1. What inspired the Kshetra Foundation to focus on dialogue as a catalyst for social change and how has its approach evolved over time?
Kshetra began her work inspired by the idea that empowering people to drive dialogue, rather than relying on mediators and specialists, enables them to create sustainable solutions for themselves and their communities. That’s why we developed the Dialogic Method: a way for everyone to effectively engage in dialogue.
Our approach has certainly evolved since its inception. While we initially saw dialogue as a means of resolving conflict, we have come to recognise the potential of dialogue to achieve more – from problem-solving to organisational and team development in corporate contexts, to leadership, political narrative-making and catalysing collaborations.
2. Can you share a success story from Kshetra Foundation projects, highlighting how dialogue and collaboration led to significant community impact?
One of our first “success stories” is one of my favorites: Mary (name changed), a social worker dedicated to empowering women with disabilities in rural Assam, faced a complex challenge in supporting Lakshmi (name changed), a young woman with locomotor disabilities who aspired to financial independence.
Thanks to her experience in the Dialogic Method workshop and the team mentoring offered by Kshetra, Mary was able to communicate with the various stakeholders in Lakshmi’s future: her family, the local community, and potential training providers. By digging deeper into each stakeholder’s doubts and concerns, rather than focusing only on superficial difficulties, Mary was able to build and demonstrate to each of them how Lakshmi’s financial independence benefited them, thereby gaining their support. In the end, she brought everyone together to build a win-win solution.
Furthermore, the entire engagement had an impact on their community's perception of differently-abled women, triggering what Mary and we hope will, over time, lead to systemic change: from viewing such women as “burdens” to seeing them as capable individuals in their own right.
Kshetra is dedicated to rigorously evaluating our dialogue-based programs. We use 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 and increased collaboration among community members.
This is in line with Kshetra’s core belief of empowering communities through dialogue, fostering a sense of initiative and ownership. However, evaluation and research have provided crucial lessons. Sustained commitment and ongoing support are essential to achieving long-term impact. By providing ongoing training and mentoring, we can help communities maintain the momentum of change and build their capacity for self-governance.
Question 4: What role do you think law and governance institutions play in supporting or hindering community-led initiatives, and how can they better align with grassroots efforts?
Law and governance institutions have immense power to support community initiatives. They can create an enabling environment by providing the necessary resources and adopting a participatory approach. At Kshetra, we not only try to equip grassroots community members with tools for dialogue, but also help them initiate dialogue with law and governance institutions, in order to foster collaborative solutions that are specific to the community context and its specific needs.
Question 5: As a researcher turned social entrepreneur, what advice would you give to individuals and organizations looking to drive systemic change through dialogue and collaboration?
We generally view conflict, diversity of perspectives, as a problem. However, what appear to be different perspectives hold immense potential for innovative solutions to long-standing problems. I would urge those seeking to drive change through dialogue not to shy away from what appears to be a complex or even impossible situation, but rather to consider how they can leverage dissonance to create positive outcomes.
It is also worth bearing in mind that systemic problems are complex and often require multiple stakeholders to work together to find solutions. Dialogue can be a very powerful tool to achieve this.