Beyond Silos: The Case for Collective Action

Overview

As India confronts complex challenges, collective action is increasingly seen as necessary, but is rarely easy. This webinar reflected on why organisations come together to address shared problems, how diverse perspectives were navigated, and what outcomes such efforts had achieved so far. Drawing from lived experience, the session also looked ahead to consider how collaboratives could play a more effective role in India’s development journey in the years to come.

Moderator: Siddharth Pandit, CEO, U-CAN

Panelists:
Kashyap Shah – Partner and head of the Bridgespan Nonprofit Development Program (Asia and Africa), Bridgespan Group

Srikanth Viswanathan – CEO, Janaagraha

Zibi Jamal – Communications Director, Samuhika Shakti

Key Takeaways:

🔹 Collaboration becomes inevitable when problems outgrow single actors

• Collaboration is necessary when scaling proven solutions, driving systems-level reform, or building evidence for new approaches.
• Systems change requires critical mass and aligned demands to influence political processes.

In deeply interconnected community contexts, multi-actor engagement is essential from the outset.

🔹 Necessity does not guarantee effectiveness

• Collaboration requires deliberate design: clear roles, codified governance, shared measurement, and sustained trust-building.
• Systems change is slower than anticipated, particularly when engaging the state.
• Long-term, flexible funding and clarity of funder roles often determine whether collaboratives sustain momentum or falter under coordination costs.
• Power dynamics, between funders and partners, and large institutions and grassroots actors, must be surfaced and navigated intentionally.

🔹 Sustained impact requires structural and cultural shifts

• Effective collaboration demands equity in funder engagement, aligned theory of change and governance, and accountable yet constructive engagement with government.
• Community voices must be centred in collaborative design.
• Collective impact requires patience that extends beyond traditional funding cycles.