Individual & Family Choices

We live for a purpose, which changes as we evolve with our natural and social environment. Our choices, often made without complete information, determine the extent to which we realise our purpose. Since choices guide our actions, our actions also evolve with the choices and the changes in our environment.

Our fundamental, time-invariant, questions around individual and family choices are the following:

  • How do we define and realise the purpose of our life, given our natural and social context?
  • How do we enhance our ability to learn and think in a way that helps us realise our life’s purpose?

In an environment where we have many different forces (e.g., socio-cultural, regulatory, economic, technological and ecological) trying to influence individual and family choices, we have the following contemporary questions to explore:

  • How are individual and family choices evolving in present ‘information-age’?
  • How do changes in public policy choices (e.g., migration, social security, privacy, etc.) influence individual and family choices? Specifically, what opportunities do they provide to or challenges they impose on people?
  • How does economic restructuring (move to a private sector-led, market-based system) impact the risk and uncertainty faced by individuals and families?
  • How effective are the present economic risk-sharing arrangements (among households, private sector and the public-exchequer) in ensuring that a given society can invest in its future?
  • How has the present growth-constrained environment, combined with low-employment intensity of economic activity, impacted the household-ability and willingness to invest in its future?

Research  

IASCC research on individual and family choices focuses on understanding the determinants of specific choices as well as the cognitive and social processes that guide the choices.

We explore and explain how individuals and families, at different stages of their life, define purpose, generate ideas, make choices, allocate resources, implement decisions and realise their individual and shared goals.

Research Collaboration

Building a research eco-system is one of our core purposes. Towards this end, we invite research scholars and academic institutions to partner with us to research in areas of common interest. Collaboration would involve working together on a specific research project or a programme.

We invite individuals to join our research effort by working together with us on reflective practice case studies, which involves documenting their experience of making choices in personal context.

Individuals and organisations can also contribute financial resources to our general-purpose research fund or a specific research programme. Such financial contributions would help us meet the cost of research infrastructure, e.g., library and wages for our faculty and the research staff.

Individuals can also contribute to our effort by instituting doctoral research fellowship awards to honour their parents, grand-parents, teachers or anyone else who has played an important role in their life. Fellowship awards will be given annually to students whose research work is aligned to IASCC purpose.

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Education

Our education programmes provide continuous learning opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of personal choices.

Self-Learning Modules (SLMs) available through our website provide a unique continuous learning opportunity, as the learning material is organised around specific themes covered during the classroom.

Our Virtual Classroom offers interactive sessions with our faculty and industry professionals.

IASCC Forum is a collaborative-learning platform providing an opportunity for serious conversation on issues of contemporary interest.

Our approach to classroom learning includes faculty-led conversations, team exercises, case-studies, decision simulations, self-reflection exercises, preparation of post-programme ‘plan for action’, to name few.

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Education Programmes

  • Financial Planning for Early-Work Stage Choices
  • Financial Planning for Retirement
  • Building Critical Thinking Capability
  • Building Reflective Thinking Capability
  • Building Reflective Practice Capability

Research

  • Life-style and Occupational Choices
  • Investment Portfolio Choices
  • Savings and Borrowings Choices
  • Migration Choices
  • Capability Building & Evolution of Earnings
  • Consumption Choices & Quality of Life