Just three years ago, PersonalMBA founder Josh Kaufman declared MBAs “mostly a worthless piece of paper,” harsh words for students who are considering a career in business. But there’s good news. The latest Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) study indicates that MBA hiring is up, and in fact, 2012 was the best year for MBA employment since the recession hit.

MBAs are finding jobs once again, but they may not be where you’d expect. Increasingly, they’re headed to growth industries rather than Wall Street. Manufacturing, technology, and health care show particularly strong growth for MBA hires. In response, business schools are offering more specialized MBAs that cater to these industries and lead to career opportunities off the beaten MBA path.

Why a Specialized MBA?

A specialized MBA not only teaches general management principles, but also focuses on practices that are unique to a particular industry. Excelsior College School of Business and Technology dean Jane LeClair explains, “An MBA that provides for an industry specialization better prepares students for upward mobility by putting basic MBA principles into real-world context applicable to their chosen fields.”

Business schools have recognized that there’s an increased employer demand for specialized talent at the MBA level. In response, they’ve changed their offerings and curriculum to give graduates a competitive leg up in these growing industries. “(There’s a) growing need to address industry needs as more of the work force nears retirement,” said LeClair of the college’s Health Care Management and Technology Management MBA concentrations. As an example of a response to industry changes, Excelsior’s Technology Management and Health Care Management MBAs opened for enrollment in 2010 and 2012, respectively.

Manufacturing MBAs

Manufacturing is an overlooked industry for many business students, as it’s traditionally considered to be reserved for skilled workers doing manual labor. Contrary to popular belief, manufacturing has grown past its Industrial Revolution history of back-breaking labor. This is a changing field, one that has become more complex and technology-driven, and is in need of knowledgeable managers.

For decades, low-wage China was the go-to location for manufacturing, but work is coming back to the United States, thanks to cheap and abundant natural gas, intellectual property laws, and public policy. Hugh Welsh, President and General Counsel of DSM North America. reports that these factors, including U.S. innovation and human capital are bringing manufacturing work back to America and turning manufacturing into a fast growing industry. It’s no surprise, then, that four out of the 11 fastest-growing industries in 2013 are in manufacturing.

With all of this growth, managers are needed to make sense of supply chains, employment, and accounting. GMAC reports a 76% success rate overall for MBAs seeking manufacturing positions.

MBAs are a hot commodity in manufacturing, especially when coupled with a technical degree like engineering. MIT’s Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program offers an engineering-MBA dual degree that allows graduates to pair management acumen with technical expertise. LGO director of operations and partner integration Joshua Jacobs believes this degree gives students the resources they need to be successful in a technical manufacturing setting. “With this background, our students bring the ability to drive change in large manufacturing organizations, in areas such as lean transformation, supply chain and logistics, sourcing, new product introduction, and quality. LGO graduates have a technical credibility that allows them to lead within engineering-focused organizations,” says Jacobs.

Hot Jobs for Manufacturing MBAs

Graduates of MIT’s LGO program have been offered jobs with industry giants including Amazon, Boeing, and Caterpillar. Other major employers include Deloitte, Emerson Process Management, and Amgen.

Hot jobs for manufacturing MBAs are in the fields of project management, business analysis, and supply chain management. In these positions, manufacturing MBAs pair technical knowledge with management know-how. Industrial production managers oversee manufacturing and plant operations, coordinating, planning, and directing the activities necessary to create goods. Supply chain managers, or logisticians, analyze and coordinate the supply chains of organizations. And business analysts explore new paths in efficiency and profitability.

Online MBA Programs in Manufacturing

These accredited business schools offer online MBA degree programs with concentrations/specializations in manufacturing:

• University of Scranton Online MBA in Operations Management: Learn how to make operations run smoothly in a manufacturing environment with this online program from the University of Scranton. Courses focus on project and quality management, and help students build both technical knowledge and business skills.
• Southern New Hampshire University MBA in Operations & Supply Chain Management: Southern New Hampshire’s online program in operations and supply chain management offers a pathway to upper-level positions in manufacturing, including operations, production, and distribution. With this degree, you’ll better understand how procurement, planning, and management work in the big picture.

Health Care MBAs

Health care needs MBAs now more than ever before. With an aging population, medical costs on the rise, and new reform, medicine is an industry full of growth and transition, and MBAs can help with new challenges. Hospitals and health care providers are trying to cut costs while still delivering good care. Health care costs have increased an average of 2.5% more than the U.S. GDP since 1970. That rate shows no signs of slowing down, but MBAs have the knowledge to make it happen.

Doctors and nurses provide health care, but MBAs make hospitals work. Medical professionals often take a reactive approach to work, focusing on providing the best care to the patient they’re seeing for the next 15 to 30 minutes. That’s effective for individual patients, but MBAs are necessary for proactive thinking. Health care needs MBAs to consider the big picture and long term goals, like maximizing preventive care and patient efficiency.

With a health care MBA, graduates are prepared to take on one of the most intricate and dynamic industries in the world. “(Health care’s) growing scope and complexity fuel demand for leaders with both business acumen and keen industry insight,” explains Duke University associate dean for career management Sheryle Dirks. LeClair agrees. “Given recent health care reform legislation and the attendant tiered implementation efforts, for organizations to survive this rapidly changing environment, it is important to plan strategically both for the change and to maintain the standards of quality, cost controls, and effectiveness,” she said.

Health care MBA programs prepare students for careers in senior-level health care management. In many programs, students are able to learn from a multi-pronged approach that represents the needs of health care today. That’s evident in programs like the Duke Health Care Sector MBA, which offers students an interdisciplinary approach to learning that leverages the university’s capabilities in business education, research, and clinical care. Students work closely with faculty, industry leaders, and providers to explore health care’s most pressing issues through a multi-faceted lens.”

