CII launches IMPACT EAST, attempts to bring together all stakeholders

Kolkata, Apr 28 (UNI) The disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is different from any other external disruption the social sector has seen before.
Macroeconomic and socio-political stressors will have huge implications on India’s ability to achieve SDG goals, on funding pipelines, and on government priorities, potentially creating an environment where re-invention of solutions is critical to ensure the well-being of the communities.
India’s complex and ambitious development agenda cannot be addressed by a sole stakeholder. It needs urgent and formal collaboration between stakeholders, planning business, government and civil society. Now more than ever before, there is a critical need for these diverse stakeholders, who are already shaping and witnessing key policy, business, funding and operational shifts, to collaborate and converge into the development of a strong and sustainable ecosystem for adolescents in India. Thus, pro-active risk assessments and comprehensive decision planning are urgently called for.
Given this background Confederation of Indian Industry is organizing a Virtual Forum ‘Impact East’ for a couple of weeks starting today. This multi-stakeholder dialogue will take a deeper look on social sector’s power and purposes, diving deep into the sector’s history and exploring its boundaries, limitations, and opportunities, with a special focus on how social investment has both contributed to and worked to dismantle inequities.
This forum will be a blended experience of fundraising deck, master classes for CBOs, fireside chats with social sector leadership. This will bring together corporates, practitioners, fundraisers, scholars, and advisors to critically evaluate the prevalent principles of and trends in grant making and investing and re-envision how the field can continue to evolve.
At the inaugural of IMPACT EAST, Padmashri Lakhimi Baruah, Managing Director, Konoklota Mahila Urban Cooperative Bank said that Civil society organizations should ideally collaborate with the government in a constructive and meaningful way to build back better, and enhance India’s preparedness to face any threat on the development of its society and people.
Speaking at the occasion, Vijay Dewan, Chairman, CII Eastern Region & MD, Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels Limited stated that “This crisis has laid bare the great gaps and schisms in India’s health, food, sanitation, education, housing and social protection systems; and the inequities of caste, gender and class that underpin them.” Mr PS Reddy, Chairman, CII ER Subcommittee on CSR & AA & Managing Director, Jamipol Ltd. opined that “one of the few positive consequences of this crisis is that solutions traditionally advocated by civil society are no longer deemed politically unfeasible.”
IMPACT EAST will have 5 masterclasses on Understanding the Modern Donor: How to Design Systems That Build Lasting Donor Relationships at Scale; The Art of Negotiation; How to Spin Up a Classy Campaign Without a Designer and Social Media Tools to Use and When; Evidence-based Approaches to Improve Outcomes and Nurturing Talent and Role of Leadership.
There will be panel discussions till May 11 on A Vision for The Future – From Providing Relief to Building Resilience and How Innovative Partnerships Leverage Unique Capabilities of Collaborators. The project will also have Project Pitching Deck for NGOs & CBOs.