The FellowConnect App has revolutionized the Gandhi Fellowship by transforming it into a digitally powered, high-engagement, and data-driven leadership program. Anchored in the Piramal Group’s core values of Sewa Bhav(spirit of service), commitment to societal good, and the vision of “Doing Well and Doing Good,” this innovative application has redefined how grassroot leaders are nurtured and empowered across the foundation.
Addressing Core Challenges
Before FellowConnect, the Gandhi Fellowship faced several operational challenges:
- Unstructured fellowship routines
- Lack of data for informed decision-making
- Limited assessment and reflection platforms
- Lack of systematic, task-based reflections
- Inconsistent fellowship experiences across geographies
These issues made it difficult to ensure consistent learning, reflection, and scalable impact.
Key Interventions and Digital Journey
To address these, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Limited (PCHFL) and the Fellowship program undertook over 100 hours of immersion with Fellows and program leaders, identifying key pain points and opportunities for intervention. This collaborative groundwork led to:
- Phase 1: MVP Development
Piloted with 50 Fellows across 10 districts to gather real-time feedback and ensure functionality. - Phase 2: 100-Day Adoption Challenge
Launched a structured change management initiative across all states and featured intensive hands-on usage with Batch-17 Fellows. - Phase 3: Full Integration
Focused on evolving the technology and approach to serve every fellow and region better.
Tangible Outcomes
- Engagement and Scale:
200+ Batch-17 Fellows actively used the app with 100% feature uptake. - Knowledge Sharing:
Over 1,000 community posts were created and leveraged by BBs (Block/Bhava/Business Blocks). - Wider Impact:
Systematic data collection, ongoing feedback, and consistent reflections have driven better-informed decision-making and stronger community interventions. Fellow ratings and district-wide engagement underscore the platform’s high return on investment for both fellows and the program.
Embracing the Piramal Mission
The FellowConnect App exemplifies the Piramal Group’s mission—to seamlessly blend technology with community service and build future-ready leaders for Bharat. It has set a benchmark for digital innovation within the development sector, showing how agile, collaborative solutions can drive measurable change at the grassroots.
Conclusion
With the learnings from the FellowConnect Application, the Gandhi Fellowship has spearheaded the foundation’s digital journey. Today, the entire foundation—including all BBs—has begun adopting digital ways of working, inspired by the digital success of the Fellows. This transformation is happening thanks to the pivotal journey, groundwork, and support enabled by the FellowConnect app. The app’s impact is not just on the Fellows, but now ripples across the Foundation, advancing the vision of digitally empowered leaders and communities in every corner of India.
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