9/23/2015

SMEMagazinesSmallBusinessEntrepreneursMagazineOnlineinIndia

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FiinovationForgingPartnershipsBetweenCorporationsandCSOs
SMEWORLDBureau
September,201 5
The corporations including SMEs hav e today realized the necessity of
dev eloping the society in which it operates, besides generating profit. This
has increased their inv olv ement in lending funds for improv ement of the
community atlarge.Howev er,theirgooddeedsfacebottlenecksduetolack
of ex pertise in monitoring, implementation and ev aluation of utilization of
funds, which are crucial in assessing whether any real change is being
brought on ground. Similarly , the CSOs or the organizations working for
societal dev elopment on ground are unable to implement the projects, and
thus,areforcedtodiscontinuetheiroperations.
ChannelisetheCSR
The dev eloping Indian economy is ex periencing a widening gap between
human dev elopment index and industrial profits. This is where the idea of
Fiinov ationwasestablishedasalinkbetweentherequirementandtheneed.Oursocialdev elopmentsectorex periencesuggestedthatinordertocreate
greaterimpact,thereneedstobeproperresearchandconsultationtowardscreatingaplatformtochannelisetheCSRinv estmentsintherightdirection.
Many corporationsarefindingitdifficulttoaligntheirbusinessobjectiv eswiththeirCSRgoalswhereasmany civ ilsociety organizationsarelanguishing
withoutfunds.Itis,thus,importanttostrategizeaplanthataddressesthechallengesofallthestakeholders.
Therefore, when we dev elop a CSR policy for a corporation, we try to align their business objectiv es with social imperativ es. We also adv ise them to
implementtheirCSRinitiativ eswiththehelpofciv ilsociety organizationswhoareex pertsintheirowndomainlikethecorporationswhoareex pertsin
theirownfield.Hav ingapoolofov er4000NGOs,Fiinov ationhasbeenworkingtowardsfacilitatingaconnectbetweentherightNGOwiththecorporation.
Thus,weforgeapartnershipbetweencorporationsandciv ilsociety organisations.Thispartnershipdirectly impactsthecommunitieswhoaretheultimate
beneficiariesoftheCSRinitiativ es.Basedontriplebottomlineapproachandtailormadeprojects,Fiinov ationsuggestscorporationsonway sofallocating
fundsinaparticularproject.Fromimplementation,monitoringandev aluationtoitsassessment.
ManagementFramework
Fiinov ationensuresfundsarefollowedby ongroundimpact.Theinitiativ esaredesignedontheresultbasedmanagementframeworkwithspecialemphasis
onsustainability ensuringthatpositiv eimpactisbeingcreatedinsocial,economicandenv ironmentalareas.Wehav edifferentpracticessuchasinitiativ e
designandmanagement,CSOCSRpartnership,impactassessmentandsustainability reportingthathelpensuretheseCSRobjectiv esofthecorporations
aremet.

Westartedourjourney in2008withafourmemberteam,andnowweare1 00memberteamthatisworkingtobringachangeinthesocialsector,across

fourareaseducation,health,liv elihoodandenv ironment.Weareknownforhav ingAsia'sfirstproposalresearchlaboratory primarily focusedonhealth,
education, liv elihood and env ironment. With the help of the team, Fiinov ation aims to enhance quality through innov ation and ex tensiv e work across
organizationalv aluechain.Ov erthey ears,Fiinov ationhassuccessfully createdanicheforitselfintheCSRdomain.
CSRandSustainability
Similartoallstartups,wehadourownsetofchallenges.Butwhatmadeourhurdlesev enmoreuniquewaswecamefromav ery nichedomain,wherein,we
notonly hadtomakepeopleawareaboutourserv icesbuthandholdthemtowardscomprehendingtheimportanceofCSR.Onecangaugethedifficulty from
the fact that a handful, of about 1 00 companies, was inv olv ed in CSR. It prov ed to be a task for us to make others take the social dev elopment sector
seriously .Weconcentratedourfocusonsectoralresearchinourinhouseproposalresearchlaboratory bringinginprofessionalsfromthefieldinourteam.
Tofurtherspreadtheawareness,wesharedourv iewsatv ariousnationalandinternationalconferenceswhilelendingv iewsontheimportanceofCSRand
sustainability withindustry leadersandCSRprofessionals.Theseinteractionshelpedusinbringingoutthebestresearchandstrategies.

