Independent Research and Policy Advocacy

Publications

Blogs

We produce blogs to discuss new research findings, ongoing projects, and even personal reflections on the research process. Our blogs are written for a variety of audiences, including other researchers, policymakers, practitioners, financial service providers, grassroots organizations, impact investors and the public. The format is simple and easy to grasp. The language is straightforward, and the tone is non-academic. Our blogs can be of varying lengths. We choose to write a blog when we don’t want to do a full- fledged study or follow a rigorous research process. Blogs may contain opinions and they can also be based on experiences. Some of our blogs may just share some observations, learnings, or challenges.

Our Work

April 11, 2023 | Dvara Research

In this blog, we focus on the supply side of the equation, exploring the literature detailing the issues CICO agents face in offering uninterrupted CICO services. Agents who provide CICO services often encounter significant obstacles that hinder their capacity to assist customers effectively.

By Natasha D’cruze
March 29, 2023 | Dvara Research

In this blog post, we collate evidence of the various reasons that prevent the BC network from offering access to reliable CICO services all over the country. We rely on a mix of evidence in the form of qualitative case studies, survey results, and secondary sources.

December 23, 2022 | Dvara Research

In this post, we present our findings from our literature review based on which we conducted the behavioural study.

By Srikara Prasad, Nishan Gantayat, Anushka Ashok
December 23, 2022 | Dvara Research

Dvara Research and Final Mile are collaborating on a behavioural science informed primary study to unpack the barriers that customers currently face in engaging with and understanding consent artefacts.

By Srikara Prasad
December 14, 2022 | Dvara Research

This study was conducted through a donation from WhatsApp Pay. All material created under this study is made available as a public good, accessible through this page.

By Dvara Research, Centre for Social and Behavioural Change, Ashoka University
July 20, 2022 | Dvara Research

In this post, we find that the distribution of net worth is skewed as there is a higher concentration of households with lower levels of net worth. It is also seen that households better integrated in the formal financial system enjoy a higher net worth compared to households that are not.

By Sahana Seetharaman, Shrey Tiwari
July 6, 2022 | Dvara Research

This blog post summarises literature regarding users who are most likely to face difficulties in using digital payments, and some design principles and best practices that could simplify digital payment interfaces.

By Srikara Prasad, Sarah Stanley
July 4, 2022 | Dvara Research

Our recently concluded State of Exclusion study finds that payment failures during the back-end processing of a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) payment are a significant concern. In this blog piece, we highlight the broad takeaways to help the reader better understand the landscape of payment failures.We also set out some broad recommendations to be taken into consideration by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to improve the chances of a successful DBT payment.

May 5, 2022 | Dvara Research

This post summarises how BNPL lending functions and highlights customer protection concerns that can put at risk the promise of better credit access.

By Srikara Prasad, Sarah Stanley
May 4, 2022 | Dvara Research

On June 25, 2022, the XKDR Forum and Dvara Research Foundation will be hosting an all day workshop.

By XKDR Forum, Dvara Research