Impact Assessment

Our firm undertakes Impact Assessment studies in which it does an in depth analysis and evaluation of the impact the interventions have had in the community in terms of their social, economic, and environmental impacts. It involves analysing the effects of the interventions on various stakeholders, including employees, customers, communities, and the environment.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ recent revisions to the corporate social responsibility guidelines, which makes CSR Impact Assessment mandatory, have significantly influenced the CSR landscape in India. With the new Corporate Social Responsibility Impact Assessment compliance now applicable, monitoring and evaluation have become a focus bringing credibility and accountability in the development sector. Impact Assessment assists corporates in assessing how their CSR projects are impacting communities and in tracking the on-the-ground impact of their CSR efforts. The increased regulatory compliance has affected all aspects of the CSR lifecycles and will guarantee that CSR strategy activities are planned, implemented, and assessed with greater rigor, resulting in the desired social outcomes.

Impact Assessment measurement comprises of quantitative and qualitative approach with the Beneficiaries, Implementing Partners, Project Stakeholders & Local Govt. Representatives among others. Impact assessments help funders, grant-makers and companies to understand and evaluate the impact of their social investments in programmes and projects on their target beneficiaries or society. The findings of an assessment also help funders and companies to make evidence-based decisions in implementation and identify hurdles, allowing for programme continuity, scale, sustainability, efficiency, etc.

‍Impact assessment has been primarily focused upon for several reasons. Now that we have established this, here is what impact assessment assures for your business:

• Makes the CSR projects transparent and easily manageable.
• Instills trust in stakeholders and makes them accountable.
• Drives emphasis on minimizing negative outcomes.
• Results in either reduction or best utilization of costs.

Base Line Study

We undertake base line studies to capture the social demographic details of the community and analyse the data to understand the need of the community which would be an important too assess the situation on the ground and will aid in designing and planning the interventions in the right manner.

To understand the changes brought about by a project or programme it is first necessary to understand what the original situation was. This is known as the baseline. Baseline study can range from simple data collection exercises through to large, expensive surveys. They are an important part of many M&E systems. Baseline studies are normally carried out at or near to the start of a project or programme. Most projects and programmes contain objectives and indicators that define the changes they are trying to influence.

In order to assess these changes it is first necessary to understand the original situation. This involves collecting and analysing information on the objectives and/or indicators at the start of a project or programme. This is called the baseline. In theory, data on the objectives/indicators is then collected later in the project or programme, and the two situations are compared. Without a baseline it is much harder to evaluate progress, because changes cannot easily be compared with the original situation.

Baseline studies can range from largely informal or ‘light-touch’ exercises through to large-scale surveys or studies. Baseline studies are normally carried out at or near to the start of a project or programme. If a baseline study is carried out at household or individual level then it is normally conducted after the target households have been selected. In practice, this means a baseline is often done after the design phase of a project or programme has been completed. The primary purpose of a baseline is to allow a project or programme to evaluate performance by establishing what changes have occurred between the start and the mid- or end-point. However, baselines can sometimes be used for other purposes, since they provide useful information on the target population. For example, information collected during a baseline may reveal that the objectives or indicators established at the beginning of the project need to be adjusted. Baseline study information can also be used to set milestones and targets.

Monitoring & Evaluation

We undertake CSR Monitoring and Evaluation of development/CSR projects on behalf of Corporate and Funding agencies. Concurrent Monitoring & Evaluation helps in effective, accountable and sustainable implementation of development projects.
In most of the cases the projects are in far flung locations in backward or remote districts/provinces which seriously limits regular supervision from the International Development Agencies perspective. We help the agencies have periodic reports and knowledge of the ground level development thus taking corrective measures if any in time.

Monitoring & Evaluation of CSR activities helps corporations in learning from past experiences, improving delivery system of CSR strategy activities they undertake, systematic planning and optimizing resource allocation and measurement of results as a part of accountability to the key stakeholders. However well a CSR programme or project has been conceived and planned, if the implementation is not proper, it will result in inefficient and wasteful loss of resources. A number of CSR programmes and projects have been undertaken in various sectors particularly in agriculture, rural development, health and family welfare, education, women and child development, drinking water and other related poverty alleviation programmes.

Review of these projects suggests that monitoring & evaluation with appropriate mid course corrective measures are central to achieving project goals. In the light of the above, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is increasingly recognized as an indispensable tool. There is a wide felt need to improve the performance of CSR projects. M&E provides a basis for accountability in the use of resources and is an integral and important part of the CSR project cycle. A CSR project’s operation, performance, and impacts are the aspects of concern in monitoring & evaluation with a view to keep track on the technical and economic ‘efficiency’ of the project. The monitoring and evaluation cycle helps identify the shortfalls, deviations and problems and causes for the same so as take appropriate remedial action.

Mid Term Evaluation

Mid Term evaluation studies are undertaken to review the mid term progress of the project in order to assess the path of the project and to analyse if there are any deviations from the set milestones so that corrective measures can be undertaken or the road mad needs to be revised if there are any major deviations from the project deliverables and the timeline.

ESG Strategy and Compliance

To formulate an effective ESG strategy as per the ESG framework which are applicable to conduct business operations in India and have an effective governance with environment friendly measures and to ensure that the Company is complying with all the ESG related compliances.

The global community is negotiating its ways to mitigate climate change and its impact while assuring that no severe effects are felt on business operations and the environment.

India is making an aggressive move toward ESG reporting and drafting an ESG strategy framework my making disclosures by market players to disclose sustainable ways of operation

Businesses are integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures into their marketing strategy to attract more consumers. This is in line with the policies adopted by Indian regulators, which implies that India is making an aggressive move toward ESG reporting and disclosure by mandating market players to disclose sustainable ways of operation. Special focus is being given to preparing the foundational principles and framework enabling businesses to run conscientiously while maintaining transparency and accountability in reporting.

ESG Disclosures in India: Evolution

The ESG strategy framework by Indian organizations has witnessed significant improvements since 2020. The ongoing advancements are the results of the market regulator SEBI’s push for ESG disclosures. This has led to an increase in the number of organizations positioning ESG data, from 127 in FY20 to 330 in FY22.

• The Companies Act of 2013 introduced the first ESG disclosure requirements for organizations. Section 134(m) commands enterprises to present a report curated by the Board of Directors on the conservation of energy.
• In 2017, SEBI published a report on ‘Disclosure Requirements for Issuance & Listing of Green Debt Securities’. This report presented a regulatory framework for the issuance of green debt securities in India.
• In 2021, SEBI introduced the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework in May 2021, which required the top 1000 companies by market cap to disclose their ESG performance.

The stark advancement in the ESG disclosures was reported based on their integrated reports, sustainability reports, as well as BRSR

CSR Fund Utilisation

To evaluate the CSR fund utilisation and evaluate the impact vis a vis its utilisation for the mentioned theme in order to generate a report which would act as a tool for better and effective utilisation of the resources.