Welcome to Proximate Samip समीप, a new project aimed at showcasing emergent models for participatory problem-solving across India.

Proximate Samip is a collaboration between Proximate and Co-Creative Solutions, an Ahmedabad-based social enterprise, to explore ways to democratize decision-making in philanthropy, investing and government.

We will explore the growing movements for community-driven decision-making in India, including participatory grantmaking, community-driven investing and participatory democracy.

Our goal is to chronicle how communities can come together to respond most effectively to India's complex challenges – from the deepening climate crisis to rising income inequality, unemployment and health disparities. 

These challenges will require deep coordination, collaboration, and involvement from those experiencing these issues firsthand – those proximate to the problem.

Enjoy this first issue, sign up here to receive future issues, and please reach out to hello@proximate.press with ideas for future stories.

With gratitude,

Umesh Mangroliya

A Participatory Model for Evaluating Social Entrepreneurs

For the past 13 years, Village Capital has been putting their trust in social entrepreneurs in India, putting due diligence power in the hands of the founders who go through their accelerators. 

With a focus that's ranged from climate adaptation to civic technology, it's been a radically different, participatory model for investing venture capital and grants in founders solving global challenges. Read

Humanqind's Vision: Children Co-Designing Safer Streets

India is the crash capital of the world; forty-five children die daily on Indian streets.

Ruchi Varma is founder and chief executive of Humanqind, a nonprofit design foundation that works with students as young as nine years old to co-design safer and more livable streets.

"Children grow up in adult-owned, adult-designed and adult-managed spaces that constantly diminish their agency, compassion and well-being," Varma says. Read her full interview. Read

WATCH THIS

How do you measure systems change?

Natasha Joshi, of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, believes that the way many donors perform evaluation is overly burdensome for those doing the work on the ground.

Watch her remarks at the 2024 Skoll World Forum, or read her article on the topic here.

What’s going on around India around community-driven philanthropy?

Each month, we'll share a roundup of news and updates from a movement to democratize decision-making in India. This month, we'll focus on philanthropy, or what Proximate calls Grassroots Grantmaking.

Participatory grantmaking on the rise?

• There has been a marked rise of participatory grantmaking models, from Village Capital to the India Foundation for the Arts, the Global Greengrants Fund, and National Foundation for India. These models shift decision-making power over grants to communities and people with lived experience.

Equitable evaluation?

• There are increasing conversations about equitable evaluation, led by the Evaluation Community of India and other organizations. This movement deals with involving community members in human-centered evaluation of philanthropic programs, and has been spurred by recent developments including passage of the DPDP Act. Look out in December for this conference where these topics will be discussed.

The role of mutual aid

• Mutual aid is spreading in rural areas. Covid left, farmers facing huge challenges. Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), have responded to the crisis by launching a barter system program to provide mutual-aid to rural people. Through this system, farmers exchange rice for ragi, and milk for vegetables and fruits. Landless labourers are able to receive grains and fresh produce in return for some work. This strategy has received national attention, and the trend is spreading across villages.

What are we missing? Send over any field updates, or questions, to hello@proximate.press.

Thanks for reading!

Sign up for future Proximate Samip समीप newsletters here. And reach out with ideas for future field notes or stories by emailing hello@proximate.press.