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Systems Change
We believe that systems change is essential to effectively address India’s growth and developmental challenges. Achieving large-scale population impact requires a cadre of organisations that adopt a nonlinear approach, working collaboratively with the government to drive meaningful transformation.
What is Systems Change ?
A systems change approach is characterised by four building blocks.

Address Root Causes

Going upstream and tackling the entire web of root causes, rather than solving for the symptoms.

Population-Level Impact

Interventions are designed with an intent to solve at a population scale.

Sustainability

Impact is embedded beyond the period of intervention and does not regress to the old norm, through Government or Market adoption.

Shift in Mindset and Values

Impact results in a change in mindsets or values of the ecosystem.

Our Approach

At The Convergence Foundation, we incubate and support organisations that drive transformative, large-scale impact through systems change. These organisations, which we call System Support Organisations (SSOs), address critical capacity gaps, inform policymaking and introduce innovative solutions, working in close partnership with governments at various levels. Given the government’s pivotal role in driving social outcomes, with expenditure on social services amounting to nearly 8% of GDP, our vision is to make systems change, powered by government collaboration, the foundation of India’s developmental progress. This approach, we believe, is critical to impacting 1 billion+ Indians and beyond.
Knowledge and Narrative Building
We focus on knowledge and narrative building to champion systems change. By conducting research, sharing insights, amplifying success stories, and driving conversations on systems change, we inspire collective action and foster understanding. 
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Systemic Impact Exemplars: Unique Approaches Towards Solving India’s Development Challenges

The report profiles 20 of India’s leading System Support Organisations, and aims to inspire and inform other social purpose organisations by building evidence on what works in the Indian context. It serves as a comprehensive knowledge resource, intended to shape thinking on systems change.

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Wealth With Purpose

On July 18, TCF hosted an event in Mumbai, in collaboration with Accelerate Indian Philanthropy (AIP), Boston Consulting Group (BCG), A.T.E. Chandra Foundation, India Impact Sherpas, and Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. This event marked the launch of AIP and BCG’s collaborative report on private Indian philanthropy and featured discussions on TCF's report, 'Systemic Impact Exemplars'. The gathering brought together philanthropists, CSR leaders, and thought leaders to explore how private Indian philanthropy can be harnessed to drive systemic change.

Ashish Dhawan, Founder-CEO of The Convergence Foundation, opened the event by underscoring the transformative power of philanthropy. He highlighted that supporting systems change offers philanthropists the highest RoI in terms of scale and sustainable impact, and expressed his hope that the event’s discussions would inspire new ideas and compel attendees to consider sustainable, population-level impact as an essential lens guiding their decisions on what and whom to support.

Rohini Nilekani, the Chairperson of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, and Ajay Piramal, Chairman and Executive Director of Piramal Group, delivered the keynote address. Nilekani urged philanthropists to support initiatives designed for scale from the get go to achieve systemic impact. Piramal highlighted the need for collaboration with the government, noting that philanthropic capital is much smaller than government spending in the social sector.

A panel discussion on ‘Unlocking Funding for Systemic Impact’ emphasised the catalytic potential of flexible philanthropic capital for System Support Organisations (SSOs), and how it allows them the freedom to explore, learn, and adapt within their systems. Dr. Rukmini Banerji, CEO of Pratham Education Foundation, highlighted that patient and flexible capital enabled the development of ASER from village report cards. She emphasised that unrestricted financial support from the Indian diaspora, though modest, was crucial for this progress. Rizwan Koita, Co-Founder of Koita Foundation and CitiusTech, described their positive experience collaborating with government bodies like NHA and NABH to support India's digital health transformation. By building internal teams within these organisations, they have successfully strengthened institutions over the past 2.5 years. The discussion was moderated by Ashish Dhawan.

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Creating Systemic Impact

To advance the dialogue on systems change, TCF hosted an event in partnership with Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Centre for Exponential Change, and India Impact Sherpas on 'Creating Systemic Impact'. The event brought together thought-leaders and philanthropists to discuss what systems change entails and how it can be supported by philanthropists and CSRs. Rohini Nilekani, the Chairperson of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, delivered the keynote address where she emphasised the importance of creating outsized impact and how that can be created by the coming together of all relevant stakeholders, especially philanthropists. A panel discussion on ‘Unlocking Funding for Systemic Impact’ brought forth many important aspects of how organisations that have adopted systems change can be supported. Murugan Vasudevan, the CEO of Veddis Foundation, spoke about how successful systems change requires unrestricted funding and needs to be driven analytically as well as emotionally. Srikanth Viswanathan, the CEO of Janaagraha, highlighted the need for funders to make “long-term bets.” Shruti Shibulal, the CEO and Director of Tamara Leisure Experiences Pvt. Ltd., spoke about how The Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives (SFPI) has in fact been making long-term bets and investing in people for years on end so that they can pull themselves and their families out of poverty. Sumit Tayal, the CEO of Give, underlined the criticality of engaging CSRs in meaningful dialogues about funding systems change initiatives since CSRs make up for a large segment of funding provided to nonprofits. The discussion was moderated by Praveen Khanghta, the Head of Strategy and Investments at The Convergence Foundation.

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Systemic Impact Exemplars: Unique Approaches Towards Solving India’s Development Challenges

On May 3, TCF launched its flagship report titled ‘Systemic Impact Exemplars: Unique Approaches Towards Solving India’s Development Challenges.’ The report is a collaborative effort between TCF and India Impact Sherpas, and is a first-of-its-kind attempt to understand systems change in the Indian context. It profiles 20 of India’s leading System Support Organisations (SSOs). The report aims 
to inspire and inform other organisations to adopt systems change by building evidence on what works in the Indian context. The report was launched at an event in New Delhi and saw Vini Mahajan, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti; and Hari Menon, Director, India Country Office, Gates Foundation; among other esteemed guests.

Unlocking Systemic Philanthropy
Systemic Philanthropy strives for transformative change. By addressing root causes and enabling large-scale, population-level outcomes, it delivers the highest ROI. At TCF, we aim to inspire and empower philanthropists to embrace a systemic approach in their giving, fostering sustainable and meaningful development.
Building and Enabling System Support Organisations
We incubate and support organisations that drive transformative impact through systems change. System Support Organisations (SSOs) are a new class of "impact unicorns", distinguished not by billion-dollar valuations but by their ability to address India’s major development challenges through strategic collaboration with the government, achieving meaningful, large-scale change.
To know more about opportunities to collaborate, write to us at [email protected]
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The Convergence Foundation seeks to be a powerful catalyst in India’s development journey, by creating momentum around pivotal ideas that have the highest potential for transformational change.

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