Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Prof. Mouleshri Vyas

Professor
Mumbai Campus, Centre for Community Organisation and Development Practice, School of Social Work - Mumbai Campus

Qualification

M.A. (TISS), Ph.D. (Mumbai)

Contact

molly[at]tiss[dot]ac[dot]in

mvyas[at]tiss[dot]ac[dot]in

I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Mumbai University, Master of Arts in Social Work (with Specialisation in Urban and Rural Community Development) from TISS, Mumbai, and PhD in Sociology from Mumbai University.

My teaching, research, field action and training experience is in the areas of urban and rural community development, community organisation, informal labour, post-disaster interventions, social impact assessments and monitoring and evaluation of development projects, social accountability and social audit of government programmes, and capacity building for corporate social responsibility initiatives.

I have worked closely with grassroots organisations, government departments, corporates and trade unions. For some years I was associated with the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD), a global consortium of universities. I am a member of the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group.

Communities, development, and organising

Informal economy

Social protection, social accountability

Urban restructuring

Disasters and development

Select Publications

2025. 'Learning Social Accountability Through Social Work Field Education' (co-author). Springer Briefs in Advancing Social Work and Social Work Education. 1-10.

2024. 'Formalization, Citizenship and the Challenges of Self-Governance in Mumbai's Slum Relocation Colonies' (co-author). International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 48 (6): 1115-1136. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.13274.

2021. 'Migrants, Refugees, and the Contested Question of Social Protection' (co-author). Policies and Practices (125). Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group.

2021. 'An Orderly Curriculum for a Messy Field? Classroom-Field Tensions in Community Organization in India'. Community Development Journal. Vol. 56 (4) : 626-643.

2021. 'Pandemics, Public Health, and Sanitation Workers in Mumbai: Crisis of Work and Life' (co-author). Refugee Watch. Special Issue on Public Health. Vol. 57 : 14-33.

2019. 'Globalization and Social Exclusion: Concepts and Processes' (co-author) in Chaskin, Robert J., Bong Joo Lee and Surinder Jaswal (eds.) Social Exclusion in Cross National Perspective: Actors, Actions, and Impacts from Above and Below. New York and London: Oxford University Press. 2019.

2019. 'Urban Restructuring, Housing Policy, and Social Exclusion' (co-author) in Chaskin, Robert J., Bong Joo Lee and Surinder Jaswal (eds.) Social Exclusion in Cross National Perspective: Actors, Actions, and Impacts from Above and Below. New York and London: Oxford University Press. 2019.

2019. 'Migration, Work, and Changing Social Ecosystems' (co-author) in Chaskin, Robert J., Bong Joo Lee and Surinder Jaswal (eds.) Social Exclusion in Cross National Perspective: Actors, Actions, and Impacts from Above and Below. New York and London: Oxford University Press. 2019.

2019. 'Democratic Engagement and Mobilization: The Role of Grassroots Movements' (co- author) in Chaskin, Robert J., Bong Joo Lee and Surinder Jaswal (eds.) Social Exclusion in Cross National Perspective: Actors, Actions, and Impacts from Above and Below. New York and London: Oxford University Press. 2019.

2018. 'The Cutting Edge: Death and Life of Safai Karmacharis and Elderly Security Guards in Mumbai' in Migrants and the Neoliberal City. Ranabir Samaddar (Ed.). Orient BlackSwan.

2017. 'Dickensian England in 21st Century Delhi…Without Great Expectations: Informal Labour Organising in the Manufacturing Sector in Delhi' in Crossing the Divide. Edward Webster, Akua Opokua Britwum and Sharit Bhowmik (Eds.), University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.

2017. 'The Centre for Environment, Technology, and Resource Development' (co-author). Indian Journal of Social Work. Special Issue on Field Action Projects. Vol. 78 (2).

2016. 'Sleepless in Mumbai: Spotlight on Elderly Security Guards'. Economic and Political Weekly. Special Issue on Migrants and the City. Vol.51(26-27).

2015. 'Transacting the Community Organisation Curriculum in the Classroom as a Social Work Educator'. Social Work Journal. 6 (1) : 22-33.

2014. 'Conservancy Work in Mumbai and Johannesburg: Retention at the Periphery' in Socio Economic Insecurity in Emerging Economies; (Eds.) Khayaat Fakier and Ellen Ehmke; Routledge. UK, New York.

Other Writings

2021. Making Ration Shop Work for People. Indian Express. 15 January 2021. Retrieved from https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/making-ration-shop-work-for-people-7147959/ (With Jyothi Krishnan).

2016. Social Audit: A Manual for Trainers. NIRD & PR, MoRD GoI, and TISS.

Certificate Course in Social Accountability and Social Audit: For Social Audit functionaries across India. Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, 2016 - 2019.

Institutional Options for Strengthening Social Work Education in Myanmar. Helpage International. 2018.

Urban- Rural Linkages: A Study of Two Cities in India. Supported by the International Center for Development and Decent Work. 2016-2017.

Cities, Rural Migrants and the Urban Poor – Issues of Violence and Social Justice. Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group. 2014-2017.

E-content project: Social Work Education - Community Organisation. University Grants Commission and Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India. 2017.

Labour and Organising in Small Scale Enterprises in the Periphery of Delhi. International Center for Development and Decent Work. 2013- 2017.

Department Research Support under Special Assistance Programme. Sponsored by University Grants Commission. 2009-2014.

Mentoring of Young Professionals through Fellowships for Development Practice - an academia-industry interface.

Post-graduate MA and MPhil courses in the School of Social Work. Courses taught include Community Organisation; Urbanisation, Governance, and Informal Work; Programme Planning and Management; and Research Colloquium.

Designed the online course module on Community Organisation under UGC, ePG pathshala.