People – Centred intelligence for climate action
Climate transitions are human transitions.
CLIMATE
AGENCY
TRUST
Building the people centred intelligence for climate action.
Ek Kutumb is an Indian research organisation working at the intersection of people and climate.
We study the values, beliefs, perceptions, aspirations and relationships of trust that shape how people respond to change.
A technology may be available, but people may not adopt it. A scheme may exist, but uptake may remain uneven. An intervention may offer clear benefits, but fail because it asks people to accept risks they cannot afford — or comes from institutions they do not trust.
Implementation is therefore also a human challenge.
Why values?
Demographics tell us who.
Values help us understand why.
Two people of a similar age and income, living in the same community, may encounter the same climate intervention. One embraces it. The other is sceptical. One trusts government. The other trusts a community leader. One sees opportunity. The other sees risk.
Part of the answer lies in values: what people consider important in their lives, from security, family and tradition to achievement, independence, equality and care for others.
Who?
Age · Income · Gender
Geography · Occupation
Why?
Security · Aspiration · Tradition
Agency · Trust · Worldview
How we research
Qualitative depth. Quantitative scale.
Our research begins by listening.
For our first state study in Maharashtra, in-depth conversations helped us understand environmental change in people’s own words. Those insights informed a large-scale quantitative study designed to reveal patterns across values, perceptions, agency and trust.
Our first state · Maharashtra
6,000+ people. One state. Many ways of seeing change.
From the coastline and Western Ghats to Marathwada and Vidarbha; from India’s financial capital to communities facing persistent agrarian and economic distress.
Our research identifies distinct groups who share similar orientations towards values, climate change, agency and trust. These groups cut across conventional demographic categories.
What we are learning
People are experiencing climate change.
They don’t always call it climate change.
People describe unseasonal rain destroying crops, heat affecting the ability to work, groundwater depletion, flooded railway tracks and fears about children’s health. Climate disruption is often understood through the things that organise everyday life.
- Livelihoods
- Health
- Affordability
- Security
- Family
- Aspiration
We call this the articulation gap.
A more useful question
“What do people care about — and how can climate action help them protect it?”
From Maharashtra to India
A new layer of public intelligence.
Maharashtra is where we began.
Our ambition is to build a state-by-state picture of the values, perceptions, agency and trust that will shape how India’s people experience and participate in climate transitions.
Over time, this will create a new layer of public intelligence designed to sit alongside the technical, economic and policy data already informing climate action.
Because understanding the transition requires understanding the people living through it.
Our people
A multidisciplinary team, united by curiosity about people.
Deepa Bhatia
CEO
Deepa Bhatia
CEO
Sushma Mahabala
Director, Research
Sushma Mahabala
Director, Research
Aarti Wig
Director, Ecosystem Engagement
Aarti Wig
Director, Ecosystem Engagement
Murali Ramakrishnan Ananthakumar
Lead – Applied Research
Murali Ramakrishnan Ananthakumar
Lead – Applied Research
Christine N Winston
Research Manager
Christine N Winston
Research Manager
Sharmista Chaudhury
Senior Manager, Communications
Sharmista Chaudhury
Senior Manager, Communications
Aditi Shankar
Associate, Ecosystem Engagement
Aditi Shankar
Associate, Ecosystem Engagement
Rajatha Prabhakar
Lead, Insights & Research Knowledge
Rajatha Prabhakar
Lead, Insights & Research Knowledge
Pranav Manjesh Bidare
Lead, Data Governance and Learning
Pranav Manjesh Bidare
Lead, Data Governance and Learning
Ishna Repswal
Project Manager
Ishna Repswal
Project Manager
Aayesha Saxena
Qualitative Research Lead
Aayesha Saxena
Qualitative Research Lead
Advisors
Rahul Verma
Advisor
Rahul Verma
Advisor
Shloka Nath
Advisor
Shloka Nath
Advisor
Work with us
Build climate action around people.
Our research is built to be used. We work with governments, funders, researchers, civil society organisations, communicators and climate practitioners.
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