SAMADHAN@SCMHRD
Mobilizing creativity and innovation at the grassroots level in the informal sector and among
children has been a significant policy and institutional challenge in the last few decades. Several
innovative technologies have emerged from great ideas. Grassroots innovation is a diverse set of
activities in which networks of neighbors, community groups, and activists work with people to
generate bottom-up solutions for sustainable developments; novel solutions that respond to the
local situation and the interests and values of the communities involved; and where those
communities have control over the process and outcomes. Throughout the history of modern
environmentalism and development there has always existed an undercurrent of grassroots
activists working directly on sustainable local solutions. Whether in the global north or south, in
urban or rural settings, and across all sorts of domains, such as food, energy, housing,
manufacturing, leisure, health, communications, education, and more. Grassroots innovation can
play a central role in India and inspire the transformation to a more inclusive and sustainable
economy and society. Innovation can develop a much larger role in the world to inspire
transformation to a more inclusive and sustainable economy and society. However, these ideas
seldom get institutional support to convert them into prototypes or social enterprises. Also, most
large-scale corporations utilize the natural capital (forest or raw materials) of a region and fail to
uplift the potential of the local social capital. Several areas across India continue to be neglected
by the state and the markets. India has distinctive traditional art forms, especially in tribal, rural,
and unorganized regions. Indian art consists of a variety of art forms, including painting, sculpture,
pottery, and textile arts such as woven silk. There has always been a timeless tradition of art forms,
which have been practiced for different reasons among people, living far from urban life in interior
terrains of forests, deserts, mountains and villages. So far, we have studied art of a certain time, a
period named after a place or dynasties, who ruled different parts of the Indian subcontinent for
few hundred years or so. But what about common people? Were they not creative? Was there no
art that existed around them? From where did the artists come to the courts or patrons? What did
they use to make before coming to cities? Or even now, who are the unknown artists making
handicrafts in faraway deserts, mountains, villages and rural areas, who have never been to an art
school or design institute or even attended formal schooling? Our country has always been a
repository of indigenous knowledge, which has been transferred from one generation to another.
Artists in each generation have created the best of works out of available material and technology.
Many scholars named these art forms as minor arts, utility art, folk art, tribal art, people’s art, ritual
art, crafts, and so on. We know that these art forms have existed from time immemorial. We have
seen the examples in pre-historic cave paintings or works of pottery, terracotta, bronze, ivory, etc.,
of the Indus period as well. During the early history and its subsequent times, we find references
of artists’ communities everywhere. They made pots and dresses, jewellery and ritual or votive
sculptures. They decorated their walls and floors and did many more artistic things to fulfill their
daily needs and supply their works to local markets at the same time. There is an instinctive
aesthetic expression in their creations. There is symbolism, specific use of motifs, materials,
colours and methods of making. These art forms do not get proper exposure.
Also, the bottom of the pyramid faces problems like sanitation, infrastructure, sewage disposal,
income generation, etc., which need to be addressed. Sewage treatment is costly, and more often
than not, sewage is dumped without being treated. This spreads waste and all the germs, worms,
and toxic chemicals it may contain, causing health problems such as hepatitis, cholera, and typhoid
in places where sewage is dumped. Over 1.7 billion people in the world still do not have basic
sanitation services, such as private toilets or latrines. Of these, 494 million still defecate in the
open, for example in street gutters, behind bushes or into open bodies of water. Poor sanitation is
linked to transmission of diarrhoeal diseases such as cholera and dysentery, as well as typhoid,
intestinal worm infections and polio. Poor exacerbates stunting and contributes to the spread of
antimicrobial resistance. Poor sanitation reduces human well-being, social and economic
development due to impacts such as anxiety, risk of sexual assault, and lost opportunities for
education and work. Some 829 000 people in low- and middle-income countries die as a result of
inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene each year, representing 60% of total diarrheal deaths.
The problem of disguised unemployment and under-employment, fueled by fragmentation of
landholdings, has long plagued the Indian agricultural sector. More than 45% of the workforce is
engaged in a sector which contributes less than 17% to the country’s gross domestic product. This
share is poised to further decline; agriculture cannot sustain households dependent on it for long.
Agriculture contributes more than 20% to greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Agriculture as a
sector is responsible for non-CO2 emissions generated within the farm gate by crops and livestock
activities, as well as for CO2 emissions caused by the conversion of natural ecosystems, mostly
forest land and natural peatlands, to agricultural land use. It is necessary to study what contributes
to this greenhouse gas emission and find solutions to this problem. There is a gap between the
unmet needs of our society and the creative energy of young people who want to come up with
innovative solutions. This gap exists because either need is not well recognized or, if recognized,
they do not trigger empathy. Transparent social innovations are required to fill these gaps. To
bridge this gap, SCMHRD, Pune is starting a multi-dimensional initiative named SAMADHAN.
What is SAMADHAN?
SAMADHAN is to undertake a journey searching for knowledge, creativity, innovations, issues,
and problems at the grassroots. SAMADHAN is an SCMHRD initiative to explore problems
across the social, economic and geographical canvas of the country with a firm belief that the
hardship and challenges of natural surroundings are prime motivators of creativity and innovations.
SAMADHAN aims at unearthing such traditional knowledge and grassroots innovations and a
journey of mutual exchange and sharing of knowledge. The significant problems that have been
identified in many rural and urban areas are poverty, unemployment, homelessness, crime, social
evils, lower living standards, and lack of facilities, services, and health. SAMADHAN will identify
such problems in these areas and seek to provide solutions to mitigate these problems.
