The Future is Collective Case Studies of Collective Social Innovation 2025

In the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, social inequality is a deeply rooted problem which affects students’ sense of belongingness. This issue leads to irregular attendance and persistent absenteeism in government schools. With the support of the Vidhya Vidhai Foundation, a Shikshagraha “momentum partner” in the state, the district co-created a micro- improvement project to set up a “house system” and promote inclusive practices and increase attendance. In the district’s 181 public schools, students and teachers were divided into four houses, and leaders and class captains were selected for each house. The leaders then facilitated meetings to set objectives and develop a scoring system for houses achieving core responsibilities, such as maintaining discipline, keeping classrooms clean and managing the notice board. Every two weeks, head teachers met with house leaders and class captains to discuss participation and progress. Over five months, increased interaction among students and rewards for attendance led to an improved sense of belongingness, with stronger peer relationships leading to fewer dropouts. Overall, the participating schools reported an average increase in student attendance by 7.5%. Seeing its impact, this initiative is now being implemented in all of the over 37,500 public schools across the state by the Tamil Nadu State Education Department. Supporting infrastructure Governance and participation Shikshagraha is not registered as a legal entity. It has a three- tiered leadership structure. It is governed by a leadership group that includes representatives from partner organizations to ensure shared governance and accountability. There is a strategic leadership team which steers strategic vision, ensures financial oversight and makes key policy decisions, as well as an advisory board, which brings industry expertise, insights and guidance. This collaborative structure is key to driving long-term sustainability and maximizing the impact of initiatives. Team culture and competencies Shikshagraha creates an ecosystem of support and learning for districts and schools, with a number of different roles for partner organizations and individuals. Institutional roles include co-builders, strategic partners, anchor partners, momentum partners and collaborators. Individual roles include advisors, ambassadors and mentors. Competencies: Shikshagraha has developed a list of verbs to describe the set of skills and activities they seek in team members and partners, including: “amplify” (spreading the word about the movement), “convene” (bringing together stakeholders across different sectors), “implement” (executing programmes and interventions), “design” (creating innovative solutions, frameworks and tools), “orchestrate” (coordinate and align efforts towards common objectives), “enable” (provide support, resources and capacity building), “connect” (establishing connections and partnerships between different actors in the system), “mentor” (guiding and supporting others in the movement), and “build narrative” (craft and share powerful stories that inspire others to join). Values: The initial set of partner organizations of Shikshagraha came together to identify shared values upon which the movement would be built. Those values are: 1) agency (the ability to solve problems independently); 2) collaboration (working together to succeed); 3) grit (continuing to make things happen; and 4) open to all (being accessible to everyone without barriers). Collaborative and adaptive learning Shikshagraha embeds continuous and adaptive learning into all of its work, both with partner organizations and more broadly with all stakeholders that are part of collectives. Team members from partner organizations meet regularly on community of practice (CoP) calls or during Shiksha Samvaad meetings to discuss what they are learning and to adapt methods and practices accordingly. With stakeholders in collectives, the Case vignette: Increasing belonging in Tamil Nadu schools The Future is Collective: Case Studies of Collective Social Innovation 45