Hot Jobs for Health Care MBAs

Major employers for Health Care MBAs include hospitals and large health organizations, as well as biomedical startups and pharmaceutical research and development. A third of Kaiser Permanente‘s 16,000 to 18,000 new positions each year are in management and operations. Hospital Corporation of America is the largest private operator of health care facilities in the world, and targets new MBAs with a special executive development program. Biotech giant Amgen is eager to hire management grads as well with an MBA Leadership Program and summer internships.

Many graduates of health care MBA programs are also finding that their degree opens options beyond major health care organizations. “Students are reflecting a trend of choice: they are choosing to move from a corporate atmosphere to a more altruistic, people-centered atmosphere,” says LeClair.

Popular jobs for health care MBA graduates include hospital management and administration, health care financial management, and health services management. Hospital administrators make sure that facilities provide the best, most efficient care possible. This career is believed to be among the best jobs in America. Financial managers may find more opportunity in health care organizations than Wall Street, as hospitals are becoming competitive in hiring financial managers who oversee patient billing, health care value, and profitability.

Online MBA Programs in Healthcare

These AACSB-accredited business schools offer online MBA degree programs with concentrations/specializations in health care:

• Northeastern University Online MBA Healthcare Management Specialization: Northeastern University’s healthcare management MBA encourages students to understand the business of health care not just today, but throughout history, educating the next generation of health care reform leaders.
• George Washington University Healthcare MBA Online: This two year online program combines a traditional MBA program with 12 elective classes that explore management in nearly every health care setting, including hospitals, physician practices, and skilled nursing facilities.

Technology MBAs

Technology has allowed us to store and search the entirety of human knowledge. It’s allowed us to reach the moon and build a national highway system. These feats don’t happen without scientists and engineers, but they don’t happen without effective management, either. This industry needs professionals with technical know-how to dream up the ideas that can develop into these major human accomplishments, but also need managers that can follow through to make dreams and ideas a reality. Innovation is everywhere, and technology is not just a field for scientists and programmers anymore. Managers are needed to turn big ideas into real, concrete products and services.

There’s big business in technology, reaching practically every industry in the world from education to communications and manufacturing. Business and technology are increasingly intertwined, and organizations need leaders that can understand both. Business professionals in the tech world can offer insight into cost, customers, and trends. MBAs can guide startups and bring business sense to scientific minds. There’s no end to the potential value that management professionals can bring to technology, whether they’re working on government contracts or growing companies from the dorm room to the board room.

Technology, and the high tech industry in particular, is growing three times faster than other areas of the private sector in the United States. MBAs who haven’t thought of technology as a career choice should think again: the technology industry has grown rapidly in recent decades, and data indicates that there’s still room for plenty more.

High tech businesses realize the value of MBAs in their organizations, so it’s no wonder that there’s a 22% growth in hiring MBAs, and a 70% success rate for job offers among MBAs pursuing technology positions. Even for currently working technology professionals, an MBA can open up doors to new areas of IT, or even allow a tech MBA to climb the ladder to CIO or CTO. And this climb can happen practically anywhere, as 98% of U.S. counties have at least one high tech business establishment.

Technology MBAs allow graduates to take on managerial positions in tech fields, bringing life to innovations and maximizing the potential of new and existing technology. MBA grads in this field “know how to effectively integrate and manage technology within an organization and understand the strategic management principles that need to be applied to develop, implement and overcome the challenges associated with innovative technology and change,” says LeClair of the school’s Technology Management MBA.

Hot Jobs for Technology MBAs

Graduates of technology MBA programs often go on to work for major employers including Microsoft, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and Google, but there are also exiting opportunities in growing startups and incubators.

Technology management MBA grads are often currently-working tech professionals seeking promotion in the field. With this degree, they can move up to positions including systems management, systems analysts, and even IT directors or chief technology officers (CTO). Systems managers determine the information technology goals of an organization and oversee the work of the IT department. Chief technology officers focus on the scientific and technological issues of an organization at the executive level.

Online MBA Programs in Information Technology

These accredited business schools offer online MBA degree programs with concentrations/specializations in information technology:

• SUNYIT Online MBA in Technology Management: State University of New York’s Institute of Technology offers a completely online technology management program. This degree brings management essentials together with a focus on technology in today’s work environment.
• Capella University Online MBA in Information Technology Management: Capella University’s IT management MBA program recognizes the expanded use of information technology throughout the world, and especially in business. With this degree program, students can develop skills in both business and technological advancement.
• In addition to Technology Management MBAs, traditional MBAs from schools with a tech focus like Stanford and MIT allow students to earn an MBA in the heart of tech entrepreneurship hubs.

MBA careers are more competitive now than ever before. In recent years, we’ve seen an a record jump in the number of MBA graduates, and companies just aren’t hiring MBAs like they used to. But top management talent can hedge against this competition by pursuing specialized programs in growth industries that go beyond the typical MBA track. Consider what an MBA in a growth industry can do for your career.

This article was originally published on OnlineMBA.com

Mahindra Rise and Ashoka India jointly organised a three-hour global Tweetchat on Water Sustainability – A Key to our Future, on Thursday March 7 2013. Panelists included Paul Polak and Team (@OutofPoverty), Naandi Foundation(@naandi_india) and  Zenrainman @Zenrainman. The Twitter conference was conducted under the hashtag #SparkTheRise.

