Dr. Tandon is the co-founder and President of PRIA, since 1982. He has more than four decades of work in articulating, elaborating and facilitating philosophical and methodological issues of participatory research and popular participation in India, South Asia and across the world. He has written extensively on participatory research and participatory development. He has also championed the cause of strengthening civil society organizations and capacities of the marginalized through the twin process of learning and organizing

Ashok Kumar Singh is the founder Director of Sahbhagi Shikshan Kendra. SSK is a pioneer organization promoting participatory development & capacity building of CSOs particularly in U.P., Bihar and Jharkhand. Ashok Bhai, as he is popularly called, is a well known participatory trainer and has facilitated over a thousand participatory trainings in 30 years. He is a champion for the cause of institution building in civil society, engaged in providing momentum to the civil society movement in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He is a rural management professional from a renowned management institute of India

Mr. Seth, a science graduate with a specialization in Mathematics and Statistics, qualified as a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India. In the last two decades, he has worked in a number of industries including tobacco, hotels, financial services, real estate, media and pharmaceuticals. He has worked with companies like ReNew Power, ITC Ltd., Hindustan Times and Abbott India in senior positions.

Mr. Sahni, retired IAS officer, did his graduation in History from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, from 1968-71. Later he did M. Sc.(Econ.) Social Development Planning and Management, from the University of Wales, Swansea, 1992-93. He was the Principal Resident Commissioner, Government of Jammu & Kashmir. At the policy formulation level, the sectors he handled included public works, rural water supply, irrigation, and cooperatives. At the planning and management level, he worked in various sectors including horticulture, handlooms, handicrafts and sericulture. He is currently based in Gurgaon.

Ms. Sarin holds an M.Phil. from University of Chandigarh and a post-M.Phil. in Development Policies from the University of Nottingham, UK. A pioneer in women's studies in India, Ms. Sarin has served as Country Director (India) and Global Vice President of The Hunger Project for 22 years, and Programme Officer for the Swedish International Development Agency for 15 years. Over the last 35 years, she has led and mentored more than 100 organizations implementing strategies to empower women in local democracy. She has been recognized for her commendable work in forging pathways that put issues of social and gender justice at the Center of policymaking. She is a recipient of several awards: ’25 Women of Excellence’ by the FICCI; ‘Women Leadership Achievement Award’, ‘Women of Pure Strength’ by Vodafone Foundation; ‘Iconic leader in nurturing culture and ecosystem for relevant innovation in developing countries’; ‘Phenomenal She’ by the Indian National Bar Association; and more recently, the ‘Devi Award’ by the New Indian Express

Ms. Sheela Patel is Founder Director of SPARC (Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres), a non-profit society working on issues of equity and social justice in India. She was Chairperson of PRIA's Governing Board from 2004 to mid 2017. After completing her Master's in Social Sciences from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, in 1974, she began her career as a child counsellor at the Nagpada Neighbourhood House, a community centre in the inner city of Mumbai. She has been on the board of organizations like Mobile Creches for Children of Construction Workers, Swayam Shikshan Prayog (which supports women's empowerment in rural areas in India), and Partners Urban Knowledge Action Research (PUKAR). She is also a member of CTAG. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2011.