S. Vishnu Sharma
ISDM (Indian School of Development Management) was centre of attraction recently when it celebrated Development Management Day.
Development Management Day was celebrated as the culmination of ISDM’s ‘Development Management Week’ that focused on the theme ‘Re-imagining the new normal with Development Management’.
The theme was in keeping with the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis that it could pose for the future.
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The moment turned special when ISDM presented three research reports that provided insight into the contours of leadership and management practice towards re-imagining the new normal with development management.
The event also showcased the efforts of ISDM in working with esteemed partners to understand and engage with challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic.
ISDM released a report on ‘Emerging Challenges in the post-COVID Context’ in association with IMPACT that works for the education of girls in socially marginalised and disempowered communities.
Fomer IAS officer and advior to Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Amarjeet Sinha said when it comes to communities, the 70 million women and three million elected panchayat leaders of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) have played a critical role in preventing COVID-19 and its consequences for rural society.
Social capital is the essence of development Management, he said speaking at the annual flagship event of ISDM.
Founder and director of ISDM, Mr. Ravi Sreedharan said COVID-19 pandemic has drastically reversed the positive impact of civil society and the social sector over the past four decades by taking away livelihood and pushing millions back into poverty.
ISDM celebrates great development management day
‘It is imperative for us to think of innovative measures and approaches to ensure impact at scale.
ISDM director and founder further said the need of the hour is leadership and management talent that has the knowledge, ability, attitude, and skills to lead social purpose organisations and create impact at scale in sustained ways.
ISDM is even more committed to building the knowledge frameworks and a cadre of professional leaders and managers for the Sector Coordination Group, founder of ISDM said.
Founder and director of ISDM said it (ISDM) has more than 200 strong alumni network, several renowned practitioners in the field of development management as faculty and has received grants from leading philanthropic organisations.
In addition, ISDM has also published several research reports and case studies in the year 2020 in its efforts to build a rich and agile body of knowledge to strengthen the development management ecosystem, said Dr. Ravi Sreedharan.
Mr. Sinha said there is an imminent need to focus on development management.
Technology when used efficiently along with local-level community information, innovation and social capital can help resolve developmental concerns, he said while speaking at the flagship event of ISDM.
What comes out clearly is that the discipline of Development Management, especially in challenging times (as has been demonstrated by the role played by SHGs and the Panchayat Bodies) can create a safety net of a kind, even for communicable diseases and pandemic periods, he said.
Ravi Sreedharan of ISDM said COVID-19 pandemic has drastically reversed the positive impact of civil society and the social sector over the past four decades by taking away livelihood and pushing millions back into poverty.
‘It is imperative for us to think of innovative measures and approaches to ensure impact at scale.’
The need of the hour is leadership and management talent that has the knowledge, ability, attitude, and skills to lead social purpose organisations and create impact at scale in sustained ways, he said during Development Management Day celebrations.
The organisation is even more committed to building the knowledge frameworks and a cadre of professional leaders and managers for the Sector Coordination Group, he said.
ISDM co-founder Dr. Pramath Sinha said from a development management perspective, the context has changed completely.
The problems that we all are trying to work on, instead of making progress, we have regressed in the last one year due to an unprecedented force in the form of COVID-19, said Dr Pramath.
The inequities that we have been trying to solve have become worse.
It is a grave reality that needs to be accepted that whether it is the issues of health, gender, or education, the gap has widened, said Dr. Pramath of ISDM.
SPO (Social Purpose Organisations) will require a lot of time, patience, grit, perseverance and a new kind of reaffirmation of the commitment, said the co-founder of ISDM.
The flagship event was marked by presence of eminent practitioners and thought leaders from the Indian social sector.
Among others who spoke were Dr. Shubhangi Sharma, Executive Director of IIMPACT, Ms. Irina Snissar, Program Design and Knowledge Director of ASPIRe and Ms. Mukti Bosco, Healing Fields Foundation.