Along the lines of Pepsi Refresh Project and GE’s Ecomagination Challenge comes Mahindra’s ‘Spark the Rise‘ Competition which is a digital challenge geared towards creating change through innovation. The campaign that is focused in India aims to get Indians to create innovative projects around six themes namely energy, transport, infrastructure, agriculture, technology and social entrepreneurship. The top ideas in each category get funding from Mahindra which is 12.8 billion dollar company and the largest automaker in India. According to the ‘Spark the Rise’ website – Each month, 8 Sparks will receive grants of 4 lakh each. In total, 48 Sparks will receive 1.92 crore over the course of 6 months. Five of these monthly winners will be selected by public vote. Of these, the 2 most-voted will be eligible to participate in the Grand Finale.

The competition received close to 1000 entries in the first round which were voted down to 8 top entries that range from a  smart irrigation automation solution to a design that prevents suicides using ceiling fans.  Mahindra is the first Indian multinational to leverage what is being called ‘movement marketing’, a term coined by Strawberry Frog that means creating awareness of the brand using various platforms and means of conversation with a group. Mahendra is also known for its Corporate Social Responsibility programs and has received the Pegasus Award for CSR in 2007.

Some interesting ideas that came out of the competition are:

Kisan Raja that is a smart irrigation automation solution and uses a GSM based remote controller to stop and start irrigation pumps.

Technology for green air conditioning and refrigeration system in vehicles that consumes negligible amount fuel with close to zero emissions.

A design that can lock any wheel of your car by a press of a switch and hence help get stuck vehicles out of slush by powering the rest of the wheels.

KPF Rainwater harvesting system that gathers large amounts of rainwater underground using a plastic sheet that acts as a conduit and allows the water to seep into the ground thereby adding to the groundwater.

Last but not the least, a project aimed at reducing suicides by the means of hanging from a ceiling fan by introducing a safety rod which gets extended when someone attempts to hang themselves.

Links referenced

Fastcompany Article
The Economic Times Article
Yahoo News Article

On May 26th, I attended a workshop on ‘Funding for Social Change‘ organized by WorldStudio at SVA. Andrea Pellegrino is a business partner at WorldStudio with Mark Randall. She orchestrated the workshop and it was very useful for people who are taking baby steps towards building projects that are socially responsible and don’t necessarily have client funding. Andrea ran us through a few basics. Worldstudio Inc is one such rare design shop that works on socially responsible communication design and branding projects.

Traditionally such social design work has always be done under the umbrella of -
Non Profit Organizations
Civic Authorities
Probono Work
Corporate Responsibility Programs

So the question raised was how does one fund socially responsible non client based initiatives when it does not fall under any of the above categories. The questions thus explored were funding, developing ideas, creating communication plans, developing a budget and gauging the return on investment.

Funding models for such projects could be sourced to –
Grants (Eg Sappi Grants)
Donations (Eg Project M-425)
Integrated solutions (Toms Shoes)
Sponsorship (Tribeca Film Festival)

Getting started on a project and keeping it going -
What is your passion and what drives you?
Start small – Small acts inspire big ideas.
Be realistic – Assess your situation.
Float the idea – Confirm viability and interest.
Find partners, build a collaboration – Dont try & do it alone.
Leverage your relationships – Start with who you know.
Develop a communications plan – Build support for your idea.
Create a project document – Tools to engage your sponsors and partners.
Funding sources – Research, Research, Research
Be Flexible – Allow for changes in your concept.

Methodology -
Indirect – Raise money for local charity you like.
Concrete – Open your home to a homeless person.
Visionary – Look towards the future and create something long term.
Commentary – Create an installation that deals with a social subject.

Communication plan -
Who are you trying to reach?
Will you engage subcontractors?
Website.
Traditional Advertising – Print, TV, Radio, Mailers.
Editorial Outreach.
Social Media.
Collaboration.
Multimedia.
Collateral.
Involving partners in media plan.

Project budget -
Hard costs
Development time
Execution time
Risk as a percentage – 10 to15 %
Potential for in-kind donations

Return on Investment -
Reflects value
Creates social impact
Potential for PR activation
Interacts with key markets

The second half of the workshop was more hands-on The group was split into a bunch of smaller groups. Each group was given an idea and was asked to apply the above stated list onto the idea to make it real. The sequence of the process entailed coming up a concrete idea or concept, and then creating a communications plan and budget for it. Personally for me, things suddenly felt doable. There seemed to be definite plan of action in place. One thing Andrea stressed about a lot was putting the time spent on the project in the budget or accounting for your time. Amongst other nuggets of amazing information was a great group of people. It was truly inspiring to be in that room. There was a sense of community and love for social design. Things that will only grow with time as more of such projects get funded. For more details on this workshop, don’t hesitate to contact me on shagunster@gmail.com.

Other projects by WorldStudio inc -
Design Ignites Change
The Urban Forest Project