Events

Events

2nd CDFI-IICA Workshop on Digital Tools for Effective Implementation and Management of CSR Projects

Nov 09, 2017

CDFI in collaboration with IICA conducted a one-day workshop for corporates, Implementation Agencies and NGOs on Digital Tools for Effective Implementation and Management of CSR projects in Mumbai on Nov 9, 2017. This is the second workshop being held to enable conversations around technological innovation in CSR space. The first workshop had been held on August 10, 2017 in New Delhi.

The inaugural session began with a round of introductions and Mr Sundaram Ramaswamy, CDFI welcomed the participants and set the context of the workshop. Smt Gayatri Subramaniam, IICA then spoke about Corporate Social Responsibility, the CSR landscape in India and the impact that CSR spend can have.

Ms. Leigh Fisher, Aga Khan Academy and Rajan Thampy, Manager-Outreach, Aga Khan academy spoke about how the partnership with CDFI started after meeting at the previous CDFI-IICA workshop in Delhi and the subsequent Anganwadi transformation project which is working towards the digitization of all anganwadis in Mahabubnagar district in Telangana using the CDFI-supported solution.

Elaborating more about the CSR landscape in India, Ms Gayatri Subramaniam spoke at length about all the applicable government regulations (in particular Companies Act). She explained what a corporate organisation has to do on a mandatory basisi if it falls under the gambit of Companies Act, 2013.

The next session was designed as a simulation exercise where the participants were divided into 5 different work-groups. Each group presented a case each with distinct approach to CSR implementation using digitisation, innovative digital applications to meet delivery challenges and the monitoring of impact of respective CSR projects. The group presentations brought out the issues and challenges associated with project tracking and fund utilisation. Against this backdrop, CDFI team presented the following of its innovations, to demonstrate how these challenges could be addressed.

Sunidhi, CSR fund management & service delivery platform being implemented in VSTF Maharashtra,

BETS, Benefit Entitlement & Tracking solution piloted in nutrition delivery in Palghar Maharashtra and now in Mahabubnagar, Telangana; and

KANCHI, Kisan’s Advancement through Cashless Innovation, being piloted in Tamil Nadu

The demonstrations were well received and many participants had questions on adoption of these innovations with specific reference to their project situations.