The exclusion of and discrimination against dalits (scheduled castes), tribals, women and minorities in the country continues to be quite widespread and deeply entrenched. In all socio-economic indicators of development (education, health, income) the status of these excluded communities continues to be low.

Mechanisms of participation of the poor and the excluded, created by legislation to support their empowerment, remain ineffective because adequate efforts in informing people about these mechanisms and building their knowledge and capacity to operate these mechanisms are never made. The marginalised till date have continued to remain excluded.

PRIA’s social inclusion initiatives combat social exclusion by involving, engaging and bringing socially excluded people to the forefront to ensure their holistic and equal participation in accessing social, cultural, political and economic resources. PRIA works to ‘empower the poor and the excluded, so that they can claim their rights and improve their lives’. Over three decades, PRIA has used the twin processes of collectivization and learning for empowerment to promote social inclusion.

In Marginalised Voices and Governance , PRIA conducted a research to explore how marginalised groups raise their voice in the institutional spaces of local governance and what impact such voice has on governance, including local governance systems, which came into place in rural and urban areas through Constitutional Amendments in the early 1990s.

PRIA’s work has also extended to policy influencing. In an action research conducted to explore the factors and processes affecting the educational processes of dalit children in three districts of Bihar, viz, Vaishali, Madhubani and Rohtas, PRIA collected data on household, community and schooling issues by covering 40 schools to examine the trends of social exclusion among dalit children in the state. The findings of the study were shared among stakeholders at a state level consultation on ‘Social Exclusion in Bihar: An Inclusive Educational Policy Framework’,  on 27 December 2010 at SCADA Business Centre, Patna.

In empowering the marginalised section of society, PRIA with the support of dvv international was involved in a Social Inclusion project Social Inclusion in the states of Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana.

Through this project, PRIA conducted organisational development workshops for community based dalit organizations (CBO) ; organized interface meetings of networks/movements working on dalit issues at the state level; prepared two policy briefs on Social Justice Committees and conducted leadership training for young dalit girls to promote them as change agents.

In continuation with its action research intervention, PRIA in collaboration with Centre for Dalit Rights (CDR), Jaipur undertook a study to explore the extent of the implementation of protective measures and development measures aimed at securing rights and entitlements of scheduled castes (SCs) in Rajasthan, in particular the role of statutory commissions in ensuring such rights in the state.

PRIA has also aimed at strengthening the capacity of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Schedules Tribes (ST) men and women leadership in local governance both in panchayats and municipalities. A project to strengthen SC and ST leadership was undertaken in the states of Bihar, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana where a total of 1000 elected representatives were oriented. Through this a network of CSOs working in issues of SC/ST was also strengthened.

In order to create socially sensitive and competent professionals who are potentially ready to deal with a variety of situations through creative, innovative and efficient solutions and to facilitate development of a new vision, resources, services and perspectives (thus helping to increase overall effectiveness), and to train NGO volunteers and staff as change agents and effective managers, PRIA has trained 1000 CSO representatives in eleven states under the project Management Training Workshops for Muslim NGOs under Community Coordination Initiative.

In addition, PRIA has also conducted Youth Leadership Camps for marginalised youth in various parts of India to enable the youth to acquire, enhance and nurture their leadership capabilities and skills to meet personal challenges and contribute actively to the development of their communities.

Backed by PRIA's vast experience in the field and its commitment towards ensuring an equitable just society, it has also developed a short term course on Social Inclusion (SC Leadership) in Local Governance.