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9/23/2015

SMEMagazinesSmallBusinessEntrepreneursMagazineOnlineinIndia

InordertobetterconnectCSOswithcorporations,thegov ernmentofIndiaintroducedthenewCompaniesLawin201 4.Thishasopeneddoorsforawide

spectrumofopportunitiesfortheCSOsandcorporationstoworkcollectiv ely onacommonplatformandfindimplementableandsimplifiedsolutionsto
societalissues.Aspartofanicheindustry suchasCSR,whichhasonly startedtogainground,itisunderstandablethatitwilltaketimeforthechangeto
really takeeffect,buttheprocesshasstarted.
Away Forward
Fiinov ationunderstandsCSRisheretostay ,especially aftertherecentmandateby thegov ernment.Ev enthoughitisstillev olv ingandatanascentstage,
corporationswillnowactiv ely getinv olv edongroundwhileCSOshav ebeenpresentedwithahugeopportunity togetthesupportthey hav ebeenlooking
for.AsaCSRconsultancy ,wealsohav etocontinuously ev olv ewithtimewithnewinnov ativ eideasandstrategiesthatareimplementable.Wealsoneedto
meet the ex pectations of both the corporations as well as the civ il society organizations. It is a talked about sector and a much needed one for the
degradation that the society at large is facing, the effects of which will be witnessed in times to come if nothing is done now. We believ e CSR is the way
forward.
Within a short span of time, we hav e been acknowledged at international and national platforms. Our efforts led us to win 'CSR Team of the Y ear' at the
Global CSR Ex cellence & Leadership Awards 201 5 and 'Caring Company Award' at the World CSR Congress 201 5 in Mumbai. Apart from this, we were
adjudged the 'Manager of the Y ear' & 'Best Enterprise of the Y ear in the field of Health, Education, Env ironment and Liv elihood with a focus on CSR &
Sustainability 'SocratesAwardsby EuropeanBusinessAssembly atSummitofLeaders201 4atOx ford.Wewerealsoadjudgedthe'BestInnov ation:Product
orServ ice'forCSR&Sustainability attheWorldCSRCongress201 4heldinMumbai,India.

AboutSoumitroChakraborty
SoumitroChakraborty ,createdanicheintheCSRandSustainability industry andestablishedFiinov ationin2008.HehasstrategizedandimplementedCSR
andSustainability programmesacrossIndiainpartnershipwithv ariouscorporationsandNGOsworkinginthefieldofhealth,env ironment,educationand
liv elihood. With fiinov ation, he put together 'Asia's First Proposal Design and Research Laboratory ' on CSR and Sustainability , which works towards
conv ertingchallengesintoopportunitiesby conductingthoroughresearchandprov idingsimpleandstrategicsolutionstoorganisation.
Backed by a rich ex perience in the serv ices and social sector, Chakraborty serv es on the board of sev eral organizations as an adv isor for sustainable
dev elopment,corporatesocialresponsibility andenv ironmentmanagement.Heisalsoav isitingfaculty tosomeinstitutionsliketheInstituteofDirectors
for'Sustainability Corporate,SocialandEnv ironmentalResponsibility 'andhasparticipatedatv ariousev entsasapanelist,speaker,jury andmoderator
and has also contributed his v iews on CSR & Sustainability in numerous publications. Chakraborty has been a part of sev eral seminars and conferences
including Institute of Directors (IOD) National Conv ention on Corporate Gov ernance and Sustainability , CII Conference on 'Bridging the Gap: Building
Ecosy stemforInclusiv eV alueCreation'201 4,IOD1 4thGlobalLondonConv ention201 4,1 6thWorldCongressonEnv ironmentManagementin201 4,and
many more.
UnderChakraborty 'sableleadership,fiinov ationwasconferredwiththe'CSRTeamoftheY ear'attheGlobalCSREx cellence&LeadershipAwards201 5and
'CaringCompany Award'attheWorldCSRCongress,Mumbai.Hewasbestowedwiththemedalof'ManageroftheY ear'and'BestEnterpriseoftheY ear'in
the field of health, education, env ironment and liv elihood with a focus on CSR & Sustainability by the European Business Assembly , and the 'Summit of
Leaders' Socrates Award Ceremony in 201 4 at Ox ford, UK. He is also the recipient of the 'Best Innov ation: Product or Serv ice' award at the Social
Innov ationAwards,201 4'attheWorldCSRDay andhasalsowonaccoladesforhisinnov ativ eideasandhisdy namicleadershipatfiinov ation.

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