Agenda
26th February | Closed-Door Convenings
A multi-stakeholder convening across sectors and thematic areas, focusing on intersectionality in impact creation, and charting pathways to facilitate enduring change across target groups.
Day 3 | Godrej One | Mumbai
Multistakeholder Conversations
Time
Session Title
08:30 – 09:00 AM
Registration & Breakfast
9:30 – 11:30 AM
Empowering for the Long Haul: Ensuring Youth Programs Endure
In communities across India, many grassroots organizations have shown that youth-led programs can thrive well beyond a single grant—deeply embedding local ownership and creating lasting impact. Recognizing this potential, Youth Ke Bol—a coalition representing over one million young people—is convening a closed-door discussion with partners and sector experts to explore how these successes can be replicated and strengthened. By spotlighting real-world experiences, examining common challenges, and celebrating innovative solutions, participants will share insights and explore practical ways to sustain youth-focused initiatives over the long run, ensuring that programs continue to empower communities and drive transformative change well beyond initial funding cycles.
9:30 – 11:00 AM
Shaping New Paradigms in Corporate Giving | Enabling Responsible CSR
Shaping New Paradigms in Corporate Giving | Enabling Responsible CSR, explores how we can move beyond conventional CSR giving and bring together innovative approaches to mobilize collective change. While CSR efforts have created a huge momentum for societal change, there is a growing need to build systems that bring together various actors, foster deeper engagement with non-profits and other philanthropic organizations.
This session will highlight how collaboration, capacity-building & ecosystem strengthening initiatives can bolster the social sector, ensuring long-term impact and collective action. We hope to bring together insights from CSR practitioners pioneering these models and sharing insights on integrating innovative approaches, understanding compliance and hearing from powerful grassroots NGO leaders, towards shaping impactful CSR giving.
9:00 – 10:30 AM
Behind the Impact: Prioritizing Mental Health and Well-Being for the Frontline
As nonprofit practitioners, we tend to prioritise caring for the communities we serve – responding to deficits and crisis. We are often overwhelmed. And yet none of us are alone in feeling so. Our conversation will delve into the multifaceted factors affecting the mental health and well-being of development practitioners and frontline responders. We will discuss systemic barriers preventing meaningful mental health conversations and opportunities to make a difference at the nonprofit workplace. An emphasis on the mental health of those driving change can help build a more resilient workforce, better equipped to imagine the possibilities. The ripples would lead to greater positive impact on ground. The reasoning behind our inspiration extends to several cohorts in public service or at the frontline.
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM
The Power of Story: Shaping India’s Tomorrow by Mainstreaming CSR Narratives
India’s CSR landscape holds a distinctive vantage point—one capable of shaping the nation’s growth story in meaningful ways. Yet, for this promise to translate into transformative action, the development sector must better harness the resources, insights, and support that CSR can uniquely provide. The solution lies in crafting impact narratives that go beyond informing. CSR stakeholders must elevate their narratives by refining their intent and deepening their engagement within the sector. This masterclass introduces the approach and methodology being developed at Dasra, designed to empower CSR stakeholders to articulate their unique impact, amplify their contributions, and spark dialogues capable of exponentially advancing the development ecosystem.
12:30 – 02:00 PM
Lunch & Networking
02:00 – 3:00 PM
Building Bright Futures: Transforming Early Childhood Development
Session Partner
Dive into key challenges and opportunities in Early Childhood Development (ECD) as we explore how integrated health, nutrition, and education interventions, innovative philanthropic models, and technology-driven solutions can transform the lives of millions of children in India. Through thematic discussions and collaborative dialogue, this session will drive actionable insights to bridge gaps and create sustainable impact.
02:00 – 3:00 PM
CSO Spotlight Workshop
A workshop style discussion on working with complex ecosystems in India to truly influence change at different levels – with government, communities and other stakeholders to impact the lives of the communities. We hope to hear perspectives on what are the real challenges of working ‘at scale’, the opportunities that exist when working with different stakeholders and the need for patient long-term funding support.
03:15 – 04:15 PM
Leadership for Inclusion and Gender Equity in Business, Philanthropy, and the Impact Sector
The session, structured as a closed-door roundtable, brings together leaders from foundations, nonprofits, and businesses. Our goal is to identify gaps and opportunities in the ecosystem to advance gender inclusive leadership, focusing on both representation and effectiveness. We aim to come away with a set of recommended actions and articulate the role of philanthropy in nurturing an environment that supports these objectives.
This discussion takes place against the backdrop of a shifting leadership landscape, where new narratives and structures are emerging alongside entrenched challenges. The 21st century has seen more women in leadership roles across various sectors – with and without formal positions. Research also exists that women are perceived as more competent in most key leadership capabilities as compared to men and there are clear benefits to having women as leaders. There are also increasingly conversations and desire for spaces to create proximal leadership. India is also seeing an emerging discourse around women-led development towards India @ 2047. Despite these promising developments, there is a persistent gender gap and continued inequity in leadership and decision-making; gender remains limited to binary frameworks; and there are limited conversations and structures to enable intersectional and intergenerational dialogues around leadership.
For the past year, Dasra has been curating dialogues and research on women’s leadership and gender equity across the impact sector, business, and philanthropy. Through this roundtable, we hope to foster deeper collaboration and drive concrete actions toward a more gender-inclusive leadership landscape.
03:45 – 04:45 PM
High Tea & Networking
04:00 – 06:00 PM
Charting your NGO's Tech Journey: A Hands-On Gamified Session
Dive into an immersive, gamified experience tailored for NGO leaders, technology decision-makers, and funders to address the complexities of leveraging technology for social impact. Navigate strategic scenarios such as building in-house solutions, integrating existing platforms, or outsourcing to vendors—each presenting real-world challenges like budget constraints, skill gaps, and organizational alignment. This interactive session combines engaging puzzles with collaborative decision-making to equip participants with actionable insights on selecting the right tech pathways for their organisation, mitigating risks, and maximizing impact. Join us to “escape the room” and leave equipped with actionable strategies for empowering social sector through technology!
06:00 – 07:30 PM
Dasra Social Impact Leadership Program (2024-2025) Graduation Ceremony
Celebrate the culmination of the Dasra Social Impact Leadership Program (2024-2025) journey with a graduation ceremony. This event will honor the achievements, growth, and collaborations fostered throughout the program.
