Grassroutes 2009 Applicant Handbook
This document was uploaded by user and they confirmed that they have the permission to share it. If you are author or own the copyright of this book, please report to us by using this DMCA report form. Report DMCA
Overview
Download & View Grassroutes 2009 Applicant Handbook as PDF for free.
More details
- Words: 3,233
- Pages: 13
2009 Summer Edition
Applicant Handbook
Road-trips for social change. www.grassroutes.in
About Grassroutes Grassroutes is a Fellowship Program which funds youth to go on road-trips for social change. Traveling across India, meeting change-makers, working with social ventures, learning developmental issues, living on less than $1 a day, these youth return with stories of social change; and the program enables them to use these stories to drive campaigns and become change agents themselves. An initiative of a non-profit for-impact society Youth Factor, and run by 20-odd year olds just out of college, Grassroutes aims to be a novel social venture driving youth to social action in India.
Mantra The Grassroutes mantra is to use travel as a means to enable youth to be change agents. The team believes that immersion experiences in areas where social entrepreneurs are battling odds to create sustainable, significant impact, have the potential to create deep impact on the way we perceive social change. He, who does not travel, does not know the value of men -
Moorish Proverb
Values The focus of the Grassroutes program is to help youth realize and develop two vital values Social entrepreneurship: A way of thought to identify grassroots level problems, develop solutions to address them and have a significant social impact in the process Social journalism: An approach of observing social issues like development, rights, access to information etc at the grassroots, present it to a larger audience using media tools in a compelling manner and to spark conversations in communities which can solve the issues at hand.
2 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
History In the winter of 2008, Grassroutes launched its maiden (pilot) edition and chose 3 teams and a total of 14 outstanding youth as Fellows. These teams kicked off their road-trips after a 1-day orientation held in Bangalore, conducted by inspiring social entrepreneurs, journalists and travelers. Their roads took them to three places: 1. Pochampally, AP; to understand the problems of a weaver community and discover the dying art of Pochampally sarees 2. Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu; to understand relocation problems being faced by tribals and discover the man-vs-environment battle in real life 3. Bilaspur, Chattisgarh; to understand the health problems faced by tribal communities and discover how a bunch of doctors are changing their lives for the better. The Fellows are currently working on creating travelogue documentaries of their road-trips, and plan to use them in the near future to run campaigns.
Grassroutes is best understood and experienced when you throw your preset notions away and stop trying to analyze everything that you come across. It can change you in ways you didn’t know you could be changed. -
Anurag Dutta, Grassroutes Fellow 2008
3 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Applying for the Program Eligibility The following conditions have to be met by candidates for the Grassroutes Fellowship Program 1. Only Indian nationals below the age of 25 as of April 2009 are allowed to apply. 2. Applications are invited in teams of 3-4. (Read Selection process for more details) 3. Candidates are required to be present full-time for a period of 15 days in the second half of June
Application The Application form consists of 3 parts 1. Personal Details, (to be filled by all team members individually) 2. Individual Questions (to be filled by all team members individually) and 3. Team Questions (to be filled by the team as a whole). The application process has been tailored to be quite rigorous and demanding, reflecting the true nature of the Grassroutes program itself. Apart from a set of essay-questions, each team is required to run a mini-campaign on a social cause of their choice. The experience is designed in a way to help the candidates realize whether they are a good fit for the Grassroutes program. For further details, please read through the application forms.
Selection Criteria Each question in the application forms details the rationale behind the question, and the specific quality of the candidate that we are seeking to evaluate. Here is a round-up of the same. An ideal Grassroutes Fellow would Have a passion for the core Grassroutes values of social entrepreneurship and social journalism Have an open mind, ready to learn and unlearn Have a penchant for travel Translate inspiration into sustained positive action Be a doer. (And yeah, being a good talker is important too) Learn from experiences Be tenacious Be conversant with social media tools
4 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
An ideal Grassroutes team would Consist of an eclectic mix of youth with complementary skill sets Be able to collaborate over long distances and time periods Efficiently share responsibilities and deliver on time Be able to run campaigns as a team
Selection Process The selection process is divided into two stages. Stage 1: Online Application All applications will be evaluated against our selection criteria at an individual level, as well as a team application. If an individual of a team does not meet the minimum standards to be a Grassroutes Fellow, the whole team will be deemed as not meeting the standards to proceed to the next stage. Ergo, candidates are strongly encouraged to build their team judiciously, focusing on getting together a team of highly qualified and passionate youth. The parameters that we used to judge the application criteria are mentioned in the previous section. Stage 2: Telephonic Interview The teams selected from the first stage will have a telephonic interview with one of our judges. This stage will involve further assessment of the interests and commitment levels of the individual. This will provide an opportunity for the candidate to better understand the requirements of the program.
