Among the voices contributing to the day's discussions were Ashwin Yardi, Non-Executive Chairman of Capgemini India; Chetna Sinha, Founder and Chairperson of Mann Deshi Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation; and Ravi Sreedharan, Founder and President of the Indian School of Development Management (ISDM). Their perspectives highlighted the institutional, community and leadership dimensions involved in sustaining social change over time.
DoDM 2026 explored why, despite many organisations creating meaningful change, fewer manage to sustain it over the long term. Programmes can lose momentum, reforms can unravel, and movements can struggle to continue beyond funding cycles or changes in leadership. The fourth edition focused on the factors that enable change to endure across institutions, systems and communities.
The day's discussions covered four interconnected tracks spanning governance, government systems, funding and impact. “Building Institutions, Not Just Organisations” examined the governance, leadership and resilience required for institutions to endure beyond individuals and funding cycles. “From Schemes to Systems” explored how public systems can become more adaptive and sustain change at scale. “Funding the Future We Say We Want” examined the funding relationships and forms of capital needed to support long-term change. Meanwhile, “What is Impact Beyond the Numbers?” considered how the social sector can move beyond measuring outputs to determine whether change is genuinely taking root and enduring over time.
Chetna Sinha, Founder and Chairperson of Mann Deshi Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation, emphasised the importance of community agency, institutional support and access to resources in sustaining social change.
“For social change to last, communities must have the agency, institutions and resources to shape their own futures. Our experience with rural women has shown that financial inclusion, entrepreneurship and community institutions can root change in people's lives. Lasting change is about creating the conditions in which communities can continue to lead, adapt and expand their own progress,” Sinha said.
Ravi Sreedharan, Founder and President of ISDM, highlighted the role of resilient Social Purpose Organisations and Development Management in ensuring that social initiatives remain effective over extended periods.
“Social change may happen because of good programmes or even good individuals. But for social change to last, it needs Social Purpose Organisations that are resilient and equipped to work over long periods in specific geographies or on specific issues. That is where Development Management comes in: strengthening the leadership, management and organisational capabilities that keep them effective as they grow and contexts change. DoDM 2026 is an effort to bring these questions to the centre of the sector's conversation,” Sreedharan said.
Sharad Agarwal, Co-Founder of ISDM, stressed that sustaining progress also requires greater attention to the systems within which development programmes operate.
“Sustaining social change requires a greater focus on the systems that development programmes operate within. Outcomes endure when those systems are accountable and responsive to the communities they serve, and when we invest in what carries progress forward, not just in what a programme delivers today,” Agarwal said.
Since its inaugural edition in 2023, DoDM has developed into a platform for discussions on Development Management. Across its editions, the platform has recorded more than 4,000 participants, over 400 speakers and moderators, more than 270 research papers presented and over 50 track partners.
DoDM 2026 featured plenary conversations, Development Management Cases, masterclasses, research paper presentations, interactive discussions and Development Management Clinics. These formats provided participants with multiple opportunities to engage with practical questions concerning organisational capacity, institutional resilience and systemic change.
The convening brought together diverse perspectives to examine what it takes to move from creating social change to sustaining it. By addressing the institutional, systemic, financial and impact-related dimensions of development, DoDM 2026 sought to advance an approach that enables organisations, public systems and communities to build on progress, adapt to changing circumstances and sustain outcomes over time.
About Indian School of Development Management (ISDM)
Since 2016, ISDM has prepared leaders with functional expertise, managerial judgment and ethical responsibility to build strong, resilient social purpose organisations that create sustained impact at scale. Its work focuses on three core areas: leadership development through its flagship Post Graduate Program in Development Management; advancing Development Management as a distinct discipline that integrates management, social science, public policy and practice; and building capacity across the development ecosystem, including NGOs, foundations, social enterprises and policy spaces.
ISDM develops leaders who address complex social challenges and strengthen institutions across India's development ecosystem. As the institutional home of Development Management, it integrates leadership, management and development practice to drive social transformation at scale.
ISDM's Post Graduate Program in Development Management (PGP-DM) prepares leaders to address India's complex development challenges and develop the conviction and capabilities required to lead the country's social transformation. The 11-month programme is spread across eight terms and combines development perspectives with management rigour to equip participants with the skills, knowledge and empathy required to lead work that delivers impact at scale.
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