Sakunika Wewalaarachchi is a Research Manager at IPS Social Lab in the Institute of Policy Studies. She holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the National University of Singapore and was awarded the Chng Heng Lay Memorial Prize in 2015 for her Honours Dissertation on the dynamics of gender role attitudes and family values in Singapore.
Prior to joining IPS in 2019, she served as a full-time Research Assistant for the NUS Department of Sociology for three years from 2016. As of 2025, she has amassed 9 years of experience in project management/research administration experience, 9 years of experience in conducting in-depth interviews, 6 years of experience in facilitating focus group discussions and 4 years of experience in quantitative analysis.
Over the course of her research career, Sakunika has investigated a broad range of social issues including those related to disability, social capital, neighbourhood confidence, national identity and the impact of Covid-19. In 2021, she also worked closely with the Ministry of Social and Family Development in her role as research analyst for the seminal White Paper on Singapore’s Women’s Development released 28 March 2022. In her current role as research manager, her primary responsibilities involve research administration, project management and stakeholder engagement.
Research Interests
Social Capital, Social Inequality, Intersectionality, Diversity and Inclusion
Publications
- Mathew, M., Lim, E., Wewalaarachchi, S., Sim, K. L. and Nah, S. (2024). Public Attitudes to Persons with Disability and their Inclusion within Singapore Society. IPS Exchange No. 30.
- Wewalaarachchi, S. & Thompson, E. (2019). Singapore: Making Space for Farming. In Gillen, J., Rigg, J., & Thompson, E. (Eds.), Asian Smallholders in Comparative Perspective. Amsterdam University Press.
- Hidayah, A., Devadas, D., Wewalaarachchi, S., & Zain, S. (2020). Report on Singapore Perspectives 2020: Politics. Institute of Policy Studies.