At a Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce led workshop – Benchmarking Effective Corporate Social Responsibility on June 2 I had the opportunity to engage with practitioners and Dr. Michael Hopkins (@mjdhopkins) as we discussed CSR benchmarking and effectiveness. Dr. Hopkins is a CSR expert consultant and academician with experience with numerous global bodies such as the UN, ILO, World Bank and a slew of Universities around the globe. He delighted the delegates with his insights and sense of humour as we shared best practices, his global experiences and how to make a difference with CSR strategies.
Overall, there seems to be increased interest in CSR and how companies are engaging with stakeholders. The need to understand the implications of the 2% CSR contribution in the New Companies Act is also on everyone’s mind. There are expectations to learn more about crafting CSR strategies and get familiar with the roles and responsibilities of practitioners in the current context.
At the forum the group discussed personal responsibility, the ownerships in private-public partnerships and managing implications of social/mass media in social responsibility. When I probed the delegates I discovered that many were taking on CSR as a new role or were adding it to their existing portfolio of work. Only a couple of participants from MNCs were doing CSR as a full time role, which surprised me – considering how much of importance is given to this evolving nature of work.
My personal take-away is that the knowledge gap among practitioners is vast and it will require a lot more hand holding to see CSR strategies over the line. Most participants were unsure of how to navigate the numerous definitions, the array of tools available and methodology at arriving at suitable plans and strategies. Since CSR as an agenda is very rarely discussed at the board there is hope that the new India CSR regulations might tip the balance now in favor of more active participation and engagement at the leadership level.
If you are keen to understand some CSR trends look up my perspectives on Slideshare.
