Building a Pioneering Research and Policy Focused Hub: Why We Invested in the Data Governance Network
June 17, 2022
In 2020, a number of prominent livelihoods focussed Civil-Society Organisations (CSOs) across the country came together to form a National Coalition to enable a Rapid Rural Community or RCRC. Realising the devasting impact of the pandemic very early on, these organizations quickly understood that there was much to do together than they could otherwise do alone.
One of the first tasks the coalition took up was to devise surveys to identify the short, medium and long-term impact of the pandemic on aspects like job loss, income loss, reduced food intake, low nutrition, poor health and education outcomes in rural India. These surveys would also assess the efficacy of community institutions and government programs in addressing distress at scale. The coalition felt that this data would be critical in helping guide future interventions.Â
The aspects of rural life surveyed were concerns regarding rural poor people that were reflected in the questions- cash, liquidity and indebtedness, hunger, migrants, access to entitlements; agriculture procurement, MSP, credit, etc.
Looking back a year later, RCRC's surveys have enabled multiple high-impact interventions and organisational pivots. It has also helped member CSOs with advocacy with the government. Below are two illustrative examples of the impact of RCRC's surveys:
At Omidyar Network India, we have long believed in the power of collaboratives and that greater collaboration will particularly increase the impact of the non-profit sector. The pandemic saw the creation of many interesting partnerships, including many between non-profits, between governments and non-profits, and even among for-profits. However, there is a dire need for such collaborative efforts to sustain in non-crisis times as well.
Building on the success of these pilot surveys, we believe that RCRC's research and insights division can become a strong shared infrastructure for the non-profit sector in India. Going forward, the research program will now be anchored by Prof. Ankur Sarin from IIM Ahmedabad, a reputed expert in this space, with the support of a stellar advisory panel, that is currently being put in place.
And hence, we are excited to seed RCRC's research initiative and to support them in the next phase of its growth as it looks to grow this collaborative to over 100+ partners with a presence in over 20+ states.
We see three reasons why RCRC's research initiative is a unique and much-needed one for the non-profit ecosystem in India-
Just a year after its inception, RCRC is now one of the largest bottoms-up coalitions in the country with a reach of 16 million people in 110 districts in the country
RCRC has shown that with limited resources and a frugal approach, it has the ability to convene and execute research initiatives across several states and leverage this data effectively with governments, both at the state and central level. By evolving into a one-of-a-kind nonprofit industry body or consortium, RCRC is attempting to create a larger voice for its members and a greater impact for its beneficiaries. At Omidyar Network India, we are hopeful that this investment will help demonstrate the power of collectives and collaboration while building a unique, participative, durable, and quick-response action research infrastructure.