Gayani is a Senior Research Manager at LIRNEasia, where she researches the digital economy, policy, and regulation in South and Southeast Asia. Her core interests within this space include digital infrastructure, skills, social protection, inclusion, and policy communications.
She is a mixed-methods researcher, engaging in studies for clients such as UNESCAP, Google, World Bank, Mozilla, APC, and IDRC (Canada). She has also engaged in consultancies for the Ministry of Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology of Sri Lanka and EY.
Gayani holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the National University of Singapore, and a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of London.
Some areas she has researched include
- Digital technology adoption during COVID-19, and resultant impacts on work, education, healthcare, and platform use in India and Sri Lanka
- Social protection in Sri Lanka, with a focus on improved targeting and delivery (ongoing)
- Policy & regulatory ecosystems relevant to community networks in South and Southeast Asia (ongoing)
- Efficiency of Universal Service Funds in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka
- Digital accessibility and inclusion for persons with disability in Myanmar
- Online perceptions and behaviour changes associated with internet use, privacy and security in Myanmar
- Net neutrality and zero-rating in India and Myanmar