Mapping teams to partner organizations (non-profits) The teams which pass through both selection stages are mapped to our partner non-profit organizations based on their interests, skill sets and also the requirement of the organizations. Both the teams and the partner organizations are engaged in the mapping process. To the best extent possible, all selected teams will be mapped to organizations working in sectors that they evinced interest in. This is to ensure greater impact to the fellows and to be of greater value to the host organization.
Important Dates Dates 20 Mar 2009 20 Apr 2009 30 Apr 2009 03 May 2009 14 May 2009 2nd half of June
Timeline
Application process starts Application process ends Announcement on teams selected for telephonic interview Telephonic interviews start Announcement on the final teams for Grassroutes 2009 Summer Ed. 15 days (Day Zero + Road-trip + Post-road-trip processes)
5 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Program Structure Pre-trip Orientation The Grassroutes orientation is an intensive month long process where the Fellows embark on a steep learning curve, learning about various facets of the social sector and the tools required as a change agent. It is designed to help the Fellows make the best out of their road-trip in terms of learning and to equip them with adequate tools and knowledge to run campaigns for the community. The orientation process will begin after the Fellows have been selected through the application process and continue until the beginning of the road-trip. The orientation program is mainly non-residential and information is provided to the Fellows over internet and phone. Purpose of the orientation program: Through the orientation program we aim to: Bridge the knowledge gap about the social sector by helping Fellows understand the vastness and rich diversity of the sector. Help fellows get a deeper understanding of the community and the non-profit organization that they will be associated with during the course of the program Resource material During the orientation, the Fellows will be provided access to a wiki with a plethora of resources on the following topics Driving change through social enterprise Creating sustainable and scalable high-impact organizations Case studies and inspirational stories of change-makers Using social media for social change Film-making: Using the tape to tell compelling stories Fund raising models The Grassroutes Fellows Network, both from 2008 and 2009, will curate the wiki. Planning the road-trip During this phase, the teams get in touch with their respective mapped non-profit organizations and engage in a conversation culminating in a plan for the road-trip phase. This is in order to ensure that the Fellows have a good understanding of their objectives during the road-trip.
6 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Day Zero As a culmination of the pre-trip orientation, a 2-day residential event called ‘Day Zero’ will be held just before the road-trip. All Fellows are ‘required’ to attend this event as a condition of their Fellowship. This will serve as a platform for all selected Fellows to meet and interact with each other and with other Grassroutes alumni and distinguished change-makers. A sample Day Zero schedule would resemble this: Introductions Talks by social entrepreneurs/journalists Talks on the power of media and tips on effective usage of media Presentation by the Grassroutes alumni Presentations of the preparation that has been made for the trip and expectations from the road-trip by the Fellow teams Video making workshop Talks relating to travel experiences Safety and first aid
Note: Pre-trip orientation is a very intense program with a packed schedule. Fellows will be introduced to as many people and concepts as possible to make their work in the field effective. Fellows should be mentally prepared to devote their full attention and energy to understanding the Grassroutes program, and its approach to development. High levels of commitment in both time and learning aptitude are expected from the Fellows. Grassroutes holds the right to withdraw the Fellowship in case any team is not showing the required commitment levels or fails to attend the Day Zero event.
Day Zero was a day of listening to some very experienced people. Definitely one of the most inspiring days of my life -
Abhishek Nayak, Grassroutes Fellow 2008
7 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Road-trip During the road-trip, arguably the most exciting part of the program, Fellows will Travel to their destination and spend a week there trying to research and understand the onground reality – the problem at hand, the non-profits, the change-makers and their actions, the community and the local government. Play the role of social journalists and capture the stories of all the people involved in community development: the local folks, the change-makers. Be an activist by lending a helping hand to the change-makers and use their skill-set to help the local community in their own little ways. Complete the road-trip experience by exploring more sights and sounds around their place of stay.
