Jaya Goyal, Ph.D.

Dr. Jaya Goyal is the Founder Director of Circadian Connect. She is a specialist with 17 years of leadership experience in research solutions at the interface of science, society and policy.
 

After 17 years of being a passionate policy researcher, Jaya resigned from a Science Diplomacy role, as the Head of Higher Education (National role) at the British Council India, in March 2022. She was managing a portfolio worth 7 million pounds, leading key bilateral programmes between India and the UK Governments in Higher Education like UKIERI (Research and Innovation strand), The Newton Bhabha Fund, and Going Global Programme. She was also the Science Advisor (shadow role) with British Council, UK and Research Champion for South Asia at the Council.

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She was driven to set up an interdisciplinary research enterprise. In mid-2022, Circadian Connect arguably became the first social scientist-led company in India, to partner with Google LLC USA, on a 'Responsible AI' research project. The methodology that she co-created with Google researchers to study social stereotypes in any region of the world, language or context is now a copyright method, published as two Journal papers here and here, opening up multi-million dollars of product development on 'Responsible AI' for Google Alphabet LLC. She registered Circadain Connect LLP on 19 September 2022, as a for-profit firm to provide solutions to institutions to bridge gaps between science, society and policy. 

 

Jaya has co-authored 6 reports on critical national policy issues, like Nutrition Governance, OBC Reservations, Narmada Dam, Outcome Budgets, Urban Development, Public Private Partnerships in Health etc. that can impact over a billion people in India. She has authored over 20 publications, including international journals like 'Development' and India's top social science journal, Economic & Political Weekly (EPW). Jaya has developed and taught courses as a visiting faculty in TISS, on Public-Private Partnerships in Health for M.A Social Work and Schemes for Children for P.G Diploma in Child Rights at TISS.
 

Jaya has managed a research portfolio worth crores at National Higher Education Mission RUSA, Maharashtra and millions of pounds at the British Council India. She has been invited to speak at 20+ prestigious platforms including IIT Bombay, NCBS Bangalore, Department of Science & Technology, British Council, and Google Headquarters Bangalore. 

 

She has been awarded travel and research scholarships valued over Rs. 1,00,00,000, from some of the finest world-class universities like the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) UK & TISS Mumbai (2011-13), Hiroshima University, Japan (2023), Edinburgh University, Scotland UK (2022); Michigan State University, USA (2000); Institute of Social Studies (ISS) The Hague Netherlands (2013), Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Kolkata, Central University of Hyderabad and The Graduate Institute, Geneva Switzerland (2014) and Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta Indonesia.

 

Jaya has a Master's in Science M.Sc (Human Ecology) from Delhi University and a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from TISS, Mumbai, funded by the London School of Economics and Political Science, (LSE), UK. 

 

Jaya's interdisciplinary interests include social policy, accountability and IAD Framework, higher education and decolonial lens, international partnerships, nutrition governance; qualitative methodology, political economy of health, public-private partnerships, science diplomacy, women in science & gender, urban-rural dichotomy. 

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Jaya was acknowledged for onboarding for Social Sciences in the STEM-dominated Newton Bhabha Fund.  She was instrumental in getting ICSSR (Indian Council for Social Science Research), Govt of India as a partner with Newton Bhabha Fund for Ph.D. Placement programme along with DST (Department of Science and Technology) and DBT (Department of Biotechnology) Government of India. Her contributions are acknowledged here - https://icssr.org/oaa-icssr-british-council​ 

 

Jaya was on the Board of Advisors for TRANSSITION Project https://transsition.org/team/jaya-goyal/ by Sheffield University Management School in an International Consortium of 14 beneficiary institutions from the UK and India funded by Science and Technology Facility Council (STFC) and Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF).

 

She is the co-editor of McMillian’s 'Mumbai Vision 2015: An Agenda for Urban Renewal' running in its third edition. Her first solo-authored book, "Public Service Delivery: Does Accountability and Local Institutions Matter?", sponsored by ICSSR (Indian Council for Social Science Research) is upcoming for release in early 2024.

 

She is a Life Member of Indian Association for Social Science & Health (IASSH) and Home Science Association of India.

Several of her publications include newspaper articles, journal articles, and book chapters are accessible on Academia and Kolabtree links below. Institutions where she contributed as a professional and which in turn honed her leadership skills are featured here.