PIC SI Lab mentors and experts during discussions at the roundtable
On Tuesday, July 2, the Social Innovation Lab hosted a roundtable on social innovation in the tribal sector. Experts and practitioners discussed the challenges and opportunities within tribal communities, emphasising the need for a community-based approach and local engagement for the development of social innovation tribal communities.
PIC General Secretary Mr. Prasant Girbane underscored our commitment to fostering innovations that impact tribal lives, stressing that their initiatives are not limited to traditional NGO roles but aim to drive innovation across the country. Mr. Abhay Vaidya, Director, PIC, highlighted the initiatives- playbooks, conferences, and mentorship as pillars of the SI Lab, emphasising their role in nurturing innovation within tribal communities. Mr. Ram Iyer, an SI Lab mentor, outlined the Social Enterprise Mentorship Programme (SEMP) and spoke about the need to foster innovation across the country, stressing on solutions “by the tribal, for the tribal.”
Participants included Mr. Proteek Kundu from NeevJivan Foundation, Dr. Madhav Sathe from The Bombay Mothers and Children Welfare Society, and Mr. Pratap Gaikwad from Sawarkar Educational Trust, who addressed various challenges such as educational improvements, water storage solutions, and skill development in agriculture.
Dr. Rashmi Tiwary of Aahan Foundation spoke about preventing tribal youth from turning to Naxalism and about promoting women’s entrepreneurship. Mr. Milind Thatte from TEER & Vayam highlighted upgraded labour opportunities, while Mr. Ganesh Neelam from Tata Trusts focused on empowering women through the Lakhpati Kisan programme.
Dr. Anjali Deshpande from Drishti Stree Adhyayan Prabodhan Kendra discussed issues like migration of girls and the need for better government scheme implementation. Mr. Gyan Prakash from the SBI Foundation addressed project continuity and career guidance for tribal youth. Ms. Rajashree Joshi from BAIF emphasised problem-solving innovations and Mr. Mansur Khorasi from Dilasa Sansthan focused on irrigation projects and partnerships with tribal communities. Ms. Shreya Kothawale highlighted efforts to promote tribal culture through tourism.
Discussions spanned across education, skill development, livelihood diversification, agriculture, art, culture, heritage preservation, and leveraging technology for market connectivity. The session concluded with a call for more effective policies, customer-centric approaches, and public consultation to drive sustainable growth and positive change in social innovation in the tribal sector.
Roundtable Conference – Corporate Social Responsibility in the Education Sector
L to R: Top left: Mr. Dinanath Kholkar and Mr. Abhay Vaidya during the conference.
PIC’s Social Innovation Lab (SI Lab) organised a roundtable conference on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in the Education Sector’, on May 28, 2024.Attended by CSR heads from Volkswagen, KPIT, Persistent, Thermax, and many other companies, along with social entrepreneurs and special invitees, the conference highlighted the need for key stakeholders in the education sector to collaborate with those in the corporate sector, with social entrepreneurs, and with other stakeholders for the betterment of education.The conference agenda was to understand the initiatives of the CSR companies, foster collaboration through learning and sharing, and discuss the challenges that need to be addressed, including the pressing issue of funding.
The roundtable was moderated by PIC Member Mr. Dinanath Kholkar.
Roundtable Conference – Corporate Social Responsibility
Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar and Dr. Vijay Kelkar during the roundtable proceedings, along with Mr. Dinanath Kholkar
PIC’s Social Innovation Lab organised an exclusive CSR Roundtable and lunch along with the 11th National Conference on Social Innovation, from 1.30 PM to 2.30 PM on 17th November 2023.
The roundtable aimed at facilitating connections among CSR heads at the conference, providing them an opportunity to share insights into the CSR focus areas of their respective companies.
Secondly, it sought to propose a framework for sustained engagement with CSR leaders in Pune, envisioning the organisation of theme-based roundtables at agreed-upon frequencies to foster continued collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Lastly, it aimed at eliciting updates from participants on how their companies actively support social innovation through their CSR initiatives.
The event, structured around these key objectives, served as a platform for meaningful dialogue and collaboration among CSR leaders, laying the groundwork for future endeavours in corporate social responsibility and social innovation. The roundtable witnessed active participation from industry representatives.
Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, President, PIC, and Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Vice President, PIC, led the proceedings, alongside Mr. Dinanath Kholkar, Senior VP, TCS, and Member, PIC. Among the distinguished attendees were CSR heads and decision-makers from organisations such as Tata Power, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Electricals, Tata Trust, Reliance, Weikfield, and Forbes Marshall. Mentors from the PIC SI Lab shared valuable insights from their experiences as social innovators.The participants from backgrounds such as healthcare, environment, education, rural development, and critical societal issues including child trafficking and malnutrition shared their company stories. CSR heads addressed the challenges encountered in the funding process.Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar congratulated the CSR heads for their impactful work. He stressed the influence of the CSR industry and the resonance between their efforts and the PIC SI Lab’s mission – to transform social innovation into a movement.
Concluding the session, he said: “We have a billion problems, and each problem is important to solve. While each of us works towards solving these problems, we need to have measurement metrics related to the outcome. We also have to stay connected with each other and help everyone with solutions.”