The Tweetchat kicked off with Naandi Foundation talking about the work they have done in India to ensure safe drinking water. They take a holistic approach towards reduction of poverty, and highlighted the work they have done to achieve this:

• Education:100,000 children across 1,800 government schools
• Livelihoods: Worked with 20,000 coffee farmers in Araku, largest tribal co-operative producing coffee
• Water:Providing sustainable, affordable, drinking water solutions, impacting 600,000 people
• Health:Initiated the country’s first large-scale malnutrition survey, capturing 100,000 voices
• Midday Meal: 1.2 million kids fed through 25 centralized kitchens across 5 states

Some interesting debates came up in this session. Naandi Foundation works closely with the government in its initiatives, to achieve scale and to reach remote areas of India. This is a model that many NGOs and funding agencies are now looking at to scale development solutions. However the systemic issues with working within the government system are well known, and are a huge challenge to overcome. The near future, however, does call for greater integration between civil society organisations and government systems, if we are to truly achieve scale in any realm of development.

Naandi’s Safe Drinking Water programme ensures drinking water through the installation of community drinking water Reverse Osmosis plants. Their immediate goal is to touch 5 million lives across 2,000 villages in India through various interventions. More specifically, they aim to get safe, affordable drinking water to 2 million people by 2018. They also want to mainstream their service delivery model for others to replicate. Naandi Foundation believes that community mobilisation is crucial for the successful implementation of any programme focused on WASH, and only begins their work in villages once community trust is gained.

The government can play a significant role in bettering the quality of water in rural India. There are several government-backed rainwater harvesting projects in India too, in states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka  and Gujarat, according to Zenrainman, the second panelist for the Tweetchat. Another potential way to improve basic access to water, is for the government to encourage and empower communities to revive traditional water harvesting structures and systems. Ancient wisdom from centuries past was very effective in conserving water sustainably, much before the dawn of technology and engineering solutions. Today, this wisdom becomes even more relevant in the face of the growing water scarcity we are seeing everywhere around us.

The second session with @Zenrainman kicked off with a discussion on what people need to know about rainwater harvesting, and whether there are any specific things to keep in mind. Zenrainman who is an expert on rainwater harvesting and water issues in India, maintains that common sense is key: it’s as simple as catching rooftop water, filtering it and storing or recharging it. A question from the audience was that if it was this simple, then what exactly was stopping people from employing it? To which Zenrainman’s answer was that initial capital cost is a big obstacle, along with government assurances of piped water supply. People end up waiting for this indefinitely, as is the case in Bangalore with the BWSSB’s Cauvery project. This should not be the case – citizens should take matters into their own hands and do their bit to conserve water.

Some interesting case studies on rainwater harvesting were shared in this session:

• Gansu Institute’s work in rainwater harvesting is one of the best examples of rainwater harvesting at scale. Their goal was to create 2.5 million RWH structures in Gansu Province, China, an area that gets just 250 mm of annual rainfall.
• A video on how rooftop rainwater is harvested in a rural setting
• A government programme in Karnataka called Sachetana is helping 10,000 families access fluoride-free water
• In Bangalore, the mother of all Rain Barrels
• Harvesting has been traditional in Jaisalmer /Jodhpur in Rajasthan, which gets just 150 mm of annual rainfall.

One participant made an interesting comment that it was surprising that people do not seem to calculate the return on investment for rainwater harvesting, when they do for solar heaters. Could this be because the water crisis hasn’t become as severe as the power crisis? This behaviour might change once water shortages become a reality in urban India.

Naandi Foundation recommends implementing large-scale, community-based water recharge programmes, if an institution has the capacity to do so. They also suggest re-working intensive farming policies to avoid polluting groundwater resources, and to encourage integrated watershed management. This is the need of the hour in managing water resources sustainably.

It wasn’t surprising to see some audience members asking about rainwater harvesting ín urban areas, given that most Twitter users are Internet-savvy, and hence urban citizens. One user assumed that it was easy to go for rain water harvesting in rural areas, but wanted to know more about how to implement it in cities and urban areas. Another participant mentioned that rainwater harvesting in Delhi was made compulsory more than a decade ago ago, but the move was largely a failure. Yet another participant asked if it was possible to take advantage of rainfall in urban agglomerations, like in high-rise apartment clusters in cities like Mumbai. Zenrainman’s response was that with 120 rainy days in a year, even one day’s storage should help a lot in urban high rise complexes.

A great suggestion that was retweeted by several participants, was that incentives must be created for builders to conserve water and implement rainwater harvesting. City officials should use rainfall storage in urban areas, in order to make water cheaper and more accessible for all. Similarly, communities are willing to help themselves, provided that they are offered the incentives to do so. A wonderful suggestion from a participant in response to this, was the possibility of offering tax credit for rainwater harvesters, to reward those who have done it and encourage others to take it up. The flip side to this arguement is that good clean water should be incentive enough; why should we wait for it to run out before we act? However, in an ideal world this would be a great achievement, but in the real world, many participants maintained that most Indian companies and cities would need incentives. One participant, @rakeshmani however tweeted that this was a rather ironic suggestion, and its practicability was questionable: “We’re in India. We used to steal electricity.” However the topic ended on a hopeful note with many participants agreeing with the basic premise: “We have to believe, be stringent for [the] first few years and keep on pushing via awareness. It’s not impossible.” Rakesh Mani tweeted, “There’s irrationality in hope. But yes, to some extent this should work.”

Water management in India is a complex topic. Especially with regard to domestic water, we are a groundwater civilisation. This is where a water management framework is desperately needed in India. In the meanwhile, people and communities are best placed to manage their own water systems. India has a long and diverse history of traditional wisdom around rainwater harvesting, dating back centuries. The need of the hour is to empower communities to tap into that wisdom.

But do costs make this unsustainable? Zenrainman is quite clear that helping people to help themselves is the answer. While this solution is high on capital cost, it is very low on operation and maintenance costs. We need to adopt a lifecycle cost approach. Zenrainman was firmly of the opinion that incentives and subsidies must be done away with, and that people who can afford to pay the price of water must pay it.

