Rajen Govender is the founder and owner of KhyAna, a research consultancy established in 1997 to provide specialised knowledge services to the public and private sectors both nationally and globally. He has a BA Honours from UKZN, an MA from New York University and a MA and PhD from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His core competencies are in quantitative and qualitative social research methodologies, sampling design, advanced quantitative modelling, monitoring and evaluation, indicator research, strategy formulation, scenario planning, data calibration and benchmarking and research quality management. His content expertise covers various public policy areas (health, education, safety and security and foreign policy), household poverty, service delivery quality assessment, local development, local government, institutional performance enhancement, mobile telecommunications and digital media.

Rajen has served as consultant to various public sector clients, including the Office of the Presidency, National Treasury, various National Departments and Provincial Governments, the CSIR, HSRC, and the governments of Ethiopia, Uganda, Lesotho and Jordan. He has also served as advisor to the NRF, the South African Cities Network, the CSD and the MSH. His has consulted to various multilateral and bilateral agencies such as the World Bank, the UNDP, EU, GTZ, DFID and IDRC. His private sector work covers market segmentation models, market simulations, addressable market analysis, consumer decision making models and consumer behaviourial change. His private sector clients include Cashbank, MTN SA (Consumer), MTN SA (Corporate), MTN Swaziland, and Multichoice Africa.

Rajan has extensive teaching experience at both graduate and undergraduate level, having worked and taught at universities both locally and abroad. In addition to teaching, his work in the tertiary sector covered development of new MA degrees (one in Research Psychology and another in Comparative Local Development), establishment of undergraduate and graduate community outreach and research programmes, support to research institutes, and the design, funding and management of multi-method research projects and studies. Most recently he served as Professor of Research and Development in the Faculty of Economics and Finance at TUT.

He is a founding member and Director of the Clouds of Hope Aids Orphanage in Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal and is an active supporter of various non-profit organisations, including the Red Cross Hospital Children’s Trust, the Peninsula School Feeding Association, and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. He also serves on various advisory boards and is a director in two private companies.