Braja Sundar Nayak is a development and research professional with experience spanning education, entrepreneurship development, MSMEs, agriculture, disability, and public policy research. He began his career as a Gandhi Fellow, working closely with the Araria District Administration to design block- and panchayat-level education interventions. He later worked with organisations such as LetsEndorse Development and Haqdarshak, supporting women and women’s collectives in rural districts of Odisha through entrepreneurship development initiatives. During this time, he worked closely with the District Industries Centres (DICs) and KVIC across five districts of Odisha while implementing schemes such as PMEGP, PMFME, and PM SVANidhi.

In 2022, he transitioned into the research space while pursuing his Master’s at TISS. His notable consulting and research experience includes a traceability study of organic cotton farming in the Bolangir district of Odisha during his summer internship at KPMG India; his Master’s thesis, a qualitative study on on-demand food delivery workers in Mumbai under the supervision of Prof. B. Manjula; and the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of NABARD’s Wadi (Orchard-Based Farming) Project across seven states. As a Research Assistant, he worked closely with Prof. Sandhya Iyer on this project, handling large-scale survey data, conducting statistical analyses, and leading qualitative data collection and analysis in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. He worked with farmers in remote tribal communities, Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), farmer-producer organisations (FPOs), community leaders, and NABARD officials to understand the project’s impact on tribal development.

He also worked as a Program Manager at the Inclusive Divyangjan Entrepreneurs Association, where he closely worked with aspiring and growing Entrepreneurs with Disabilities (EWDs) across several states. He conducted entrepreneurship development programmes in the rural districts of Odisha and supported the organisation’s operations and founding members in various capacities.

Currently, he is involved in three major research projects on the Right to Education, where his role primarily focuses on field and desk research, coordination, and project management.

Overall, he has working knowledge of sectors such as education, entrepreneurship development, MSMEs, electricity regulation, disability, and agriculture through both operations and research roles. He has experience in mixed-methods research and has worked closely with the state governments of Bihar and Odisha, as well as at the panchayat and block levels across five states.