ISDM releases Social Impact Multipliers Report

Mumbai: Indian School of Development Management (ISDM) released ‘Social Impact Multipliers Report’, in collaboration with Sattva consulting to build a strong ecosystem through detailed analysis of perspectives from leaders, funders and ‘enabling organisations’. The report brings together these insights to provide recommendations for funders, Social Purpose Organizations and key stakeholders in the social sector space on leadership development so as to enable social organizations for larger transformative impact.

Indian School of Development Management (ISDM) is a pioneering institution established to develop the discipline of Development Leadership and Management. The institute has been conceptualized and nurtured by a strong team, Ravi Sreedharan – Founder and Director; Suparna Diwakar – Founder and Dean (Academics); Ashish Dhawan – Founder; Gaurav Shah – Founder; Pramath Raj Sinha – Founder; Ravi Thakran – Founder; Rohit Kapoor – Founder; Sharad Agarwal – Founder; and Amit Chandra – Founder.

With 3.3 million Non-Profit Institutions (NPIs) employing over 18.2 million people, supported by contributions from funders, enabling organizations, the government, and businesses, the Indian development sector is one of the largest and most active social economies in the world. Still, there are sizable sections of the population that have been left behind in the Indian growth story as we are placed in the category of medium human development ranking countries on the global index. Social sector leaders and organizations increasingly need to develop their ability to understand and work within this evolving context of complexity and uncertainty.

Speaking about the significance of Leadership development in the Social Sector, Mr. Ravi Sreedharan, Founder Director, ISDM said, “Currently, the Indian Social Sector is marred with varied problems, predominantly due to the lack of an ecosystem for leadership development in this sector. Leadership is vital in impacting the manner in which the large sums of money are spent on social change. Through this report, we are hoping to bring a bigger change in the way the Social Sector is looked at in the country. The CSR community is largely driven by a compliance (to the laws) mind-set and needs to shift to a commitment (to social change) mind-set. This will bring more CSR funds into more systemic and important areas like leadership development that this report has highlighted.

Gaurav Shah, Founder and Director, ISDM added, “Taking learnings from the report, which lays down a clear path on how to approach appropriate leadership development for sustainable social change for scale, we understand the need for a certain kind of leadership and management talent that would help bridge the gap between funders and field organisations, thus helping create mutual respect and understanding, when working towards shared visions of social change”

The social sector has taken a huge leap in terms of growth and evolution. While people have always been at the center of this growth, nurturing of organizational talent and leadership development continue to remain a significant need across the sector. The report emphasizes understanding leadership practice in India’s social sector that will help make informed decisions on areas of investment, design, support, and resources required creating sustainable social change