Rainwater, surface water and groundwater interfaces need holistic management, which is unfortunately currently missing in India. We have reached a point where we simply cannot impose a limit of 150 litres per capita per day and 55 litres per capita per day in rural areas, irrespective of water availability. The true cost of water has to be recovered, in order to make service delivery sustainable while still ensuring the basic lifeline right to water for the marginalised and poor.

Anyone can start conserving water by doing something small; Zenrainman’s advice was to not stop at knowing, and to avoid intellectual paralysis. Install a system and learn from it. Ashoka India suggested helping a government school harvest rainwater, while teaching and learning with students and teachers at the same time. Another participant tagged Teach for India in this comment, saying it was a great idea for them to think about.

Whatever the solution, the fact remains that India is a groundwater civilisation, and moreover a groundwater-dependant country. From Kalibangan (3000 B.C.) and Dholavira-Lothal to today with more than 20 million borewells, we are extracting groundwater much faster than we are putting it back in the ground. Another option in a basket of possible solutions is new-age waterless innovations, which could be the way forward for India to achieve sustainability in access to water for all.

The third session with Paul Polak kicked off with participants asking what he thought about safe drinking water as a business. His response was that governments give reasonable regulations and safe drinking water to people who do not have access to the market, thus ensuring a basic lifeline water supply. There is also the very real fear that priced water could go the micro-finance way without any regulatory framework in place, which is why Paul Polak’s team does disciplined water testing at each point in the last mile supply chain of their work.

One myth about poverty eradication that Paul Polak found through his work in India, was the idea you can donate people out of poverty. Yet again, the concept of people doing things for themselves was raised, highlighting the importance of building the capacity of communities to find their own solutions. India has to move from a welfare state to a state the empowers its citizens to find solutions for themselves.

Paul’s advice to new entrepreneurs venturing into uncharted regions like water supply and service delivery, was to find initial funding from family, friends, angel investors and social venture capital funds. A suggestion from Shyamal Dave was that crowdfunding could also go a long way in helping new entrepreneurs venture into this space, if properly structured and implemented. Paul added a note of caution to this suggestion, that in order for crowd funding to be successful, thorough preparation was required.

Some sustainable irrigation models that help farmers ensure that they don’t waste water resources, are affordable low cost drip and sprinkler systems. These are stingy ways to deliver water and improve agricultural yields. This in turn is a way of saving water, by harvesting the water that has not been used. The common man is quite receptive to implementing rain water harvesting measures for himself, but larger schemes require technical assistance and education.

A question from Shrey Goyal, a participant in the Tweetchat, posed to Paul Polak and his team was how to prevent scale and/or commercial money from diluting social motive and impact. Paul’s response was to build social impact into the mission and DNA of a social enterprise from the very beginning. Attractive profits attract global commercial investors, who have more capital available than foundations; these global investors provide the most direct way to achieve scale. So rather than government systems or community empowerment, Paul Polak advocates to make water supply and service delivery a business-minded model in India.

All in all, the panel was very well balanced with all view points fairly represented. We hope that this is the start of a bigger global discussion on water, and the need to manage it sustainably.

This article was originally posted by India Water portal as content partners for the Twitter conference

Thank you for all the support and participation in Spark the Rise. We are blown away by the quality of the entries that have been submitted. After careful deliberation, we are pleased to announce the 19 finalists that will compete for the winner of the 2nd season of Spark the Rise!

Projects: 

Empower Generation Next
Lights for Life
Mentoring destitute girls and urban poor youth
Computer Training for the differently-abled youth
KNOWLEDGE POINT
Agrini – Revolutionizing Anganwadi Education
SELF INNOVATIONS BASED FORMULATIONS FOR AGRICULTUR
Reaching the potential of children with disability
Spreading Smiles Across Rural India (SSARI)
Empower Women, Preserve Crafts, Save Environment
PROPOSAL OF BRAILLE TRANSCRIPTION CENTRE
Help NGOs build their fundraising potential
FUZION CRAFTS INTERNATIONAL 

Ideas:

Eco- friendly and Affordable Sanitary Napkins
India OYE – Public Initiative to end Eve Teasing (Panel 2)
Eco Friendly Shopping Bag substitute of Polythene
Utopia: A vision for self-reliance & social growth
True Republic – Solving Civic Issues Together
Exhaust on the top of the bus

Voting starts 11 March so spread the word!

– Rise Team

This event is brought to you by Mahindra and Ashoka India.

Like oil in the 20th century, water could well be the essential commodity on which the 21st century will turn. Water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century (Source: Reuters). India’s huge and growing population is putting a severe strain on all of the country’s natural resources. Most water sources are contaminated by sewage and agricultural runoff. We are attempting to evaluate and determine the ways in which these issues can be contained.

Why don’t more people know about the water crisis and water sustainability solutions? How can we educate the masses about water scarcity and the seriousness of the problem? What are the strategic long term solutions for water sustainability?

Join in on Thursday, 7 March, 2012 18:00 IST (5:30) for the #SparktheRise Twitter conference on ‘Water Sustainability – A Key to Our Future’

In this three-hour global discussion, we invite you to spark ideas, share insights from your work, and pose questions to our expert panel. The conference will be split in three one hour back-to-back sessions, moderated by Ashoka India.

Joining the panel will be:

Paul Polak and Out of Poverty Team (@outofpoverty):

Paul Polak, founder of Colorado-based non-profit International Development Enterprises (IDE)—is dedicated to developing practical solutions that attack poverty at its roots. For the past 25 years, Paul has worked with thousands of farmers in countries around the world — including Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe — to help design and produce low–cost, income–generating products that have already moved 17 million people out of poverty.

