A Professorial Visiting Chair has been created at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, in memory and honour of late Shri Ramakrishna Hegde, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka.

The vision behind this Chair is to take the governance and transparency of development at the grass-root level. The Chair is expected to conduct research and training activities on the process of decentralization, governance and accountability in welfare delivery systems at the grass-root level and come up with policy recommendations to institutionalise the Panchayat Raj system on a much more firmer and socially acceptable basis.

This Chair can be occupied by any distinguished social scientist from any where in the world with distinctions in research publications on decentralization, governance and development. The period of appointment on this Chair is for a maximum of three years.

Prof. P K Michael Tharakan, an eminent economic historian and specialist in decentralisation studies was the first R K Hegde Chair Professor.

Prof. Siddharth Swaminathan was second Shri R K Hegde Chair Professor. Prof. Swaminathan has  Ph.D in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University.

Dr. Jos Chathukulam was third Shri RamaKrishna Hegde Chair Professor till December 2019.

Dr. Chandan Gowda is the current Shri Ramakrishna Hegde Chair Professor. Dr. Gowda has done his M.A in Sociology from the University of Hyderabad, Ph.D Certificate, Cultural Studies, University of Pittsburgh and Ph.D in Sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

• Ramakrishna Hegde Memorial Lecture-3 entitled “Binding the Local State: State Capacity and the Democratic Deficit In India”, by Prof. Patrick Heller
• National Seminar on “Social Justice and the Working of Panchayats in India: Revisiting the Concern of Ambedkar School of Thought”
• “Welcome to the DeceMKarnataka”
• Academic Discourse on “Building a Gender Friendly Karnataka”
• “Dharma and Adharma: An Emerging Contradiction within Indian Democracy”, Ramakrishna Hegde Memorial Lecture – 2
• ISEC Declaration 2018 (Draft) on Mainstreaming Differential Ability in Local Governance
  and Development
• Panchayati Raj in Karnataka Dreams and Realities”, Ramakrishna Hegde Memorial Lecture-1

List of Faculty who are associated with the Centre