Ambrish is a dedicated scholar and practitioner in the field of public policy, with a strong academic foundation and hands-on research experience in rural water governance and policy implementation studies. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Policy at the Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies (ADCPS), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. His doctoral research focuses on the policy implementation of rural drinking water supply schemes at the last mile by using the frameworks of Policy Compliance Theory/models and Michael Lipsky’s Street-Level Bureaucracy Theory.

Ambrish served as an Assistant Professor Political Science at Lovely Professional University, Punjab, where he taught a range of subjects, including Public Policy in India, Administrative Law, Industrial Relations, and the Indian Constitution. He has mentored postgraduate students and contributed to curriculum development and project guidance. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Social Work from IGNOU and a Bachelor’s degree in Science (Botany, Zoology, and Computer Science) from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. His academic journey is marked by a consistent engagement with issues of water policy and governance, with a focus on policy delivery at the last mile.

Ambrish has been actively involved in field-based research. Being a qualitative researcher, he has conducted extensive fieldwork across multiple villages in the tribal regions of Maharashtra.   He has also contributed to research projects with institutions like the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. His scholarly work includes publications in reputed journals and policy briefs, including a G20 policy brief and a recent article in the Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology—AQUA.He has presented his research at national and international conferences, including those organised by IIM Ahmedabad, WaterAid India, and Syracuse University (USA).

Beyond academics, Ambrish is interested in visiting rural areas, issues around wildlife and forests. He likes travelling and gardening, exemplified by his four-year tenure as the General Secretary-Garden Affairs at Hostel-1, IIT Bombay. His interdisciplinary background, field exposure, and commitment to public service uniquely position him to contribute to evidence-based policy research and governance reforms in India.

Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambrish-bombade-b6223014a

• Worked as Assistant Professor (Regular: January-April 2018) at the Department of Political Science, Mittal School of Business and Arts, Lovely Professional University, Punjab.

Academic journals

Challenges in Developing Trust in the Rural Drinking Water Supply Systems, Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology—AQUA. (January 2024)

Policy Brief 

G20 Policy Brief on Strengthening Water Security in Tribal Habitations through Conservation Measures (July 2023)

National

• Presented a paper proposal titled “Understanding Challenges in Developing Trust in Rural Drinking Water Supply Systems: A Case of Multi Village Schemes in Maharashtra” at the National Conference on Operation and Maintenance of Rural Pipe Drinking Water Supply Systems, organized by Water Aid, New Delhi, in February 2025.
• Presented a paper titled “Understanding the Implementation Capacity of the State in the Rural Water Sector of Maharashtra” at the 4th India Public Policy Network (IPPN) Conference, organized by IIM Ahmedabad, in December 2022.

International

• Presented a paper proposal titled “Investigating Issue of Non-Payment of Users’ Charges using Lens of Policy Compliance Theory: Study of Nine Villages in Maharashtra, India” at the Conference on Policy Process Research (COPPR24), organized by Syracuse University, NY, USA on May 15-17th, 2024.

As a part of Doctoral research internship, he worked on the “4WARD” Project under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

Guest Lecture delivered at Centre for Water Policy and Governance, TISS Mumbai on the “Challenges in Operation and Maintenance of Multi-Village Schemes: Experiences from the Palghar District of Maharashtra”. (May 2025)

Awards

Ambrish is a recipient of the UGC’s Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and National Eligibility Test (NET), as well as the State Eligibility Test (SET) by Pune University. 

Membership

He remains actively engaged in the policy and evaluation community as a member of the International Public Policy Association (IPPA), Eval Youth Asia, and Eval Youth India.

Examiner

He contributes as an external examiner for postgraduate dissertations at Centre for Water Policy and Governance, TISS Mumbai 

Referee work

He serves as a reviewer for the International Water Association (IWA) journals.

• Certified in Policy Evaluation Fall School 2022, organized by the Asia Pacific Evaluation Association
• Certified in the Second Asia Pacific Virtual Winter School 2021, organized by Eval Youth Asia
• Certified in Stakeholder Workshop 2022 on Strategies to Improve Intermittent Water Supply and Pathways to Achieve 24X7 Continuous Water Supply conducted by CUSE, IIT Bombay
• Certified in NEWAVE e-Lecture Series: Water Governance Theoretical Perspectives by NEWAVE – Next Water Governance in 2020