ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth Annual Report 2010-2011
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ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth Annual Report 2010-2011 44 Our visiOn is a world free of poverty in which every individual has the freedom and power to Our missiOn is to empower the poor to participate in and create and sustain a just society in which to live. benefit from the indian growth process through integrated action in the fields of primary health, elementary education, financial inclusion and sustainable livelihood. This will be achieved through active collaboration with the government and independent organisations. 44 Making India’s growth more inclusive. 44 44 ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth (ICICI Foundation) was founded by the ICICI Group in early 2008 to carry forward and build upon its legacy of promoting inclusive growth. ICICI Foundation works with government authorities and specialised grassroots organisations to support development work in four identified focus areas. We are committed to investing in long-term efforts to support inclusive growth through effective interventions. For over five decades, the ICICI Group has partnered with India in its economic growth and development. Promoting inclusive growth has been a priority area for the Group from both a social and business perspective. We strive to make a difference to our customers, to society and to the nation’s development directly through our products and services, as well as through our development initiatives and community outreach. 44 44 This year we have refocused on deepening our interventions to cover the intertwined elements of personal “and national development. In addition to our work in primary health, elementary education and access to finance, we have expanded our work into a critical new area of focus: sustainable livelihoods. ” Message from the Chairman Governing Council, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth As the Indian economy continues to grow, we need to ensure that this growth is sustainable and inclusive. This is important for the long-term development and prosperity of the nation. The ICICI Group through ICICI Foundation continues to remain committed to creating conditions for inclusive growth. We strive to ensure that our approach to development delivers holistic benefits to every segment of society. To provide details about how our approach works on the ground, I am pleased to present the third annual report of ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth. This year we have refocused on deepening our interventions to cover the intertwined elements of personal and national development. In addition to our work in primary health, elementary education and access to finance, we have expanded our work into a critical new area of focus: sustainable livelihoods. Through our efforts, we aim to broaden the opportunities available to the poor by strengthening their ability to provide for themselves and their families. The interventions in our four focus areas are designed to complement one another, ensuring that our work considers inclusive growth from every perspective: personal, societal, cultural, and economic. With this vision we work to ensure that babies born in India grow into healthy children, attend school and become productive adults with full access to financial services. Recognising that each component of development is interconnected, this past year has been a time for strengthening not only each of our programmes, but also the links between them. At the ICICI Group, we strive to ensure that India’s growth is inclusive not just in the communities it touches, but in the diversity of opportunities it offers. Having been a key partner in India’s development for decades, ICICI Group is pleased to see ICICI Foundation now playing an active role in including marginalised communities in this growth. K.V. Kamath Chairman, Governing Council, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth Chairman, Board of Directors, ICICI Bank 5 44 This year, we have asked ourselves how our interventions can improve the lives of the poor from a “holistic perspective. ICICI Foundation works closely with the government to bring awareness and support to existing programmes as well as help create new methods of inclusion. ” Message from the Managing Director & CEO ICICI Bank The ICICI Group views promoting inclusive growth as a priority from both a social and business perspective. For over five decades, the ICICI Group has been playing a proactive role in India’s growth, through its business operations as well as its social initiatives. Three years ago, the ICICI Group established ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth to integrate and scale up its social initiatives. ICICI Foundation has focused on specific areas that are essential enablers for inclusive growth. These include primary health, elementary education and access to finance. In the areas of healthcare and education, the Foundation’s work focuses on partnering and supporting government systems in order to bring about sustainable improvement in the quality of healthcare and education delivered to large sections of the population. The Foundation is scaling up its healthcare and education work in several states across the country. In the last year, the Foundation has expanded its areas of work to include the promotion of sustainable livelihoods, by undertaking vocational training initiatives. Without efficient implementation, even the most comprehensive strategy for development is unlikely to be successful in bringing change. The Foundation works with various specialised agencies for the delivery of the identified projects in our areas of work. To ensure efficient utilisation of resources for maximum impact and to provide insights for continuous improvement, the Foundation has deepened its involvement in the various projects, going beyond being a provider of financial resources to end-to-end planning, monitoring of execution and measurement of results. The ICICI Group has a strong belief in India’s potential. We believe that our country is on the path to sustained growth and prosperity. Through ICICI Foundation, we seek to create opportunities for every Indian to participate in the growth process and benefit from it. Chanda Kochhar Managing Director & CEO, ICICI Bank Member of the Governing Council, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth 7 44 In seeking to understand and assess every aspect of our impact, we have realised the importance of “standardising our processes for designing and monitoring our programmes. ” Message from the President ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth This year, ICICI Foundation has worked to consolidate and strengthen our work in the areas of health, education, and access to finance, and we have introduced a new focus on sustainable livelihoods. We have initiated several new far- reaching and systemic initiatives and closely examined our existing programmes to ensure that we make the best possible use of our resources to drive inclusive growth. We have made an important shift in our approach to programming, taking an active role in implementation. The outcomes of development interventions can be difficult to ascertain, and we must be accountable for our programmes from start to finish. In seeking to understand and assess every aspect of our impact, we have realised the importance of standardising our processes for designing and monitoring our programmes. Our experiences on the ground have demonstrated the complexities of scale and the complications of maintaining long-term interventions. Our district-level work in elementary education in Rajasthan, discussed in last year’s annual report, provided us with the necessary experience and understanding to scale up our programme to the state level. Over the next six years, we will be working closely with the Government of Rajasthan to support their efforts to comply with the national education mandates with respect to teacher training curriculum, school reform and a child’s right to education (page 27). An initiative like this may not have the immediate gratification of a smaller programme with direct access to beneficiaries, but through sustained commitment we will be able to improve the schooling of over 7.4 million children in the state. Through our support to Jharkhand’s community health worker programme, we realised the importance of context-specific interventions. In this programme we have worked closely with all levels of government health functionaries to examine and improve the ability of local community health workers to deliver health services in their villages (page 15). Training materials for health workers that were printed in Delhi will not necessarily provide the necessary information for the villages of rural Jharkhand. After restructuring their training programme to provide comprehensive skill building and monitoring along with new modules 9 Establishing market linkages, examining supply chains, understanding finance and career development will create young people who are ready to participate in and benefit from our nation’s growing economy. on nutrition, disease, and leadership that were created especially for Jharkhand, over 40,000 health workers are now equipped to improve the health of their communities. This year we’ve welcomed a new area into the Foundation’s focus, sustainable livelihoods. In areas where we are already working in health, education and access to finance, we are now providing vocational training to rural youth (page 44). In addition to teaching vocational skills, we have been working to cultivate the soft skills and understanding that these individuals require to become successful entrepreneurs.