Governance Lab- GovLab

22/08/2026

𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓

Every monsoon, the same headline runs: "Natural disaster strikes!!" Every monsoon, we accept it without asking the harder question.

𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.

A flood hits the valley. Local government, provincial authorities, NGOs, media, and scientists all show up but not equally, not together, and not for everyone. Who's actually in the room when the response gets decided? Who's missing from it?

This August, Gyaan Shrinkhala Course 3 puts these questions on the table through mapping exercises, legal case comparisons, and participatory investigation — not lectures about disaster management, but a real interrogation of how disaster gets decided.

"𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐨-𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬" is a 3-day workshop facilitated by 𝐃𝐫. Rachana Upadhyaya

📂𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐲, 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝:

🔹 Day 1 — Who Decides What a Disaster Is?
🔹 Day 2 — What Counts as a Disaster?
🔹 Day 3 — Who Qualifies for Protection?

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬:

🗓️ August 31 – September 2, 2026
🕚 11 AM – 1:30 PM
📍 Martin Chautari, Thapathali, Kathmandu
💰 NPR 3,000 (Students: NPR 1,500) — 4 scholarships available

If you've ever accepted "natural disaster" as the full story, this is where you start questioning the rest of it.

To learn more about , please visit: govlab.com.np/events

20/08/2026

We had a good run on the first course of Gyaan Shrinkhala — "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥'𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲"

Pratisha Joshi, a policy enthusiast, herself reflects on a discussion that brought together 20 sharp minds to unpack the paradoxes shaping Nepal's diplomacy: asymmetric equiproximity, nationalist subservience, and sovereign deficit.

What does it really mean for Nepal to navigate its foreign relations under these tensions and where do they leave the country's future? Read on for her reflections.

19/08/2026

Great conversations, new connections, and inspiring talent at Job & Internship Fair 2026! 🌟

It was a pleasure connecting with enthusiastic young professionals and sharing opportunities at Governance Lab. Thank you, KUSOM, for creating this valuable platform for career connections and networking!

19/08/2026

Governance Lab hosted the 𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 in Kathmandu from 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟮 - 𝟭𝟰, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, bringing together 25 PhD students and senior faculty from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) , The London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE, , Yale University, Harvard University, , Ashoka University , and other leading institutions for three days of discussions on #𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆, #𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 #𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀. 🗺️

The Summer School featured two panel discussions:

📆𝗢𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭: Nepal’s Post-Conflict Political Transition, drawing on research presented by 𝐃𝐫. 𝐑𝐨𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞, with 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗿. 𝗕𝗮𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗕𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗶, 𝐃𝐫. 𝐒𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗮 as panelists, moderated by 𝗗𝗿. 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻.

📆𝗢𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟯: Social Media and Political Voice: In Conversation with ’s Movement, featuring Janak Pokhrel, 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗸𝗮 𝗡𝗶𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐲, moderated by 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐢𝐤𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐯 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐚. The conversations brought together , , , and members of the wider community to reflect on 𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗹’𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 #𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.

18/08/2026

𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐆𝐲𝐚𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 - 𝟑
𝐀𝐦𝐢𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞: “𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑!” 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐢𝐬?

When does a hazard become a disaster? And whose losses are recognized and whose are overlooked?

This August, #𝐆𝐲𝐚𝐚𝐧𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝟑 invites you to question the idea of as something purely natural and examine how disasters are shaped by #𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫, #𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, #𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 #𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞.

Join us for a 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞-𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩:“𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬”

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬:
• 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬: 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟒–𝟐𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
• 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 𝟗:𝟑𝟎 𝐀𝐌 – 𝟏𝟐:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌
• 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢, 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐢, 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐮
• 𝐅𝐞𝐞: 𝐍𝐏𝐑. 𝟑𝟎𝟎𝟎 (𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐍𝐏𝐑. 𝟏𝟓𝟎𝟎)

Facilitated by 𝐃𝐫. 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐔𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐲𝐚𝐲𝐚, the workshop will encourage participants to critically examine how disasters are defined, governed, and experienced, through discussions, case studies, participatory exercises, and reflection.

𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞:
🔹Day 1: 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐬?
🔹Day 2: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫?
🔹Day 3: 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

If you're interested in #𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 #𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥, this workshop is an opportunity to think critically beyond the idea of them as simply “natural” events.

𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲: https://forms.gle/SiTDytcJSNPeYvVs6
𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: 21st August, 2026

To learn more about Gyaan Shrinkhala, please visit: govlab.com.np/events

17/08/2026

🚀 𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧 & 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞

Governance Lab is looking for a proactive, organized, and eager-to-learn individual to join our team as an Admin & Operations Trainee.

Gain hands-on experience in administration, operations, procurement, logistics, HR support, and event coordination while working in a dynamic research and policy environment.

📍 Full-time | 3–6 months | Starting August 2026
🎓 Bachelor’s degree/pursuing a degree in a relevant field
✨ Fresh graduates and candidates with limited experience are encouraged to apply.
📌 Apply now: https://shorturl.at/fy48L

14/08/2026

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, , 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗹 (𝗜𝗘𝗡) 𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗯!!🎉

Since joining the team in 2017 as a Research Assistant , Chandra’s journey has taken him from research across Nepal’s most remote communities to earning his MPP at Yale and returning to IEN to build ambitious new research.

Nearly nine years of #𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁, #𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 #𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 have shaped an important journey and we look forward to the next chapter of meaningful impact under his leadership.

11/08/2026

🪧Gyaan Shrinkhala Course 2, “𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 – 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲,” was successfully held on 8–9 August 2026 at Martin Chautari.

Jointly organized by Law Lab Nepal, Martin Chautari, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗯, the two-day course brought participants together to explore constitutional rights and the challenges of their implementation through real-life cases, interactive discussions, and critical reflection.

Participants explored questions around , economic and property rights, , , and , while examining the gap between rights guaranteed by law and their implementation in practice.

The sessions were wonderfully facilitated by Adv. Dr. Aastha Dahal (PhD), Adv. Prajwal Gyawali, and Adv. Samman Humagain.

We are grateful to our facilitators, participants, and collaborators who helped in making this course successful.

We will be coming with more exciting courses soon. Stay tuned for more with !

11/08/2026

01/08/2026

𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝘆𝗮𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗮: 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝟮 𝗼𝗻 𝟴–𝟵 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 to learn from leading legal experts about constitutional rights, their implementation challenges, and their role in strengthening good governance.

🗓️ 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝟯 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁.
📍𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗤𝗥 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 and reserve your seat today.

For more details: Govlab.com.np/events

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