We run primary data collection, policy research and CSR project implementation across South India — turning household surveys and field visits into decisions governments, funders and companies can act on.
Sample record from our household panel, Kalaburagi district, drought-response CSR study.
CRAN (Centre for Policy Research and Analytics) was established in 2013 and formally registered in 2020 under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960. Headquartered in Mysuru, Karnataka, we bridge field-oriented empirical research with social science theory to enable better public policy across South India.
We work the same way we did on day one: our own enumerators, our own data infrastructure, our own analysts — end to end, so nothing gets lost in translation between the household and the policy table. Today we support state departments, foundations and corporate CSR teams with the same discipline: collect data honestly, analyse it rigorously, and report it in language a district collector or a CSR committee can actually use.
Every study begins with a trained local team, not a desk review — primary data collected directly from households, institutions and worksites.
Instruments and interviews run in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English, built with local field coordinators, not translated after the fact.
Raw data, cleaning logs and methodology notes are shared with every client — no black-box indices.
Every dataset is structured so it can serve the next study, not just the current report.
Most of our engagements combine two or more of these — a CSR baseline survey, for instance, usually needs data collection, analytics and project management working together.
Household surveys, institutional audits, GPS-tagged field visits and mobile data capture, run by trained local enumerators across urban and rural sites.
Evaluation studies, budget and scheme analysis, and briefs written for state departments and legislative committees — grounded in our own field data.
End-to-end delivery of CSR-funded programmes — needs assessment, implementation oversight, grievance tracking and closure reporting under Schedule VII.
Dashboards, impact indices and donor-ready reports that turn raw survey data into figures a board or a district office can act on within a week.
The same five-stage process for every CSR partner, whether the programme runs for one quarter or three years.
Joint site visits with your CSR team to confirm the intervention area, beneficiary groups and success measures before any funds move.
A household or institutional survey establishes the starting position, so impact can be measured against real numbers, not assumptions.
Our field coordinators track disbursement, attendance and grievance logs on the ground, with monthly variance notes back to your CSR committee.
Repeat surveys against the same baseline instrument, so change is attributable rather than anecdotal.
A closure report formatted for your annual CSR disclosure, board review, or Schedule VII filing, with the underlying dataset handed over.
A standing field team in each state, built up since our first Karnataka survey round in 2013.
| State / UT | Districts covered | Active since | Current focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karnataka | 28 | 2013 | Drought-response CSR, education access, livelihoods |
| Tamil Nadu | 19 | 2015 | Urban sanitation audits, maternal health tracking |
| Kerala | 11 | 2017 | Coastal livelihoods, flood-recovery monitoring |
| Andhra Pradesh | 10 | 2018 | Agricultural income surveys, scheme evaluation |
| Telangana | 10 | 2019 | Skilling programme M&E, water access mapping |
| Puducherry | 4 | 2020 | Urban service delivery audits, fisherfolk livelihoods |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 3 | 2022 | Island health access, disaster-preparedness surveys |
A sample of the reports and datasets that come out of our ongoing work.