Reflections – Two years of DevInsights
The morning walk today did not seem to be as usual, not too many people were walking in the park today. Sunday anyways don’t witness a lot of people, that’s the day when people tend to break the routine and relax. For me however, the day was pretty delightful, filled with loads of enthusiasm and gratitude. DevInsights is completing two years today! Incidentally, the day coincides with the Disability Day and on my WhatsApp I received a video of an unusual football match, where the players were without limbs, but the way they were playing left me speechless. Yes, they chose to play instead of making excuse of their disability. And they played like champions!
Almost two years ago, around the same time, I had shared my plans of starting DevInsights with my wife while walking. She was not surprised on hearing about my plan as if she already knew about it. But quitting from a senior position and high salaried job was not so easy. I was talking about walking a path in life, which scares many. The reassurance however, from my better half was quite comforting when she said – don’t worry, we’ll manage! Those were the powerful words from Minal, one of the co-founders, which made DevInsights happen. The idea was turned into reality on the 4th December 2015.
Only someone who has taken the plunge can imagine that starting to work on own is considered like an unpardonable crime in India. After all, in India, the parents get their children educated only so that they can secure a good job. Some of my friends and family were no exception. Discouragement came from all corners. But the thought of creating an institution was compelling. The thought that this can help transform a number of lives, the capacities that it would develop, the jobs that it may create and the innovations that would take place was strong.
Apropos to our mission statement, DevInsights positions itself, as a credible cost effective insights provider and a key solution provider in the social development sector for effective decision making for the decision makers and policy planners. There’s no dearth of agencies supplying data, but eliciting insights, is indeed a rare commodity. Therefore we aim to accentuate insights in the development sector.
The first two years have been slow, but steady and most importantly in the direction as envisioned. We have already worked with around 14 clients/partners with our footprints in about 13 states in India. Some of them have come back with repeat business and most of them have recommended us heavily. This is because of the sheer hard work and commitment of the members of the DevInsights family. You guys are brilliant. Your enthusiasm and energy is contagious and your ideas are compelling. Thanks for taking the driving wheel, thank you Chandan, Ayush, Zoya, Divya, Komal, Shivangni and Rahul!
We initiated our much appreciated M4D (Music for Development) project, which is a BCC model that uses music as a tool. The pilot project yielded very positive results, which is being planned to be implemented in different geographies on different thematic areas.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has been a part of this journey. I fondly remember the contributions of Nisha, Akshay and Shikha who became the part of the DevInsights family when it had started taking baby steps and helped us reach where we are today. We wish them all the best! I would also like to thank the tremendous support of our clients / partners, who believed in us. We are excited about our association and we stay committed to ensuring your success.