Naandi Foundation (@naandi_india)

Naandi, which in Sanskrit means a new beginning; is working to eradicate poverty in India. Founded in 1998, their work focuses on three key sectors: Safe Drinking Water, Sustainable Livelihoods, and Children’s Rights,

Naandi Foundation’s ‘Safe Drinking Water’ programme brings the assurance of certified safe drinking water through the installation of community drinking water plants, that can reliably and in a cost effective way, address the water contamination issues in a village.

Zenrainman (@Zenrainman)

Zenrainman is a pioneer in rainwater harvesting. He is the founder of the Rainwater Club, a Bangalore-based group that promotes and provides information on rainwater harvesting. He has worked in the areas of urban planning, ecological architecture, and water management for the past 25 years.

Ashoka India (@AshokaIndia)

Ashoka India invests and supports change-makers and persons working at the grassroots level. Ashoka India’s Venture and Global fellowship programs have been made richer by the ownership and guidance of Fellows who are now 350 in number.

What is a Twitter conference and how does it work?

A Twitter conference is a real-time, Twitter based discussion. Joining the conversation is easy. Just log on to Twitter at 18:00 IST (GMT +5:30) on Thursday, 7 March, 2012.

Use the #SparktheRise hashtag to make your comments visible in the stream. During the #SparktheRise Twitter conference, use search.twitter.com or an application like Tweetchat (http://tweetchat.com/room/sparktherise) to follow the hashtags to join the conversation. Introduce yourself and share a little about your work or your organization. You could also send your questions to @MahindraRise or @AshokaIndia to have them considered for the conversation.

Note: YourStory, India Water Portal and First post are the content partners of the #SparktheRise Twitter conference.

The Community of Evaluators (CoE) in collaboration with Community of Evaluators Nepal (CoE-Nepal), announces its Second Evaluation Conclave from 26th February to 1st March 2013 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The objective of the conclave is to bring together thinkers, commissioners and practitioners of evaluation in an interactive forum to discuss, deliberate and share advancements in the theory and practice of evaluation.  This event is sponsored by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) the Rockefeller Foundation, and Centers for Learning on Evaluation and Results (CLEAR).

The CoE is a group of evaluators from South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan), working together to strengthen the field of evaluation. The goal of the CoE is – “to promote and enhance the quality of the theory and practice of evaluation in South Asia and to contribute globally, particularly from a South Asian perspective.” CoE is engaged in knowledge sharing, capacity development, networking and advocacy, and developing standards and protocols for evaluation in South Asia.

CoE’s first Conclave was successfully held in October 2010 in New Delhi with over 300 South Asian and international participants.The second Conclave will provide a platform for evaluators, academicians, policy makers, non-governmental organisations, students, government organizations, and individual development and evaluation practitioners to share and learn from each other and to contribute to evaluation field building in the region.

The Theme of the Second Conclave “Evaluation for Development” emphasizes that evaluation should ultimately make a difference in the lives of people.

Evaluation is particularly critical in the context of South Asia, home to complex social structures, high rates of poverty, gender discrimination, dynamic forces of globalization sweeping traditional societies and the presence of myriad development projects for the large populations of this region. Innovative evaluation approaches and practices are particularly important in such intricate contexts.

Cross-Cutting Themes and Sub-themes

The cross-cutting themes of the Conclave will be Participation, Practices, Policies and Utilization in the field of evaluation.

The following sub-themes have been identified for the conclave: Poverty Alleviation; Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition; Gender and Inequities; Environment; and Governance and Social Accountability.

Speakers and Facilitators

The Evaluation Conclave attracts renowned evaluation experts from all over the world. A few of the confirmed experts are: Michael Quinn Patton, Jim Rugh, Colleen Duggan, Sanjeev Sridharan, Marco Segone, Donna Mertens, Chris Coryn, Patricia Rogers, Andy Rowe, J. Bradley Cousins, Simon Hearn, John Floretta, and Murray Saunders.

Who is attending

Over 400 global thinkers, government representatives, policy makers, donors, commissioners, members from evaluation associations such as the Sri Lanka Evaluation Association, the American Evaluation Association, and the Malaysian Evaluation society, academicians, students and individual development as well as evaluation practitioners are expected to converge at the four-day event. Panels, workshops, coffee shop presentations, and networking events are being organized as part of the Conclave.

Registration

To register for the Evaluation Conclave please visit our website, http://evaluationconclave2013.org. Early bird registration ends December 31st, so register early for reduced prices!

You can register online through our payment gateway, or download the registration form, and send it to us with payment details.

Offline registration fees can be paid by demand draft or through wire transfer.

Contact Information

Event website: http://evaluationconclave2013.org

With any inquiries, please contact:

Sandip Pattanayak

Catalyst Management Services (host organization for CoE)

Email: sandip@cms-india.org

As 2012 comes to a close, we would like to highlight some of the top stories from the Rise Blog this year that capture the spirit of Rise.  The changes and change-makers featured in these articles stood out as prime examples of innovation, compassion, and a challenger spirit.  As we transition into a new year, let’s endeavour to embody these qualities in all that we do.

Here they are (in no particular order):

1.     Mom, I Know How You Feel

With a Masters in IT from Vijaywada, an MBA from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and 10 years at Verizon Wireless, one would have assumed Sadhu, 39, had his professional life all charted out. Instead, he quit his job and invested his life’s savings in creating VESAG.

