CSR is playing a vital role in developing India. India CSR Summit & Exhibition 2017 is the biggest CSR event in India, bringing together companies, NGOs, Government agencies, social enterprises and advisory organizations to share and learn. It's a platform to showcase projects and programs; to learn from peers; to initiate new partnerships; to find new resources; and to understand how CSR is playing a vital role in developing India. Krishi Jagran being the Agri Media Partner also participated and witnessed the first hand initiatives of the 120 exhibitors with 2100 delegates with 300 CSR heads 0f 1400 organizations. The overall scenario was very rosy and impressive. The first day first show was having full impact.
The CEO Forum panel discussion and presentation was the crux of the CSR Summit. It is the result of a consciously chosen set of strategies goals. So, it is the brand benefits & employee motivation; License to operate & supply chain ecosystem improvement; Product & process innovation, new market development; National & Global Institution building for impact. It is the strong links between business capabilities & benefit, and social impact and should not be confused with random unrelated projects of kindness.
The mega sessions were on New face of philanthropy approach, how startups are empowering our traditional NGOs (Hosted by MSDF); Launch of India CSR Outlook Report 2017; CEOs Forum on CSR, compliance and collaborations; Technology for better impacts; Better education through CSR; Creating livelihoods opportunities through CSR; Grant-making for impacts; Opportunities for corporates and incubators to partner under CSR; Skilling through CSR; Swachh Bharat through CSR: Solutions for tomorrow; Better healthcare through CSR Breaking silos, collaborating for impacts; Corporate engagement to address malnutrition challenge; and Empowering women through CSR.
The special highlights were Employee giving: Managing it in a better way; Solar for communities; Water ATMs, experiences from the ground; Technology in classrooms; and CSR Heads interaction and breakfast sessions.
The master class was Design Thinking is a globally recognized process/method for innovation and creative problem solving. It is represented as an intersection of desirability (what people need), feasibility (what technology and other available resources can achieve), and viability (what is financially sustainable). It is now being widely adopted by social impact organizations across the world and in India. Social challenges often require systemic solutions that are grounded in the consumer’s needs. In addition, these challenges are distinctly localized in nature compared to corporate business situations Design Thinking’s goal is to focus first on the people being served, enabling them to find a solution that’s better. By working closely with the consumers, design thinking allows high-impact solutions to bubble up from below rather than being imposed from the top. Iterative prototyping and testing of the solutions ensure that meaningful and sharp solutions are made in a much shorter time span Design Thinking has been used by NGOs in India such as Sampark Foundation, Protsahan etc. Tinker Labs has been a pioneer of design thinking in the country and has worked extensively in the social impact sector for organizations such as the Ashoka Foundation, NGO’s affiliated with IRMA etc.
The CSR Impact Awards were also the centre of attraction for the participants and a recognition towards their work. The CSR Impact Awards is an initiative of NGOBOX to encourage companies, CSR foundations and CSR implementing agencies to deliver high impacts through CSR projects and adopt multi-stakeholder approach leading to excellence in project outcomes. This initiative focuses on identifying high impact CSR projects in 15 categories at Pan-India level. The Awards seek to appreciate project specific impacts made by the organizations in particular thematic areas, to set benchmark in project planning, identification of partners and delivery of results.
