At the sectoral level, there is a growing recognition among social purpose organisations to invest in leadership and capacity building
Let’s start with two seemingly incompatible facts. First, India ranks 130 out of 180 countries in the Human Development Report (United Nations, 2018). Second, the country has around 3.2 million registered Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) — which means that Indians have more NGOs per capita than hospital beds.
While we have a long way to go with respect to attainment of social equity and justice, efforts for the same are innumerous. These efforts have spanned across the country and are diverse in domain — from grassroots empowerment to Government-partnered undertakings. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that the social sector is at the forefront of providing relief and maintenance.
At a time when funding is massively diverted for COVID-related relief and many people have lost their jobs, we must remember the importance of fostering leadership and talent to steer us during these turbulent times.
For Social Purpose Organisations (SPOs), capacity building serves as an investment in organisational growth, resilience and sustainability, rather than a cost.
The non-profits need to be sustainable for a far-reaching and measurable impact. Sustainability can only be achieved when the leadership within the organisation has a long-term vision for success. A systemic gap in investing in leadership development threatens organisational sustainability. A lack of leadership development in the sector leads to SPOs that are founder-driven. Overdependence on a single leader, often the founder, and the lack of a second line of leadership reduces the life span and efficiency of a non-profit.
If India has to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals towards realising a more equitable form of development, then the role of civil society organisations cannot be ignored. The sector needs investments of different kinds: Money, people and intent. We need skilled and sensitive citizens who can passionately contribute in meaningful ways to the sector. However, in the past, non-profit organisations have not been considered aspirational as they were unable to rival, culturally and monetarily, the dazzling corporate world. This has been slowly changing over the last couple of years. The social sector is no longer limited to only NGOs. With the startup boom in India, the gates for young social entrepreneurs to bring innovative models into the sector to drive change has also been opened. SELCO, an enterprise providing innovative solar energy solutions, is a prime example of a social business striving to solve the problem of energy scarcity in rural India. The rise of philanthropy and investment from high-net worth individuals is also pushing the sector to recalibrate its strategy and organisational structures, making it conducive for talent to enter into the sector. According to the 2019 Bain Report, philanthropic giving has grown 11 per cent since 2015. While that doesn’t account for the effect of the pandemic, it is an indicator of changing social priorities and patterns.
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) law mandates businesses to invest or contribute to the social sector. The funding flow has created an opportunity for non-profits to not only access more funds but also work with the funders in designing and evolving models for impact assessment. This helps in measuring effectiveness internally as well as externally. At the sectoral level, there is a growing recognition among organisations to invest in leadership with various programmes on developing leadership and the capacity with incubators. Accelerators run by non-profit organisations and universities expanding their courses, aimed at the social sector, have also been a great push in the right direction.
Through an unprecedented crisis, the development sector has remained resilient and continues to fight for the vision of India as an equitable society. The pandemic has revealed not only our own ability to swiftly adapt and respond to hardship, but also a shift in the larger mindset. The focus now towards building organisational capacity and individual skill is needed for sustainability.
The writer is founder and director, India Leaders for Social Sector. The views expressed are personal.