1. What inspired the Kshetra Foundation’s focus on dialogue as a catalyst for social change, and how has your approach evolved over time?
Kshetra began its work inspired by the idea that empowering people to drive dialogue, rather than rely on mediators and specialists, allows them to craft sustainable solutions for themselves and their communities. This was why we developed the Dialogic Method: A way for everyone to effectively engage in dialogue.
Our approach has certainly evolved since its inception. While initially saw dialogue as a means of conflict resolution, we have come to recognize the potential for dialogue to do more: from problem-solving to organisational and team development in corporate contexts, to leadership, building policy narratives and catalysing collaborations.
2. Can you share a success story from the Kshetra Foundation’s projects, highlighting how dialogue and collaboration led to meaningful community impact?
One of our first “success stories” is a personal favourite: Mary (name changed), a social worker dedicated to empowering differently-abled women in rural Assam faced a complex challenge in supporting Lakshmi (name changed), a young woman with locomotor disabilities, who aspired for financial independence.
Using her experience from the Dialogic Method workshop as well as the real-team mentorship that Kshetra then offered, Mary was able navigate the various stakeholders involved in Lakshmi’s future – her family, the local community, and potential training providers. By going deeper into each stakeholder’s hesitations and concerns, rather than engaging only with the surface-level difficulties, Mary could construct and demonstrate to each stakeholder how Lakshmi’s financial independence was to their benefit – thereby garnering their support. In the end, she brought everyone together to construct a win-win-win solution to the situation.
Further, the entire engagement had an impact on their community’s perception of differently-abled women, sparking what Mary and we hope, over time, will lead to a systemic shift: from viewing such women as “burdens” to capable individuals in their own right.
Kshetra is dedicated to rigorous evaluation of our dialogue-based programs. We utilize a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, including surveys, in-depth interviews, and case studies. Our research consistently demonstrates that the Dialogic Method can lead to significant reductions in conflict, increased collaboration among community members.
This aligns with Kshetra’s core belief in empowering communities through dialogue, fostering a sense of agency and ownership. However, evaluation and research have provided crucial lessons. Sustained engagement and ongoing support are essential for long-term impact. By providing ongoing training and mentorship, we can help communities maintain the momentum of change and build their capacity for self-governance.
Question 4: What role do you see institutions of law and governance playing in supporting or hindering community-led initiatives, and how can they better align with grassroots efforts?
Institutions of law and governance have immense power to support community-led initiatives. They can create an enabling environment by providing necessary resources and adopting a participatory approach. At Kshetra, we attempt not only to equip grassroots community members with dialogue, but also to help them initiate dialogue with institutions of law and governance, towards driving collaborative solutions that are context-specific to the community and their specific needs.
Question 5: As a researcher turned social entrepreneur, what advice would you give to individuals and organizations seeking to drive systemic change through dialogue and collaboration?
In general, we think of conflict, the diversity of perspectives, as a problem. However, what may seem like differing perspectives hold immense potential for innovative solutions to long-standing problems. I would urge those seeking to drive change through dialogue to not shy away from what looks like a complex or even impossible situation, but rather to consider how they can harnessing dissonance to create value-positive outcomes.
It is also worthwhile to keep in mind that systemic problems are complex, and often require multiple stakeholders to work together to craft solutions. Dialogue can be a very powerful tool towards making that happen.