Post road-trip The period after the road-trip, when Fellows are fresh from their enriching road-trip experience, is high on action and will enable the Fellows to learn the art of creating social impact and inspire more youth into social action. After the road-trip, Fellows are expected to meet the requirements detailed in the following sections, along with the following activities. Serve as an ambassador for the non-profit after the road-trip Design and run campaigns to benefit the NGO (and its community) and engage more people in their efforts to support its activities. Use social media to bring to fore the stories and experiences from their trip Screen travelogue videos of their trips in various colleges, conferences and festivals to inspire more youth into social action.
Grassroutes is an amazing way to get out of your comfort zone. Go explore and bring back exemplary stories from the grassroots. -
Rachit Chandra, Grassroutes Fellow 2008
8 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Program Requirements In order for Fellows to prepare for this experience and successfully complete the Grassroutes Fellowship program a few specific requirements are mentioned below, which are conditions of the Fellowship.
Commitment and Responsibility It will be the responsibility of the Grassroutes Family (including the team, mentors, advisors and partner organizations) to Conduct a transparent and efficient selection process for the Fellowship Provide extensive mentoring and knowledge support pre-road trip to ensure maximum impact Foster a healthy association between the Fellows and partner non-profit organizations Conduct an inspiring Day Zero event with high-quality speakers and modules Provide continuous and extensive support in all forms needed during the road-trip Help in structuring post road-trip campaigns Provide for online infrastructure needed for post road-trip campaigns Respond to all support requests within 48 hours It will be the responsibility of the Fellows and their respective teams to Provide genuine information to Grassroutes at all stages of the program Participate intensively in pre road-trip orientation Reach out to the assigned partner non-profit organization, begin conversations and structure the road-trip Abide by all Grassroutes ground rules during the road-trip Demonstrate excellent project management skills after the road-trip Understand, appreciate and support all secondary deliverables of the Grassroutes Program (surveys, questionnaires etc) Design, and run an effective social campaign with due tenacity Respond to all communication within 48 hours
9 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Documentation Fellows are expected to extensively document their travel experiences in pre-formatted reports, and custom channels like blogs, Twitter, audio and videos. This exercise is crucial because The stories and experiences that the Fellows bring back have tremendous inspirational and conversational value. It is these stories that will form the foundation for the campaigns. It aids in keeping the Grassroutes program transparent to the community, and showcases the learning experience that Fellows undergo. It provides a solid base for Grassroutes and its Fellows network to create tangible systemic change in the communities of our partner non-profit organizations
Communication Fellows are expected to have adequate access to phone and internet throughout the program. This is crucial to constant mentoring and support both before and after the road-trip. Though, most of the communication will be limited to e-mail, weekly teleconferences will be held during the course of the program. This is to provide a common platform for the Fellows, the Grassroutes team and the board of mentors and advisors to discuss and collaborate. The Fellows are expected to take part in all the calls, take lead in the discussions, list the minutes of the meetings and use them in the reports detailed in the following section.
Agreement All chosen fellows will be required to sign an agreement accepting that they understand the aforementioned requirements of the program and will deliver on the deliverables mentioned in the following section.
10 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Program Deliverables The deliverables expected from Grassroutes at the end of the program can be categorized under 3 headings 1. Reports 2. Media 3. Campaign
Reports Three different reports are expected from the Fellows Pre Road-trip report As an end-result of the month long pre-trip orientation, each team of Fellows will submit a report in collaboration with our partner non-profit organization that they will be scheduled to visit. This report will detail their understanding of the issue at hand and an outline of their planned activities during the trip Daily reports During the road-trip, Fellows will create pre-formatted daily reports to keep track of their experiences. Post road-trip report This report would be a collection of road-trip stories and experiences of the Fellows. It will capture the enthusiasm, learning, joy, and process of change that the Fellows embarked on. The report will exemplify the Grassroutes objective of translating inspiration into sustained, positive action beyond the road-trip itself.
Media Photos Stories are best told through images. Fellows will be trained on basic photography skills, and the art of conveying compelling stories through photo essays. Videos Travelogue documentaries form one of the most exciting deliverables of the Grassroutes Program. The Fellows will be trained on basic filming skills and on the art of creating storyboards for documentaries. The Fellows are expected to work with our media partners diligently to bring out the documentaries.
