Building Research Excellence Across India & Beyond
STAR Foundation — Sigma Training and Action Research Foundation — offers world-class capacity building, training, and applied research in social development, health, education and governance. Home to one of India's leading Institutional Review Boards, registered with OHRP (USA).
Everything we do, in one place
Dive into the dedicated pages for our IRB services, training catalog, research and expert faculty.
About the Foundation
Three pillars of social development excellence — training, research and knowledge management.
OHRP-Registered IRB
Independent ethical review for social, behavioural and health research. Recognised by U.S. DHHS.
Training Catalog
Nine focused programs: quantitative, qualitative, software, M&E, demography, ethics and more.
Governing Council
Eight senior academics and practitioners from IIPS, ISEC, ICF and leading institutions.
Evidence Services
Baseline, endline, evaluation, impact assessment and operations research.
International Programs
Bespoke orientation and survey-management training for international research partners.
Three Pillars of Social Development Excellence
STAR Foundation is a New Delhi-based not-for-profit dedicated to strengthening research capacity and knowledge in the social and development sector. We are structured around three specialised centres — each designed to deliver measurable impact.
Training Centre
Capacity building for Project/NGO/Corporate staff, employees and scholars. Covers quantitative & qualitative methods, research methodology, M&E, sampling, statistics packages (SPSS, STATA, CSPro, EPI Info, Excel), CAPI, research ethics, report writing and MIS development.
Action Research Centre
Carries out baseline, endline, needs assessment, evaluation, impact assessment and operations research studies. Implements programme interventions, communication/advocacy campaigns, documentation and policy dissemination.
Knowledge Management
Organises workshops, seminars, conferences, and stakeholder consultations. Publishes edited volumes, working papers, and policy briefs for wider dissemination to practitioners and policymakers.
STAR IRB
Institutional Review Board providing independent ethical review of social, behavioural and health research. Registered with OHRP (U.S. DHHS) — recognised for international research protocols.
“Our mission is to empower development professionals, NGO staff, scholars and policymakers with rigorous research skills and evidence-based tools to transform communities.”
Networked. Recognised. Respected.
- Affiliated with Sigma Research and Consulting — 13+ years of large-scale survey operations
- Networked with UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP, UNAIDS, DFID, WHO, Johns Hopkins, PSI, FHI 360, ICRW
- STAR IRB registered with OHRP, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Expert faculty drawn from IIPS, ISI, ISEC, ICF, and leading Indian and international universities