About Dr. Dorji Penjore

Assistant Professor Dr. Dorji Penjore (PhD) is a distinguished Bhutanese academic and researcher with expertise in social anthropology, development studies, and governance. He earned his PhD in Social Anthropology from The Australian National University (ANU) in 2016, where his dissertation focused on the persistence of sharecropping in Bhutan. With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Penjore is currently the Head of the Centre for Research and Innovation at the Royal Institute of Management in Thimphu (2024 – present).

Dr. Penjore has made significant contributions to Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) framework, notably through his roles at the Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (2002 – 2024) and the Ministry of Health & Education (1998 – 2002). His research covers a wide range of topics, including Bhutanese folklore, decentralization, governance, and GNH. Key publications include Gross National Happiness: Practice and Measurement (2008) and Love, Courtship, and Marriage in Rural Bhutan (2009).

Throughout his career, Dr. Penjore has earned several prestigious awards, including the J.G. Crawford Award for the best Master’s thesis (2008) and an Endeavour Scholarship from the Australian Government (2012). His work continues to shape global conversations on Bhutanese culture, sustainable development, and alternative models of well-being.