Features

Special IDR features and series, including editorial collaborations.

kirit parikh blue background--climate crisis

IDR Interviews | Kirit Parikh
A glimpse of the remarkable life of Dr Kirit Parikh, who has been an integral part of India's public policy landscape for almost five decades.

IDR Explains

A comprehensive introduction to a development topic, concept, or approach that captures expert views as well as the latest secondary research on the topic.

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IDR Explains | Local government in India
In just seven minutes and five questions, get an introduction to local government in India—what it is, its structure, functions, sources of funding, and some of the challenges it faces.
Gloved hand holding a stained petridish
IDR Explains | Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs)
In just seven minutes and six questions, get a quick introduction to RCTs—how they work, why they're used, and what some of the criticisms and challenges around them are.
Macro shot of financial concept
IDR Explains | Impact investing
In just six minutes and ten questions, get a quick introduction to impact investing—what it is, the size of the market, and how we can make the ecosystem more robust.

The well-being series

A partnership with Stanford Social Innovation Review, Skoll Foundation, Schwab Foundation at World Economic Forum, and The Wellbeing Project, focused on well-being in the field of social change.

image of a teacher in a classroom with students
What students want from their teachers
Researchers asked students what makes a caring teacher—and these same qualities may help support your well-being as an educator.
3 girls sitting in front of a laptop-social-emotional learning SEL
Social-emotional learning in India: The importance of intersectionality
Social-emotional learning (SEL) programmes should adopt an intersectional lens that takes into account young people’s diverse experiences of caste, class, and gender.
illustration showing the linkages between well-being and the environment
Integrating individual well-being with environmental systems
How cultivating a values-based, ecological worldview can help lay the groundwork for collective action toward the greater well-being of individuals, societies, and the systems in which we live.

Ground Up

Bite-sized stories from the people closest to the action.



IDR Interviews

Conversations with visionaries on their life’s work, and their efforts to challenge the status quo in our country.



A day in the life of

Frontline workers and first responders share their insights from working at the grassroots.

A woman shooting on a camera with people standing around her_Adivasi communities
An Adivasi journalist quits the newsroom to embrace YouTube
A day in the life of an Adivasi journalist from Chhotaudepur who uses YouTube to mainstream the voices of de-notified tribes and tackle discrimination.
A woman and four men pouring water in a tank_sustainable agriculture
A single mother paves the way for working women in her village
A day in the life of a grassroots leader in Yavatmal who is committed to helping women become self-reliant and fostering community resilience against climate change.
Bhagyashri on a bike talking to people-Adivasi

A young Adivasi sarpanch in Gadchiroli fears neither Naxalites nor the cops
A day in the life of a young Adivasi woman sarpanch who alternates between helping her community with paperwork and responding to emergencies.

Failure Files

Social change leaders chronicle their failures and lessons learnt.

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Preparing for a marathon, not a sprint 
Dalit civil rights activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan on why failure is an opportunity to build power, how systems of oppression affect well-being, and what healing looks like for individuals and communities.
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Why don’t nonprofits talk about their failures?
A number of risks, both real and perceived, stop nonprofits from talking about failure. Here's how various stakeholders can work together to overcome them.
rural women take part in a boat race in west bengal-leadership
The road to recovery
In Part II of a conversation with Dream a Dream CEO Suchetha Bhat and co-founder Vishal Talreja learn about what it took to rebuild an organisation in crisis, and why it needed a new kind of leadership.

Perspectives

Op-eds and commentary that hold a mirror up to civil society, reflect upon its evolution, and unpack key trends.

an oak tree - sustainable nonprofits
Nonprofits can be sustainable
If they have a product for which there is a demand and that does not require repeated infusions of large amounts of capital, nonprofit organisations can be sustainable for decades, if not centuries.
An image showing a crack on the ground_marital rape
The split verdict on marital rape is a blow to women’s rights in India
Robust action against marital rape is necessary for India to end violence against women in all forms and fulfil its commitment to gender equality.
Schoolkids during lockdown in Tain village, Nuh, Haryana_Digital Empowerment Foundation-social sector
The good, the bad, the ugly: What went wrong during India’s COVID-19 response
No single entity—be it the government, the corporates, or the social sector—can operate in isolation. However, all three failed to collaborate when the pandemic was at its peak in India. Why?