from India’s Smart Cities plan — citizen participation (written by Ashutosh Varshney and Patrick Heller)
December 8, 2015 The Times of India
Ashutosh Varshney and Patrick Heller discuss Modi's newly announced urban plan entitled Smart Cities in the India Times, "Perhaps the most telling evidence of the importance of participation comes from the experience of the poor and less educated in Bangalore. We found that although participation rates overall are low, the poor who do participate get a better quality of life in terms of access to basic infrastructure and services than those who do not participate."
The role of deliberation in development: an interdisciplinary exploration, new book co-edited by Patrick Heller
July 24, 2015
A new book edited by Patrick Heller, sociologist and Watson faculty, and Vijayendra Rao, a lead economist at The World Bank, offers the first interdisciplinary exploration of the role of deliberation in development.
Patrick Heller, advisor on the 2013-14 India Exclusion Report, discusses the recently released report
April 29, 2015
According to Patrick Heller, professor of sociology and international affairs and an adviser on the recently released India Exclusion Report 2013-14, "This report is a path-breaking effort to provide reliable and systematic data and analysis on patterns of social exclusion in India. By exposing the ways in which policies across areas as diverse as education, health, employment and urban planning are failing to include the most marginalized and the most vulnerable, the report can serve as a vital resource for policy and opinion-makers alike."
In the Providence Journal, Heller writes about India’s recent election and what he hopes the outcome will be with Modi in office.
May 28, 2014
In the Providence Journal, Patrick Heller, professor of sociology and international studies, discusses what India needs from its newly elected Prime Minister and why Modi may be the person to turn things around.
Listen: Patrick Heller on Building an Inclusive India
May 8, 2013
Listen to Patrick Heller talk about the challenge of creating an inclusive India in an interview on Almirah Radio, recorded in Delhi where he is currently a visiting fellow at the Center for Policy Research. Almirah Radio is produced by Meara Sharma '11 and Henry Peck '11, with support from the Brown-India Initiative.
Heller Comments on Delhi Protests
February 6, 2013
Writing in the Indian Express, Patrick Heller explains the complex social dynamics revealed by the popular protest that has filled Delhi since the gangrape and murder of a young woman in December. He cautions that it's too soon to measure the results of more than a month of street demonstrations and public outcry. "The movement has already succeeded in starting a public conversation, the first step towards changing gender norms," writes Heller. "Whether or not it can translate this discursive moment into institutional change will of course depend on how parties and the state respond."
Heller in Indian Express: civil-political conflict essential to democracy
November 7, 2012
Patrick Heller observes the "creative tension" between political and civil society in today's Indian Express, India's leading English-language daily. Noting several weeks of increasingly dramatic conflict between the activist group India Against Corruption (IAC) and the political establishment, Heller warns against giving up on civil society as a critical component of democracy. [Above: Anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal at a press conference in New Delhi last month. European Pressphoto Agency]
Heller Comments in Indian Press
October 18, 2012
Patrick Heller, professor of international studies and sociology, spoke to the New Delhi-based news network ZeeNews about managing sustainable development in India's capital city. "The future of Delhi as an urban, metropolitan city is bright, but the biggest challenge is that of inclusive growth as almost 65 percent of Delhiites who live in slums have no rights," Heller said. This challenge is not limited to Delhi, he added, pointing out that half of India will be urbanized by 2030. Professor Heller is currently a visiting senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in Delhi.
India Initiative Launches at Brown
February 21, 2012
The India Initiative has been launched at Brown, based at Watson under the leadership of Institute Professor Ashutosh Varshney. The initiative will have two profiles – one research-related and the other dealing with India's public sphere and policy debates. An initial project on urban governance has already begun. Jointly directed by Varshney and Institute Professor Patrick Heller, the project is building collaborative arrangements with two Indian institutions: the Center for Policy Research (Delhi), a leading policy research institute; and Janaagraha (Bangalore), a major urban non-governmental organization. Early work is focused on Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore.
Book Analyzes Evolution of Participatory Democracy
September 9, 2011
Despite increasing interest in how citizen involvement in local government can improve governance and lead to civic renewal, questions remain about the impact of such participatory democracy. In Bootstrapping Democracy: Transforming Local Governance and Civil Society in Brazil (Stanford University Press, 2011), Institute Associate Professor Gianpaolo Baiocchi and Professor Patrick Heller investigate participatory budgeting – a mainstay now of World Bank, UNDP, and USAID development programs – to ask whether its reforms truly make a difference in deepening democracy and empowering civil society.
Doctoral Studies Pass Milestone, Advance to Summer Field Work
May 27, 2011
June marks a milestone in doctoral training at the Institute, as faculty complete the first year of training for doctoral students under a five-year NSF-funded IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship) program on development and inequality. The IGERT program is a complement to the six-year-old Graduate Program in Development (GPD) at Brown.
Institute Focus on Inequality Addresses Pressing Global Issue
January 29, 2011
From the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland, to popular protests across Egypt, inequality is increasingly the watchword for global leaders and local activists alike. In this time of growing emphasis, the Watson Institute’s five-year-old strategic focus on inequality represents the vanguard of academic research and training, producing new analysis and next-generation leadership to address a pressing problem.