Ridhi is a skilled research scientist with more than 10 years of experience conducting qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research and evaluations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Her experience includes applying rigorous qualitative and quantitative methodologies to assess and address challenges related to vulnerable populations, women’s economic empowerment, labor rights, digital economy and financial inclusion, sexual violence, health and nutrition, and private sector development. Ridhi’s work has covered research and evaluations shaping policy and interventions in more than 15 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, including Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, Morocco, Mali, Kenya, Nigeria, Guatemala, and Colombia.

Ridhi has expertise in managing and leading the technical design and execution of mixed-methods studies, trauma-informed research, and stakeholder engagement activities to support knowledge sharing and dissemination and inform evidence-based policymaking. Her methodological expertise includes:

• Formative and landscape assessments
• Systematic document review
• Innovative sampling methods
• Design of large-scale surveys and participatory qualitative guides
• Development and programming of tablet-based and web surveys
• Enumerator training
• Qualitative and econometric analyses

At NORC, her extensive experience includes spearheading research and evaluations that have informed policy decisions and program strategies for major international development donors and implementors. She has led evaluations of child and forced labor projects for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, research on women’s economic empowerment and digital economy projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Gates Foundation, forced labor prevalence estimation studies for Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP), and policy analysis and rapid assessments for UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS), and Freedom House.

Prior to joining NORC, Ridhi was a project lead for the Gates Foundation-funded Financial Inclusion Insights (FII) surveys in Asia and Africa, worked as an evaluation consultant with the World Bank, conducted research on women entrepreneurs in LMICs for the International Executive Service Corps, and was a graduate teaching assistant for Econometrics at the George Washington University.