Harvard arm to offer social sector leadership programme through Dasra in India

In a first-ever alliance of its kind, Harvard University's not-for-profit subsidiary Harvard Business Publishing (HBP), has joined hands with Indian strategic philanthropy foundation Dasra to create the country's first leadership development program for social enterprises – the Dasra Social Impact Leadership  Program. The program is set to begin in May and will be hosted on the campuses of the American School of Bombay.

Crafted for the needs of founders, executive directors and senior management of high potential social enterprises, the Dasra Social Impact Leadership Program will help them expand their potential and the impact of their social enterprises. With case studies from Harvard Business School (HBS) included in the Program, these leaders will develop the worldview, strategic skills and leadership capacity needed to master the complex challenges that face their organizations as they scale.

Dasra Social Impact (DSI) is Dasra's flagship accelerator program for high potential growth stage social enterprises poised for scale. Employing a training format that fosters peer learning, organisational skill development, network building and collaboration; the programme trains organisations to be the next NGO cupport organisations like Magic Bus, Educate Girls and Akshaya Patra in India's social sector. Since DSI's inception in 2006, a record 180 participants have graduated from it.

For the inaugural edition of the DSI Leadership program, Dasra has curated a cohort of high-impact leaders. The program will train 30 representatives from leading non-profits and social businesses across India and help them develop transformational leadership skills critical to building sustainable and scalable organizations.

The curriculum comprises four modules - Leadership & Strategy, Developing Your Organization, Building Your Brand and Creating a Professional Firm, delivered over a period of nine months. A blended delivery format will feature Harvard Business School faculty webinars, case based workshops, action learning assignments and collaborative learning.

Commenting on the partnership, Vivek Chachra, country manager, India, Harvard Business Publishing, said, ''This nine month program, slated to start in May 2014, will help participants improve their leadership and organizational skills through a customized blend of high quality learning tools and world class facilitators.''

Neera Nundy, partner and co-founder, Dasra, said, ''The program becomes especially relevant with the passing of the Indian Companies Act 2013 recommending a 2 per cent spend on CSR which will bring approximately Rs20,000 crore per year into the social sector. It is critical that social enterprises possess the capacity and capability to leverage this large capital to scale and maximize their impact.''

''Dasra has collaborated with HBS on several learning and knowledge sharing initiatives in the past. The DSI Leadership Alliance with HBP adds to our already existing portfolio of work with them and we look forward to furthering our partnership in the future.'' added Nundy.