11 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Blogs Fellows are expected to share their stories with the community through blogs on the Grassroutes website, personal blogs, and online partner sites. Fellows will be given adequate knowledge training on the art of story-telling on blogs and using them to generate conversations and social change. Twitter Arrangements will be made for Fellows to live-blog their road-trips using Twitter as a channel. Fellows will be imparted with adequate knowledge to make the best use of Twitter, build a community of followers interested in their road-trip and use the community to generate conversations and social change. Social Networks Using social media and networks for social change is at a nascent stage in India, and Grassroutes aims to equip its Fellows to be pioneers in this field. With access an extensive knowledge bank of case studies, and mentors, Fellows will be required to use social media as a vital component of their campaigns.
Campaign The culmination of the Grassroutes Program and the most demanding stage of the Program, this stage expects the Grassroutes Fellows to design and run a campaign to address one of the problems the local community they visited during the road-trip faced. The objectives of this campaign are to Enable Fellows to understand and experience first-hand the process of driving social action Support the local community and the work of the partner non-profit organization Inspire a larger section of people (particularly, youth) into social action A few examples of campaigns: Raise resources to setup a library in a rural schools Find and implement ICT tools to help the community Develop sustainable revenue channels for a non-profit program Organize events (plays, discussions), fund-raising campaigns to spread awareness about a cause. The campaign is a condition of the Fellowship. The duration of the campaign, based on prior experience, would be around 3-6 months. During the course of this campaign, the Fellows are expected to lead the process in a structured, proactive manner; prepare bi-weekly reports; participate in teleconferences with Grassroutes mentors and team; document their experience and create significant social impact. The campaign will make extensive use of media captured during the road-trips and online infrastructure support provided by Grassroutes.
12 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Post-script You have reached the end of the handbook. Traversing through 12 pages of text in these times where short attention-spans are the norm is a huge achievement in itself. Congratulations! We might have asked for several commitments from you in this handbook. In exchange, we promise the experience of a lifetime. We assure you that it will have a deep personal impact on you, as a human being. If you still think the program is too demanding or long or strenuous (or heck, a waste of time), we would love to hear from you. Please send us a mail at [email protected]. The program design is a mixture of experience from our previous edition and inputs from various advisors who are noted social entrepreneurs, change agents, journalists and travelers, and is designed to create a lasting impact on the Fellow, the local community and the non-profit partners. We really hope you apply for the Grassroutes Fellowship Program this summer of 2009. If you have prior commitments, keep a watch on our website for the next edition. We would be grateful if you can show us some love and recommend this program to interested friends of yours.
Apply Now! Reach us at [email protected] or Call Keerthikiran on +91 90083 02973. We’d love to catch up over a cup of coffee.
●
●
Let the world change you and then, you can change the world. Che Guevara Motorcycle Diaries -
●
13 Road-trips for Social Change
●
●
www.grassroutes.in
Applicant Handbook
Road-trips for social change. www.grassroutes.in
About Grassroutes Grassroutes is a Fellowship Program which funds youth to go on road-trips for social change. Traveling across India, meeting change-makers, working with social ventures, learning developmental issues, living on less than $1 a day, these youth return with stories of social change; and the program enables them to use these stories to drive campaigns and become change agents themselves. An initiative of a non-profit for-impact society Youth Factor, and run by 20-odd year olds just out of college, Grassroutes aims to be a novel social venture driving youth to social action in India.
Mantra The Grassroutes mantra is to use travel as a means to enable youth to be change agents. The team believes that immersion experiences in areas where social entrepreneurs are battling odds to create sustainable, significant impact, have the potential to create deep impact on the way we perceive social change. He, who does not travel, does not know the value of men -
Moorish Proverb
Values The focus of the Grassroutes program is to help youth realize and develop two vital values Social entrepreneurship: A way of thought to identify grassroots level problems, develop solutions to address them and have a significant social impact in the process Social journalism: An approach of observing social issues like development, rights, access to information etc at the grassroots, present it to a larger audience using media tools in a compelling manner and to spark conversations in communities which can solve the issues at hand.
2 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
History In the winter of 2008, Grassroutes launched its maiden (pilot) edition and chose 3 teams and a total of 14 outstanding youth as Fellows. These teams kicked off their road-trips after a 1-day orientation held in Bangalore, conducted by inspiring social entrepreneurs, journalists and travelers. Their roads took them to three places: 1. Pochampally, AP; to understand the problems of a weaver community and discover the dying art of Pochampally sarees 2. Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu; to understand relocation problems being faced by tribals and discover the man-vs-environment battle in real life 3. Bilaspur, Chattisgarh; to understand the health problems faced by tribal communities and discover how a bunch of doctors are changing their lives for the better. The Fellows are currently working on creating travelogue documentaries of their road-trips, and plan to use them in the near future to run campaigns.
