Foundations of Social Science and Social Work: Understanding Humanity, Development

Dr. Anjali Chandulal Lakum is an Assistant Professor in the Online MSW Programme at the Centre for Distance and Online Education, Parul Institute of Social Work, Parul University, India. She holds a PhD and MPhil in Science, Society and Development from the Central University of Gujarat and specialises in social work, grassroots innovation, inclusive development, and science–technology–society (STS) studies. Her research critically examines the intersections of community knowledge systems, informal-sector innovation, social exclusion, and development policy in the Global South. Drawing from both social work and interdisciplinary social science perspectives, her work focuses on grassroots innovation, technology diffusion, gender and caste inequalities, tribal development, digital marginalisation, and welfare access among vulnerable communities. Dr Lakum has published in internationally indexed journals, including Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions (Elsevier) and the African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development. Her broader academic contributions engage with issues of social justice, inclusive innovation, mental health, community empowerment, and technology-mediated inequalities within contemporary development processes. As a social work educator and researcher, she has supervised postgraduate research dissertations and contributed to curriculum development, e-content creation, and interdisciplinary academic initiatives in social work education. She has presented her research at national and international academic forums, including Oxford University conferences, ICCIG at IIM Ahmedabad, and the Globelics Academy in Finland. Her work is informed by sustained engagement with grassroots innovators, marginalised communities, and alternative development frameworks in India. Rethinking Innovation Failure: Expectations in Grassroots Innovation builds on this long-term research engagement and examines how expectations, institutions, and social structures shape the trajectories of grassroots innovations.