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S
tate
of
I
ndia
’
s
L
ivelihoods
R
eport
2015
Key factors for a successful
CSR strategy
Frederick Allen identified five key factors for
a successful CSR strategy.
1. Business-based social purpose:
7
There
have been too many examples of CSR
programmes that ignore business fun-
damentals. Leadership-level CSR pro-
grammes always directly reflect what the
business is and what it does.
2. Clear theory of change:
CSR is becom-
ing mandatory in all Indian companies.
It will get harder to distinguish one
company’s efforts from another’s. Well
strategised CSR programmes will drive
measurable social change. The good
examples are of Tata Steel and Lupins
DBMGF described earlier.
3. Quality and depth of information:
Merely identifying social priorities for
community investment isn’t enough.
Leadership comes from providing all
stakeholders with a significant depth of
informationabout the social issue through
credible research, white papers and so on.
4. Concentrated effort:
It won’t do to go
through the motions and show that
money is spent. Leadership is shown by
corporations that focus their efforts on
one social issue and align all their internal
and external resources with this issue.
5. Partnering with experts:
Leadership
requires establishing a high degree of
credibility. This is best done through
relationships with social issue experts
and not-for-profit organisations which
many of Indian companies do.
All the five key factors apply in case of
livelihood projects. The results from liveli-
hood projects would be measurable and
hence can demonstrate leadership of the
corporate to others in a telling manner.
CSR activities are a new area of practice
for many Indian companies. Despite the
fact that many Indian companies have
done social work in the past, part of what
was done will not qualify as CSR in the
sense defined in the Companies Act. The
study of 100 companies referred earlier
shows that companies are struggling with
the idea of CSR and how to spend their
money for good effect. Companies require
not only good ideas, but also well designed
projects and delivery capabilities. The per-
sonnel to do the CSR planning, projectisa-
tion and implementation is not likely to
be available in-house for many companies
in the near future. The voluntary sector
with its richer experiences, should put in
place a shelf of project ideas backed by
implementation strategies. A national or
regional platform of project ideas for CSR
and a database of possible implementing
organisations will be a boon to the corpo-
rate sector. This would help the companies
take decisions and start using their CSR
budgets effectively.
7
Frederick E. Allen, The Five Elements of the Best
CSR Programmes, Forbes, April 2011.
