ISDM is committed to building knowledge, facilitating evidence-based research rooted in real-world challenges, and developing scalable solutions that drive meaningful impact. Each year, the Fellowship focuses on key themes designed to generate practical insights and solutions, ensuring that research and practice strengthen the social sector and drive lasting change.
Data science can transform the social sector - but are Data Science resources accessible to all? This Fellowship bridges the gap in data science accessibility in the social sector by offering a platform for innovation. It empowers Fellows to build open-source solutions that address key challenges in the sector and help drive impact on a larger scale.
Objectives
Focus Areas
Approach
Output
This theme aims to drive more private capital towards grassroots organisations by developing innovative financial solutions. Through tools, instruments, approaches, and frameworks, it will help organisations access diverse funding sources beyond traditional avenues, fostering financial resilience and amplifying their impact on the communities they serve.
Create innovative financial tools, backed by solid research, that empower grassroots organisations to overcome funding challenges and create systemic change for long term sustained social change.
Build a collaborative network of researchers, finance experts, and practitioners to ideate, prototype, define and tailor innovative financial solutions to grassroots needs.
It prioritises sectors including but not limited to rural development, climate resilience, gender equity, and primary healthcare.
Open to individuals with a background in research or practice within social sector organisations. An emphasis on understanding of local contexts and challenges is desired to ensure relevance and effectiveness.
The outputs can include, but are not limited to, reports, toolkits, frameworks, financial instruments, program prototypes, and case studies.
Identify and address geographical biases in private philanthropic funding through research-based solutions.
Tackle regional funding gaps in philanthropy, especially CSR, using data-driven strategies for underserved areas with low development indicators.
Open to researchers and practitioners, with preference for SPO leaders and experts. Applicants working in underserved regions like the North-East, Bihar, J&K, etc. are encouraged to apply.
Flexible and tangible products, tools, models, program designs, or prototypes (e.g., reports, toolkits, programs, short films) that highlight solutions to unlock philanthropic capital in underserved geographies.