IDEAS Insights Reflections on Social Innovation in Context: India | Page 6

Whilst visiting an IDEAS Globally colleague in Bangalore, I met Ravi Sreedharan. Ravi quit
his career in international banking to immerse himself in social work, and is now pioneering
the Indian School of Development Management (ISDM). ISDM seeks to build the unique
body of knowledge for development management, and bring the spotlight on development
management as a profession critical for better impact, scalability and sustainability of
organizations working in the development sector.
ISDM provides a balanced alternative to two opposing schools of thought for developing
leadership and management talent for the development sector: The first argument is that a
formal MBA programme is the best tool to apply in a development context. Opposing that
view is the concept that social work should be studied exclusively, whilst the role of
business, management, or innovation on social change is neglected. ISDM bridges these
gaps.
The involvement of external organisations is relatively limited, and success stories of
charities and corporations alike working in India are reliant on working with an
understanding of the depth and breadth of Indian communities and cultures. There was
nowhere where I found a desire for intervention, but instead a desire for the successes to
be amplified nationally and internationally. Not only is social innovation a way to improve
the lives of many people in India, rural and urban communities alike, but the amplification
of local success stories is contributing to a counter narrative that showcases India as a high
achieving and aspiring nation.

I'm unsure of the origins of India's innovation mindset, or even the extent to which it exists.
Whether it’s a combination of more flexible policies towards enterprise, or just an
entrepreneurial culture in general, coupled with immense social need - a multitude of
factors in India have created pockets of innovation and social change, be it the role of
business in enabling empowerment rural housewives, the ease of scale for successful social
tourism, grassroots innovation is driving transformations of individuals and communities at
a striking rate.
As I gather my final reflections, I recall a notably passionate attempt by a guest professor to
convince us that Indian Railways was a social enterprise. Unsurprisingly, this sparked a
great deal of controversy. Though the terminology of social innovation is not universal by
any means, with great scope for disagreement within it, the evidence of willingness in India
to innovate and inspire is undeniable.