2.     MicroGraam: Partnering with India’s Rural Poor to Overcome Poverty

India’s economy may be on the rise, but for the 37% of the Indians living below the poverty line, many basic services are out of their reach. In February 2010, Dr. Rangan Varadan, a former head of banking and capital market vertical at Infosys, and Dr. Sekhar Sarukkai, a successful serial entrepreneur, started MicroGraam to help combat this.  By offering an online peer-to-peer lending platform, MicroGraam connects deserving students, entrepreneurs, and farmers in rural India with the resources and funds to overcome the myriad obstacles they face.

3.     Avanti Fellows: Helping low-income students attend India’s top-tier colleges

Chetan Bhagat’s “Five Point Someone” and subsequent hit film “3 Idiots” may have made the Indian Institute of Technology infamous on a world scale, but their competition for both entry and matriculation have long been famous in India. Known for their rigorous course loads and unmatched job placement rates, IITs receive some of the most competitive applicant pools in the country.

4.     Nanotubes for Nano Prices

Vivek Nair may already be a serial innovator and entrepreneur at 23, but his involvement with carbon nanotubes started entirely by accident, when he stumbled upon the subject at a seminar. Today, it’s a career choice even as he continues his education (he’s currently studying for a double doctorate at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University as well as at the Institute of Sports Research).

5.     Resolving India’s Entrepreneurial Paradox: Key To Starting Up The Economy?

Despite its sizeable youth population, some fear that India’s much touted demographic dividend is on the verge of going horribly wrong – that the economy may not produce enough jobs to absorb the fast-growing labour force, leaving millions of young people feeling bitter and betrayed. To make matters worse, a recent Gallup study found that Indians are simultaneously the LEAST and MOST entrepreneurial people in Asia – with many Indian youths possessing strong entrepreneurial traits, though few actually wanted to start their own businesses.

6.     Helping in Guatemala: The Human Context

The motor boat took us along the Caribbean coast and down a stretch of river dotted with palm frond huts, disembarking at a little dock in the heart of the mangrove swamp.  From there it was a long hike in the viscid July air, along muddy trails tracing through thick jungle and over sharp limestone boulders.  As forest gave way to corn fields and heavy-set Corozo palms swayed dreamily in the wind, we finally reached the first house of Cerro Blanco. A woman peeked out of her window with a huge gap-toothed smile as her little ones giggled curiously.  Passing the hut, Mateo let out a high-pitched ‘Whoo!’ in greeting, explaining who these two gringos were in the curt guttural tones of Maya Q’eqchi’.

Best wishes for the New Year!

Warm regards,

The Rise Team

Dasra was started around 13 years ago by two investment bankers intent on improving the professionalism of the nonprofit sector in India. Noting the inefficient allocation of resources in the sector, they sought to bring private business strategies to the nonprofit space to yield greater impact results. Their model works on two levels: on one hand they work with philanthropists to educate them on how to allocate their money more strategically, to approach it as if one were investing someone else’s money; on the other hand Dasra works with social enterprises and nonprofits to help them build their capacity and be able to absorb more growth capital moving forward.

The misallocation of resources is a big concern in the nonprofit space and an impediment to sustainable development. According to Aakif Merchant, Social Impact Associate at Dasra, one of the biggest issues is that while so many NGOs in India are doing similar things, they are all competing for the same limited funds. “You hear of mergers and acquisitions in the private sector, but you never hear of that in the social sector, so there is a lot of duplication of efforts,” said Aakif. “I think that if organizations consolidate and share best practices then they can make the best use of those funds.”

While Dasra does not play a matchmaking role explicitly, their Social Impact Program is designed specifically to bring social entrepreneurs together, to educate them, to exchange ideas, to network and pitch their ideas to investors. The program allows social innovators to share best practices, and to understand how they can work together to create sustainable impact. For an NGO, this can sometimes mean that a transition to a for-profit structure makes more sense.

“We encourage NGO’s to think about how they build sustainability into their model. There are certain models and certain instances where you can’t really always be self-dependent, and you have to depend on philanthropic capital for that,” Aakif explained. “But for models that make sense, organizations have to think about sustainability, because you get into situations where donors will make an initial investment, will support an organization for the first couple of years of its life cycle but then will look for the organization to sustain itself.”

Dasra’s experience in educating philanthropists and social entrepreneurs, as well as their emphasis on capacity growth and sustainability, makes them a natural fit as a partner for the Mahindra Spark the Rise initiative. Their experience has been leveraged to create a unique and critical role for them in the campaign process.

After helping the Mahindra team screen and shortlist the organizations, Dasra works with the shortlisted organizations on how to pitch their idea to the jury. They work with them on their presentation, their language, and their business plan before they are placed before a jury panel. The panel then picks two projects and one idea to go to the finale. “Everyone that comes to Bombay looks to get picked for the grand finale,” explained Aakif. “Our job is to make sure that the contestants are adequately prepared to pitch on pitch day.”

The greatest takeaway from the event, however, is not the chance to win funding, per say, but rather, according to Aakif, the exposure to big players in the social ecosystem, and the opportunity to interact with and learn from investors and other entrepreneurs. “If you are going in with the mindset of, ‘I’m going to win the money,’ then that could be myopic and self-defeating. But if organizations come with the mindset of ‘I’m going to learn,’ then in the long run that will pay more dividends. The knowledge, tools, and skillsets we give them throughout the campaign will help put them in a better position to pitch to future donors and investors going forward, not just the specific panel of jury that will be there at the workshop.”

Perhaps the best indicator of Spark The Rise is the confidence that Dasra, an organization with years of experience helping both philanthropists and social entrepreneurs create an effective and lasting impact, has for the initiative.

