Rohan Patankar (he/him) is a researcher and strategist using human-centred design to connect health, culture, and social impact.

About

Rohan Patankar is a researcher and strategist with 10+ years of experience in design, social impact, health, and culture. He uses human-centred research and facilitation design to tell better stories, ask better questions, and connect the many worlds we live in.

Most recently, Rohan has led implementation research and co-creation processes across public health, gender equity, and humanitarian innovation with partners such as the Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, IDEO, Oxford Policy Management, USAID MOMENTUM, Jhpiego India, NESTA Challenge Works, Women in Global Health, Médecins Sans Frontières, Norwegian Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee, Rockefeller Foundation, and Girl Effect.

If you are working on equitable health systems, gender intentionality, or cross-cultural collaboration, he would love to talk.

Key Skills

  • Design Research & Strategy
  • Facilitation Design
  • Speculative Design & Participatory Foresight
  • Cultural Research & Curation
  • Project Management and Business Development

Work Experience

2023 – presentSenior Manager & Facilitation Design Lead @ Quicksand Design Studio India

Leading facilitation design and strategic research across health, gender, and culture portfolios at India's leading design thinking and innovation consultancy.

2019 – 2023Senior Associate (Design Research & Strategy) @ Quicksand Design Studio India

Led qualitative and participatory research programs across public health, humanitarian, and social impact engagements.

2017Architect in Residence @ Sensing Local Lab India
2016Urban Design Architect @ Centre for Green Mobility India
2015Architect @ Co.Lab Design India
2013 – 2014Architect & Strategist @ Arch i Platform India
2010 – 2016Co-founder @ Delhi Dallying India

Co-founded a blog and walking tour company to make Delhi's urban narratives accessible and engaging.

Work Details

AreaYear / TypeDescription
Implementation Research & Strategy2023Led perinatal mental health research in rural and tribal Madhya Pradesh to map the perinatal journey and improve public health service delivery.
Qualitative Research2023Interviewed city officials on COVID-19 response to create a Health Resilience Playbook for administrators managing health crises.
Scoping Research2021Six-month scoping for Elrha's Skills & Capabilities team to define competencies for innovation managers in the humanitarian sector.
HCD Research2019Research for Ipas Development Foundation to improve experiences and outcomes of self-use medical abortion in Bihar, India.
Framework Design2024 – presentDeveloping "Gathering," a framework at Quicksand for how we convene, collaborate, and work through differences.
Design Sprint2024Led a four-day sprint with Girl Effect India to design an intervention strategy reaching 9–14-year-old girls for HPV vaccination.
Co-creation Processes2023 – 2024Eight-month online consultation with 90+ Women in Global Health members to co-create mandate, theory of change, and organisational model.
Implementation Research2023Four-month consultation with 20+ global experts to define a theory of change and prioritized research questions for improving perinatal mental health in LMICs for USAID M-CGL.
Communities of Practice2022 – 2024Co-anchored GenderCollab with Oxford Policy Management to advance gender intentionality in Indian health systems.
Collaboration for Preparedness2022 – 2023Facilitated the Indian Alliance for Public Health Preparedness, a multi-sector collaboration on environmental surveillance and health resilience.
Community of Practice2020 – 2022Facilitated CORE Net (COVID-19 Research Network) supported by the Gates Foundation for social science and health researchers.
Learning & Exchange2023Led a three-day retreat in Senegal for five International Rescue Committee country teams working on acute malnutrition (GiveWell-supported).
Participatory Foresight2021Six-month consultation with MSF South Asia leadership on "What will MSF South Asia look like in 2030?"
Speculative Fiction2020 – 2021Created "Humanitarian Spring 2030" for the Norwegian Refugee Council Innovation Service, exploring future humanitarian disruptions.
Speculative Design Workshop2019Led an 80-person workshop at MSF Co-days Amsterdam on the future of Médecins sans Frontières as a global organisation.
Cultural Research & Curation2022 – 2023Cultural Research Fellow for Wellcome Trust Mindscapes Bengaluru; anchored artist-researcher community, facilitated "Mental Health & the City," and curated the Mindscapes International Summit.

Accolades

  • 2022–2023 Wellcome Trust Cultural Research Fellow for Mindscapes Bengaluru.
  • 2020 SOIF Next Generation Foresight Practitioner Asia Special Award.
  • 2016 Conceived and curated the first two editions of the Delhi Walk Festival.
  • 2016 Featured among the top 50 emerging architects of India by Architect & Interiors Magazine.
  • 2002 National Bal Shree Honour for excellence in Creative Performance (music) awarded by President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Other Highlights

  • 2015: Initiated fundraiser Art for Nepal, selling travel-drawing merchandise to raise GBP 2200 for transitional shelters after the Nepal earthquake.
  • 2013: Teaching Artist with Music Basti, a life skills education initiative for underprivileged children in Delhi.
  • 2003: Represented India as a cultural performer at the Arctic Arts Festival, Harstad, Norway.

Education

YearInstitutionProgrammeNotes
2017 – 2018London School of EconomicsMSc City Design and Social Science (Merit)Chevening Scholar;
Norman Foster Foundation Scholarship (MIT Media Lab "On Cities" Workshop);
Co-founded FoUL magazine.
2008 – 2013School of Planning & Architecture, New DelhiB.Architecture (Merit)NOKIA-OXFAM Create to Inspire Fellowship for Moving Delhi Project;
Co-founded Delhi Dallying.