Article
Philanthropy Should be Humble, but not Modest
Apart from building a flexible and resilient framework for the future, philanthropists, civil society and the government must work in tandem so that every rupee is absorbed on the ground We can definitely say that civil society and the philanthropy sector stepped up rapidly in the face of the pandemic, March 2020 onward. Very quickly, […]
Article
What Lies Beyond the Great Anthropause
The virus has shown us the impact of a disregard for nature. Small changes to urban lifestyles could make a big difference Recently, Apple TV released a documentary called The Year Earth Changed. It takes viewers through some delightful scenes of what happened in the world of wild animals while humans were forced to take […]
Panel
Applying an (Eco)system Approach to Funding — Experiences from Foundations and Philanthropies
The webinar tackled the issue that traditional funding models in international development (and beyond) based on siloed interventions and a projectized logic, rigid log-frames and short-term frameworks are not a good fit to foster societal transformations required for the world to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. This is an edited version of a webinar on […]
Article
A Quest to Balance State, Society, Market
In the memory of such social sector professionals and volunteers, we have to rededicate ourselves to the work of supporting and sustaining a resilient samaaj. What better time than this current moment? On April 24, one more life came to a premature end. Civil society lost yet another leader. Prem Kumar Varma died in Delhi […]
Podcast
Rohini Nilekani On The Pleasures Of Being In Nature
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s interview on the Bird Podcast hosted by Shoba Narayan. They discuss Rohini’s favourite birds and why conserving nature is an “enlightened self-interest” for humanity as a whole. Since I was born and brought up in Mumbai, the only birds we saw were crows, sparrows, and sometimes parakeets. […]
Interview
Rohini Nilekani and Arun Kumar | Succeeding in Partnerships
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s conversation with Arun Kumar on Succeeding in Partnerships. The discussion highlights the importance of partnerships in addressing large and complex societal issues and the need for including partnerships in the organisation strategy. Collaboration is an important topic in the social sector today. Collaboration as an idea should, […]
Panel
Rohini Nilekani and Kamaljit Bawa: How to Grow ATREE in the Era of Climate Change
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s conversation with Professor Kamaljit Bawa at Indiaspora Climate Summit on April 20th. They discussed the urgency of climate science and ATREE’s work. Out of all of the areas that I fund, I have come to the realisation that my environmental portfolio is perhaps the most critical as […]
Interview
To Fail is to Have Dared
In this interview with IDR, Rohini speaks about why we need to underwrite failure in the social sector, how philanthropists can support failure in practice, and shares some of her own failures as an activist philanthropist. When working on complex issues of social change, failure is inevitable. Yet, people in the social sector are reluctant […]
Podcast
The Architecture of Good Markets
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani in conversation with Naushad Forbes, business leader and ex-President of the Confederation of Indian Industry, for an episode of India Development Review’s podcast, On the Contrary. Along with Arun Maira, the host of the show, they discuss what markets must include, whom they should serve, and the […]
Others
Close Encounters of the Karia Kind – Rohini Nilekani’s sequel to “Romancing the Black Panther
After five years of trying to spot the elusive black panther – Karia – of the Kabini forest, Rohini finally finds it. But where? And what happens next? In Part 2 of the talk ‘Romancing the Black Panther’ Rohini Nilekani completes her story about her quest for the black panther, and how it brings her […]