“I think it is a fantastic initiative by Mahindra,” said Aakif. “For one, it really gets these organizations up and running, because it’s 2 lakhs they get for winning each round, so that definitely gives them a little push from a financial point of view. But also, it’s exposing them to what’s out there in the ecosystem, what’s going on, who are the other funders and entrepreneurs. When you come together like this, it clicks in your mind that there are so many organizations that are doing incubation services, acceleration services, that these are the funds I should be looking for, maybe I need debt and I don’t need equity… All these thoughts come to mind.”

The opportunity to work with Mahindra has also given Dasra an opportunity to further its own mission. As a company with a desire to help as many high-potential, high-impact organizations scale as quickly as possible, the Spark the Rise campaign gives them an avenue to do just that. With only a few months left in the campaign, eyes will be on the grand finale to witness the social innovators that will emerge from this powerhouse partnership.

This story was originally published here.

Venue: Twitter Chat
Time: 3PM EST
Date:19 December 2012

The world has changed since the ’80s, when Bill Drayton, Ashoka’s founder and CEO, first used the term “social entrepreneur” to describe someone who uses business principles to tackle social problems.

The phrase, while applied to successful innovators throughout the social sector, isn’t yet understood on a truly global scale. But we’ve already seen changemakers and their social business models begin to redefine the corporate strategies of tomorrow. Some social entrepreneurs have even been front and center at major worldwide events, including this year’s G2012 Conference in Mexico.

Where do we go from here? What is the future of social entrepreneurship and social innovation? That’s what Ashoka, the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), and others are asking. A couple of weeks ago, Bill Drayton and New York Times solutions journalist David Bornstein shared their predictions during an event at CSI in New York City. CSI Executive Director Eli Malinsky also put together a handful of predictions of his own.

But we want to hear what YOU—the global community of changemakers—think, because in this rapidly changing world we share, the future will be here before we know it.

Speak up and let the world know how we can change the world for the better during our next #SocEntChat on Wednesday December 13 at 3 p.m. EST. Joining the conversation is easy; check the FAQs below for instructions. Even if you don’t tweet, it’ll be worth tracking the hashtag, where today’s leading social innovators will share their insights. Also, be sure to invite your friends and followers to join the discussion. The best way is to post a tweet or Facebook post like this one:

Mark your calendars: #SocEntChat next Thurs 12/19 about the future of social entrepreneurship from 3pm ET http://bit.ly/QT1KJ3 #FutureSocEnt

Also mark your calendars for another live online social innovation event. We’re hosting a Google+ Hangout this week, on Thursday, December 13, from 10-11 a.m. EST. “Can you work in a corporation and be social innovator?”: early entry winners from the inauguralLeague of Social Intrapreneurs Ashoka Changemakers competition will share their expertise. Watch the Hangout live by tuning into our Youtube channel and use the #SocInthashtag to join the conversation on Twitter.

See you on the Web, changemakers!

#SocEntChat FAQ

Q: Wait, what’s a #SocEntChat?
A: A live Twitter-based discussion focused on issues related to social entrepreneurship—in this case, it’s future.

Q: Who can participate?
A: Anyone with a Twitter account, and everyone else without one. All you have to do is follow the #SocEntChat hashtag using search.twitter.com or an application like TweetDeck. However, to be an active participant, you’ll have to join the Twittersphere.

Q: How does it work?
A: Ashoka (@Ashoka) will guide the discussion in 140-character bits, posing questions to the community. To have your burning questions answered, send tweet them (and the hashtag) to @Ashoka ahead of time. To debate, investigate, explore, and connect with other participants, simply tag your tweets with #SocEntChat. As always, be respectful, stay on topic, and all that other good stuff.

Q: What if I can’t make it?
A: Bummer. But if you believe in our mission to further social innovation and want to support the cause, we’ve got just the thing for you this holiday season: give a gift that gives back. For as little as $10, you can directly support the system-changing work of Ashoka, or your favorite Ashoka Fellows. Every little bit helps. Plus, we’ll put together a list of takeaways from the discussion after the event. Stay tuned.

Photo via & via

Despite its sizeable youth population, some fear that India’s much touted demographic dividend is on the verge of going horribly wrong – that the economy may not produce enough jobs to absorb the fast-growing labour force, leaving millions of young people feeling bitter and betrayed. To make matters worse, a recent Gallup study found that Indians are simultaneously the LEAST and MOST entrepreneurial people in Asia – with many Indian youths possessing strong entrepreneurial traits, though few actually wanted to start their own businesses.

“For a country as poor as India, growth should be what Americans call a ‘no-brainer’,” according to economist Raghuram Rajan in an op-ed piece published on EconomyWatch earlier this year.

“Unlike many equally poor countries, India already has a very strong entrepreneurial class, a reasonably large and well-educated middle class, and a number of world-class corporations that can be enlisted in the effort to provide these public goods,” Rajan noted.

Therefore for India’s economy to succeed, “It is largely a matter of providing public goods: basic infrastructure like roads, bridges, ports, and power, as well as access to education and basic health care,” he added.

But of course, as Rajan, and most other economists, will attest, a nation’s economic growth can hardly be a ‘sure thing’. In fact, India’s annual GDP growth has fallen by 5 percentage points since 2010; while in October, the IMF cut India’s growth outlook to just 4.9 percent – its slowest pace in a decade.

No Brainer? Not Really.

The current economic malaise is a scenario that challenges the core belief among Indian bulls that India’s private sector and, more importantly, the sheer size of its youth population, can somehow overcome weak government policies, rampant corruption and global crises to maintain economic growth in the nation.

After all, unlike China, which faces a rapidly aging population, more than half of India’s 1.2 billion citizens today are below the age of 25; while nearly 70 percent of Indians are under 40.

“It is an unprecedented demographic condition in the history of modern India, and in absolute numbers it is unprecedented anywhere in the world,” wrote journalist Sambuddha Mitra Mustafi for the New York Times in August.

