8 Graduated Cohorts
of the Post Graduate Program in Development Management
Celebrating A Decade Of Shaping Development Leaders
Since 2016, ISDM has shaped leaders, strengthened organisations, and contributed to a sector that continues to evolve in complexity and ambition. This is the story of how we got here and the work that continues.
WHY ISDM EXISTS
Creating Leaders For
Social Change
India’s social sector carries extraordinary ambition. It tackles some of the country’s most complex challenges—across education, health, livelihoods, climate, and equity—often with limited resources and immense urgency.
Yet the sector’s greatest constraint is rarely intent or effort. Through years of working across social purpose organisations, philanthropy, and management, ISDM’s founders recognised a deeper challenge: the absence of leadership equipped to build and sustain strong organisations at scale.
This was not an isolated gap. It was systemic—and it required a systemic response. ISDM was created to help address that challenge.
How ISDM Works
ISDM’s work is anchored in a clear commitment: to prepare leaders for organisations driving India’s social development. We pursue this through three interconnected efforts.
Leadership Development
Preparing leaders with functional expertise, managerial judgement, and ethical responsibility to lead organisations with clarity and purpose.
Advancing The Discipline Of Development Management
Integrating insights from management, social science, public policy, and lived practice to strengthen how leadership for social development is understood and taught
Ecosystem Capacity Building
Working with organisations, institutions, and networks to strengthen leadership and organisational capability beyond individual roles or tenures.
Together, these efforts enable organisations to operate with greater credibility, resilience, and impact—over time and at scale.
The Journey So Far
Building Leadership Capacity For A Decade
Since 2016, ISDM has grown into a national platform for leadership development in the social sector.
Our Mission
To create leaders for organisations driving India’s social development
Our Vision
A strong and credible social sector led by professionals capable of building organisations that endure
Our Values
The beliefs that shape our intent and guide our work
Our Principles
How we translate our values into practice
About Development Management