Objectives of SAMADHAN
SAMADHAN, as effective scouting, networking, and dissemination program of SCMHRD, will
be carried out with the following (indicative) objectives:
1. To learn about the experiences of the underprivileged and unorganized community by
mobilizing creativity and innovations at the grassroots level through frugal innovation.
2. To learn and understand present issues and problems faced at the grassroots and provide
solutions to them by applying management education.
3. To learn about traditional art/culture forms in these areas and bring forth these art forms to
a broader audience.
4. To learn about the experiences of the farmers engaged in organic and zero budget natural
farming and inform other farmers about the same
5. To meet the people who solve their problems through their presence of mind and inborn
ability, store their knowledge, and celebrate them.
6. To compile and disseminate the knowledge, which is fast disappearing and establish a
dialogue between the old and future generations.
7. To interact with the NGOs and other Organisations who are working to support and help
in bailing them out of their problems.
What do we do in SAMADHAN?
Primarily, the students of SCMHRD as a key stakeholder in ‘SAMADHAN’ will explore a
periphery of around 50-100 km or so (from an earmarked area viz. city/town/village etc. of their
choice) in a span of seven to eight days. They will meet innovators, farmers, traders, self-help
groups, artisans, marginal community dwellers in urban and village areas, etc., individually or in
groups. They will look for niche innovations, i.e., anybody doing something different and trying
to understand its logic, understand the present issues and problems faced by them and try to provide
solutions. Students can work individually or in a group of a maximum of five students. Faculty
mentors will guide the student in this project.
Students are expected to study the initiatives/innovations or social issues (specific to their area of
choice), understand its facets, and use the knowledge gained from MBA to develop solution/s to
scale up the invention for the masses. Students may also study social and economic problems like
unemployment, sanitation, health issues, pollution, etc. Students will provide solutions to these
problems by using the knowledge gained from at MBA.
Video Presentation
The team will have to create a video presentation/ video case depicting their work on the said topic
that they have chosen. The video should contain footage from ground zero encompassing all the
relevant details pertaining to the topic. The said video will be treated as their submission which
should substantiate the topic of their study, all its facets and the solution provided by them. The
presentation needs to be in English language and not more than 10-12 minutes of duration. Selected
videos will also be uploaded on SCMHRD’s official Youtube channel as well as all social media
handles.
Content of the video (Indicative):
1) Innovation/issue/problem identified in rural/urban area
2) Brief description of the various facets/ enablers/impediments w.r.t. the topic of discussion
(from point no. 1).
3) Solutions (proposed/implemented) provided by the students based on their analysis.
Evaluation of the project
The project will carry 100 marks. The student/s needs to submit the video report to the
respective faculty earmarked for their project. A panel of two examiners will assess the project
work done by the student/s. The students will be assessed based on the innovation identified,
strategy to scale up the innovation, issues/problems identified, and solutions to mitigate the
problems through a detailed Viva.
Plan of Action
The Cohort -
A maximum of 5 students will be allowed to form a group. They are at their liberty to
choose their group members within their respective MBA programmes (MBA, MBA - BA
and MBA - IDM).
-
Each group will be assigned to a particular faculty member for guidance and mentoring.
-
Students will be allowed to choose group members beyond their designated mentoring
groups.
Timelines
1. May 31st, 2022
The idea of SAMADHAN will be introduced to the third semester students of all MBA
programmes.
2. July 31st, 2022
Students will have to form their groups and share their group details with the Academics Team
at SCMHRD.
3. September 30th, 2022
Each group will have to submit a brief proposal of their planned work to their respective faculty
guides (as assigned by the academics department).
The proposal should include the following details:
- The geographical area where they would want to work
- The issue/innovation/self-help group/community they would like to study/work with
- Plan of action of their proposed work
- Proposed outcome of their work.
Please Note: The proposal will be given due consideration while assessing the final
presentation.
4. February 1st to 7th, 2023
The students will visit the place (town/village that they had earlier chosen) to conduct their
study. Wherein, they will interact with the concerned people/stakeholders, interview them, discuss
their problems/issues/innovations/challenges etc. to come up with their own set of solutions. They
will also have to record their experiences which will then have to be incorporated in their video
presentation.
5. February 10th, 2023
The group will have to submit their video presentation along with a brief report of their work. The
structure of the video presentation has already been discussed earlier. The report should focus on
two aspects only:
- The problem/innovation and its various facets
- The solutions provided by the students
- The possible and/or real-time impact of their solutions
6. March 13th to 18th, 2023
Academics department will schedule group viva to assess the work of each group.
Assessment Philosophy
It is well understood that each and every team’s work is going to be unique in its own way and
direct comparison of the works may not be fruitful and justified. However, to ensure high standards
of performance, the efforts put in by teams in identifying a relevant area of work, understanding
its various aspects/challenges/opportunities and proposing a workable solution will be given due
consideration while assessing their work.
Marks will be awarded basis the following KPIs (Key Performance Indicators):
- Critical and integrative thinking ability
- Global and regional awareness
- Leadership skills, synergy and teamwork
- Realistic solution orientation
- Capability to present perspectives in a confident and convincing manner
The weightages for the KRAs (Key Result Areas) are as follows:
Sl. No
Key Result Area
Weightage
1
Initial proposal
10%
2
Video presentation
40%
3
Summary report of work
20%
4
Group Viva
30%