Narayan Gopalkrishnan

Narayan Gopalkrishnan is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Cairns Institute, James Cook University, with over thirty years of cross-sector experience spanning academia, NGOs, and private enterprise across Australia and Asia. He serves as Chair of the Social Enterprise Network for the Tropics (sentfnq.com.au) and Director of the Queensland Social Enterprise Council, while previously founding the Centre for Multicultural and Community Development at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

His research centers on social enterprise ecosystems and participatory community development, with deep expertise in rural Asian contexts, human rights frameworks, and mental health integration. He champions holistic approaches to social justice through methodologies that bridge grassroots engagement with policy implementation, particularly in tropical and multicultural settings.

Narayan has coordinated university courses in community development, mental health, and social policy while producing industry-guided publications on structural change for government-citizen engagement. His advisory work includes managing large-scale rural development projects and contributing to UNESCO/UNU initiatives, alongside founding the Multicultural Development Association – Queensland's primary settlement services provider.

He leads the Social Enterprise Network for the Tropics to foster entrepreneurial solutions to regional challenges and serves on the Social Enterprise World Forum academic committee. His practice integrates academic rigor with community action through networks like the Australian Red Cross and Queensland's Multicultural Community Ministerial Advisory Committee.