WHO WE ARE
Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement
Is a development research and policy engagement initiative in India. GRAAM’s extensive expertise spans over policy research, Impact Assessment and Evaluation, Community Consultation, Policy Engagement, Strategic Consultation and Academic Programs. GRAAM works in collaboration with all the four key stakeholders of development i.e. Government, Citizenry, Civil Society Organizations and Corporate. GRAAM believes that the key stakeholders of development – the community, the State, the NGO/CSO and the private sector are essential in the process of development. GRAAM aims to ensure the ‘voices’ of the communities at the grassroots are significantly accounted for in the process of development. We provide evidence-based and actionable policy/program inputs incorporating grassroots perspectives, aiming towards a citizen-centric public policy. GRAAM strives to impact development through building human and social capital.
Mission & Vision
GRAAM shall advance higher standard of living, civic empowerment, political participation, and social justice by working in the sectors of:
- Learning, Skill development & Livelihoods
Health & Wellness - Governance and Democratization
- Indigenous Community Development
To become the first choice public policy think-tank in the social sector across India.
- Society first
- Honesty and transparency
- Integrity & Collaboration
- Continuous learning
- Innovation
Our Timeline
Sneak Peek of GRAAM & its development
- GRAAM inked a Statement of Intent with DMEO, NITI Aayog.
- Contributed to national level COVID -19 program
- GRAAM’s policy engagement brought advancement in social security pension amount
- GRAAM inputs considered by the education department for the re-opening of schools during the pandemic
- Provided position paper for Vocational Education in Schools as part of the NPE Working Committee
- Museum of democracy for the Election Commission
- Creation of State of the 21st Century Skills Sector Report for UNICEF
- Assessed the implementation of AB-HWCs in eight states of India
- Secured the first FCRA project and expanded GRAAM's footprint to Jharkhand
- Entered into MoU with Institute for Social and Economical Change (ISEC), Centre Food Technical Research Institute (CFTRI), Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat University (KSRDPU), RV University
- Awarded with the Guide Star India Transparency Key
- Signed MoU with DSERT, Government of Karnataka for expanding the reach of Sugamya Shiksha
- Provided a concept paper for 'No School Bag Day' initiative of the Government of Karnataka.
- Partnered with WHO and expanded GRAAM’s reach to Assam and Chhattisgarh.
- Extended Action Research project Sugamya Shiksha from 11 Schools to 22 schools in four districts of Karnataka, reaching 5000 children
- MoU with McGill - The Max Bell School of Public Policy
- Launched the first Children's Parliament: an innovative program bringing
all the executive arms of the government who matter for school development, and
presided by the judiciary in collaboration with Karnataka State Legal Services
Authority and District Administration
- Signed MoU with Mauritius Society Renewal
- Expanded the Action Research project Sugamya Shiksha to four more districts of Karnataka
- Barefoot Research Conference, an annual program was launched for the teachers of primary and secondary government schools to present research papers in the presence of policy makers
- Conferred with the Global Communication Association's ‘A.P. Chowdappa Memorial Award’ for recognizing GRAAM's advocacy effort
- Launched Program Evaluation Workshop in collaboration with Cornell University
- Initiated research studies in Telangana
- Advocated successfully to ensure circular by GoK to accommodate PWD in MGNREGA
- Contribution for State Human Development Reports and Preparation of two District Human Development Reports in Karnataka
- Invitation to GRAAM’s Executive Director as a Fellow at EDI – Cornell University
- Empanelled for GPSA (Global Platform for Social Accountability), a World Bank initiative.
- Invitation to GRAAM’s Executive Director as a Fellow at EDI – Cornell University
- Ventured out of Karnataka for a study on school sanitation in Andhra Pradesh
- Conferred with ‘2013 South Asia eNGO Challenge Award’ by Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) for the use of ICT and digital media for good governance practices.
GRAAM stood as a winner among 340 NGO contenders across South Asia
- Initiation of Graam(12th Jan) as a unit of Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement.
- Initiated Arogya Shreni, a technology-based action research project for community monitoring which won South Asia Level Award
Our Team
The GRAAM team is enriched with an eclectic mix of dynamic people from diverse disciplines, all united for a common purpose ‘making programs and policies emulate people’s voice’. They all represent jigsaw blocks that GRAAM needs to bring together to further the movement of grassroots development. The team consists of scientists and scholars in the faculties of Public Policy, Development Studies, Political Science, Population Studies, Anthropology and Social Work, Public Health, Education, Development Economics, Statistics and Data Analysts, Human Development and Management.
At the top, we are guided by our Founder Dr. R. Balasubramaniam and Chairman Mr Arjun Ranga, Board of Trustees and Advisory Committee consisting of eminent personalities from varied backgrounds. They lend their experience and expertise in their respective fields as critical inputs to our cause of making development a community movement.
The GRAAM Team led by the Executive Director Dr Basavaraju R Shreshta is composed of dedicated people, again carefully selected with focus on diversity they bring to the table; a characteristic we consider essential to deal with development issues, which is consistent with our belief that development is multi-faceted.
OUR FOUNDER'S BLOG
Trustees
GRAAM would like to acknowledge with gratitude the support and contribution of a number of individuals and institutions that have helped it grow over the past year and with their continued support GRAAM can stride ahead with confidence. In alignment with our philosophy, we have engaged with institutions from different sectors – academic, government, NGO, private sector and, most importantly, communities.
She is a Member – Board of Directors at Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd & Member of Audit Committee at Tata AIG....
She is currently working as a Professor in the Department of Pain and Palliative Medicine...
Tara Appachu Sharma is a successful strategic development professional with over 28 years of experience and a track record of leading, managing and...
Dr. Prakash Nair is a Leadership Development and Human Resource professional, and currently runs his own independent practice, Axon Consulting, based
Mr. Arjun Ranga is the Managing Director of M/s. N Ranga Rao and Sons Pvt Ltd, the makers of ‘Cycle Pure Agarbathies’. He has done his Bachelor of Engineering
Mr. J. Purushotham had been to Cornell University, US on an invitation to deliver a lecture on Labour Laws. Apart from his legal and academic career,
Dr R. Balasubramaniam (Balu) is a development activist, social innovator, writer and a leadership trainer.He is a medical doctor by training, with specialization in Public administration from Harvard University.
Advisory Team
GRAAM would like to acknowledge with gratitude the support and contribution of a number of individuals and institutions that have helped it grow over the past year and with their continued support GRAAM can stride ahead with confidence. In alignment with our philosophy, we have engaged with institutions from different sectors – academic, government, NGO, private sector and, most importantly, communities.