“History shows us that generations with an exceptionally high youth ratio create political movements that shake up their systems and leave a profound impact on history,” said Mustafi; but, “some commentators now fear that India’s much touted demographic dividend is on the verge of going horribly wrong – that the economy may not produce enough jobs to absorb the fast-growing labour force, leaving millions of young people feeling bitter and betrayed.”

This ‘youth crisis’ is further highlighted by the results of a Gallup study conducted this year.

According to Gallup, while more than 60 percent of India’s population possess personality traits “critical for success as an entrepreneur”, few actually start, or want to start, their own businesses.

The study also found that just 16 percent of Indian adults owned any form of business, be it formal or otherwise, today. Worst yet, just 9 percent of adults who weren’t business owners were actually thinking about starting their own businesses – making India simultaneously the LEAST and MOST entrepreneurial nation in Asia depending on your definition.

“At a glance, you wouldn’t think India has a problem [with entrepreneurship],” wrote Gallup. “Entrepreneurs have consistently contributed to the country’s vibrant growth-oriented economy since its economic liberalization in 1991… [And] entrepreneurship has become increasingly important in sustaining India’s rapid growth.”

But, “clearly, India [still] needs to minimise barriers and provide support that will accelerate entrepreneurial growth and enable entrepreneurs to satisfy an existing demand, create jobs for people other than the business owner and his or her immediate family, and contribute to the growth of India’s GDP,” the report noted.

The analysis by Gallup demonstrated that India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem ranked in the bottom quartile for external factors such as government support, culture, social capital, and access to training.“

By contrast, intrinsic factors – such as entrepreneurial talents and attitudes – ranked much higher than external factors in enabling support for aspiring entrepreneurs.”

“Improved external factors may help unlock more of the Indian population’s natural entrepreneurial potential,” Gallup concluded.

Alchemix™ is a curated, open forum discussion between entrepreneurs, innovators, creative minds and engaged citizens. Alchemix sessions are designed by Innovation Alchemy as a peer learning initiative and take a deep, insightful look at high-impact ideas from an innovation and scale lens. Previous speakers include social entrepreneurs, founders and  leaders from organisations like Ashoka, Pratham Books, Swasth, Waterwala, mDhil, YourStory.in and many more.

The next session is scheduled for Wednesday, 21st November, 2012 and will be hosted in Bangalore. Time:  5.00 pm to 7.00 pm IST, at the Dream:in center. Register Now

 Session Theme: Technologies that are creating impact and why…

We are, therefore we invent. Technology represents one of the most fundamental applications of human intelligence. Little surprise then that it is at the crux of some of mankind’s greatest achievements through time, providing solutions to many challenges, whether it is the need to land a rover on Mars, light a bulb over a surgeon’s operating table or deliver clean drinking water to massively populated urban centres.

Yet, as we achieve complex technology accomplishments, more than a billion people continue to be disenfranchised, with no direct access to economy, science or development. In this Alchemix session we will look at how some innovators and entrepreneurs have worked with existing technology to build new ideas, to create a range of inexpensive, accessible and effective solutions that can be adopted at a large scale. We will also be looking at the need and opportunity for breakthrough innovation in adapting technology to create big impact.

Read a detailed research blog on the background to this session in our Alchemix Blog Series: Dispatches from the Field

Practitioners who have been invited to speak at this session include:

1. Kannan Lakshminarayan. A serial innovator, Kannan is the Founder of Vortex and the Gramateller low cost, low power ATM machines that was commercialised into an independent venture. He has now developed Microspin,a technology enabled cotton spinning unit that has the ability to connect cotton farmers into the fabric value chain by making it easy and simple to spin cotton into yarn. As he works towards scaling Microspin, we will speak with him about the steps involved in scaling a technology and finding adopters to buy at scale.  

2. Neha Juneja. Greenway Grameen Infra has taken the ‘earthen chulah’ubiquitous across rural homes in India and a major health hazard for women and families, and tranformed it into a more eco-friendly stove, without forcing any change in user behaviour. Greenway Grameen breaks even as a business this year and has demonstrated how to co-create products with the users and build ideas that don’t challenge deep set behaviours and patterns – enabling rapid adoption. We invited Neha, co-founder of Greenway Grameen to share HOW they have managed to do this.

3. Mayank Sekhsaria. Greenlight Planet. What started as an experiment with powering irrigation pumps has translated into a set of simple, highly effective solar powered lights and a rapidly evolving rural business. To succeed in enabling more rural consumers to use solar lights, the team at Greenlight Planet had to create an entire approach to rural distribution. This distribution network is now their biggest resource as it enables them to reach deeper into the ecosystem. We have invited Mayank, co-founder of Greenlight Planet to share insights around getting the products adopted so widely.

4. Joe Madiath. Gram Vikas The dichotomy—between providing technologically-based tools to rural communities and searching for the most appropriate and helpful versions of them—has led to a conflict in current development paradigms,writes Joe Madiath in his paper It Takes a Faucet. Joe Madiath is the founder of Gram Vikas, a non-profit organization that works extensively with the disenfranchised, tribal people of Orissa. His work at Gram Vikas took biogas technology across rural Orissa, providing renewable energy in a way that rural families could own and adopt it- thereby making a strong case for the importance of adapting existing technologies to suit the needs of people.

Sharing by Practitioners will be followed by an open group discussion on the emerging insights:

• What are the ingredients for the successful adoption of technology in under served markets?
• How are innovators and entrepreneurs approaching challenges in developing a market for technology based ideas?
• What is the role of understanding the social behaviors for an effective business model in taking a technology innovation to scale?

Interested in participating in Alchemix? Click here to register now.