Features

Special IDR features and series, including editorial collaborations.

Disability rights activist Pappu Kanwar in Barmer, Rajasthan--disability rights

An activist fights for gender equality and disability rights in Rajasthan
A day in the life of an activist from Barmer, Rajasthan, who battles ableism, casteism, and violence against women.
by Pappu Kanwar | 6 min read

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.

a beautiful lush green scene in Thekkady-nature-based solutions
IDR Explains | Nature-based Solutions
In six questions, learn about this ecological approach to the climate crisis, with examples, history, advantages and challenges.
two electricity towers standing in a field of wheat-DPI

IDR Explains | Digital public infrastructure (DPI)
In just nine minutes and four questions, get an introduction to DPI in India—what it means, how it’s used, who governs it, and some challenges it faces.
riverbank at salmore_L&D fund

IDR Explains | The Loss and Damage Fund
In five questions, learn about this new climate financial mechanism, understand how it originated, what critics have to say about it, and what India stands to gain from it.

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.

Disability rights activist Pappu Kanwar in Barmer, Rajasthan--disability rights
An activist fights for gender equality and disability rights in Rajasthan
A day in the life of an activist from Barmer, Rajasthan, who battles ableism, casteism, and violence against women.
Santosh Charan, an ASHA sahyogini in Chittorgarh--healthcare
An ASHA stands up for herself and the women in her community
A day in the life of an ASHA sahyogini who isn't deterred by the challenges she faces in rural Rajasthan.

“My life has always been intertwined with the struggle for water”
A day in the life of an activist in Mumbai, who advocates for universal water access in the face of discriminatory policies.

Failure Files

Social change leaders chronicle their failures and lessons learnt.

Aerial shot of women protestors sitting_well-being
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.
Barbed wire_nonprofits
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 AI-generated image of a water colour style landscape with trees, a water body, and hills--climate change
We need to frame the climate problem differently
Instead of adopting the same inefficient methods of achieving our climate goals, we need to rethink the architecture of change.
a small plant growing in dry soil--alternatives
Why we need development alternatives
Ashish Kothari, environmentalist and a founder of Kalpavriksh, highlights the importance of indigenous knowledge, collective action, and sustainable conservation as alternatives to mainstream development models.
boat in a river-northeast India
What the social sector must learn about working in Northeast India
Funders and nonprofits that want to do meaningful work in the eight states must first understand the needs of the communities, especially the young people in the region.