Grassroutes is best understood and experienced when you throw your preset notions away and stop trying to analyze everything that you come across. It can change you in ways you didn’t know you could be changed. -
Anurag Dutta, Grassroutes Fellow 2008
3 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Applying for the Program Eligibility The following conditions have to be met by candidates for the Grassroutes Fellowship Program 1. Only Indian nationals below the age of 25 as of April 2009 are allowed to apply. 2. Applications are invited in teams of 3-4. (Read Selection process for more details) 3. Candidates are required to be present full-time for a period of 15 days in the second half of June
Application The Application form consists of 3 parts 1. Personal Details, (to be filled by all team members individually) 2. Individual Questions (to be filled by all team members individually) and 3. Team Questions (to be filled by the team as a whole). The application process has been tailored to be quite rigorous and demanding, reflecting the true nature of the Grassroutes program itself. Apart from a set of essay-questions, each team is required to run a mini-campaign on a social cause of their choice. The experience is designed in a way to help the candidates realize whether they are a good fit for the Grassroutes program. For further details, please read through the application forms.
Selection Criteria Each question in the application forms details the rationale behind the question, and the specific quality of the candidate that we are seeking to evaluate. Here is a round-up of the same. An ideal Grassroutes Fellow would Have a passion for the core Grassroutes values of social entrepreneurship and social journalism Have an open mind, ready to learn and unlearn Have a penchant for travel Translate inspiration into sustained positive action Be a doer. (And yeah, being a good talker is important too) Learn from experiences Be tenacious Be conversant with social media tools
4 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
An ideal Grassroutes team would Consist of an eclectic mix of youth with complementary skill sets Be able to collaborate over long distances and time periods Efficiently share responsibilities and deliver on time Be able to run campaigns as a team
Selection Process The selection process is divided into two stages. Stage 1: Online Application All applications will be evaluated against our selection criteria at an individual level, as well as a team application. If an individual of a team does not meet the minimum standards to be a Grassroutes Fellow, the whole team will be deemed as not meeting the standards to proceed to the next stage. Ergo, candidates are strongly encouraged to build their team judiciously, focusing on getting together a team of highly qualified and passionate youth. The parameters that we used to judge the application criteria are mentioned in the previous section. Stage 2: Telephonic Interview The teams selected from the first stage will have a telephonic interview with one of our judges. This stage will involve further assessment of the interests and commitment levels of the individual. This will provide an opportunity for the candidate to better understand the requirements of the program.
Mapping teams to partner organizations (non-profits) The teams which pass through both selection stages are mapped to our partner non-profit organizations based on their interests, skill sets and also the requirement of the organizations. Both the teams and the partner organizations are engaged in the mapping process. To the best extent possible, all selected teams will be mapped to organizations working in sectors that they evinced interest in. This is to ensure greater impact to the fellows and to be of greater value to the host organization.
Important Dates Dates 20 Mar 2009 20 Apr 2009 30 Apr 2009 03 May 2009 14 May 2009 2nd half of June
Timeline
Application process starts Application process ends Announcement on teams selected for telephonic interview Telephonic interviews start Announcement on the final teams for Grassroutes 2009 Summer Ed. 15 days (Day Zero + Road-trip + Post-road-trip processes)
5 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Program Structure Pre-trip Orientation The Grassroutes orientation is an intensive month long process where the Fellows embark on a steep learning curve, learning about various facets of the social sector and the tools required as a change agent. It is designed to help the Fellows make the best out of their road-trip in terms of learning and to equip them with adequate tools and knowledge to run campaigns for the community. The orientation process will begin after the Fellows have been selected through the application process and continue until the beginning of the road-trip. The orientation program is mainly non-residential and information is provided to the Fellows over internet and phone. Purpose of the orientation program: Through the orientation program we aim to: Bridge the knowledge gap about the social sector by helping Fellows understand the vastness and rich diversity of the sector. Help fellows get a deeper understanding of the community and the non-profit organization that they will be associated with during the course of the program Resource material During the orientation, the Fellows will be provided access to a wiki with a plethora of resources on the following topics Driving change through social enterprise Creating sustainable and scalable high-impact organizations Case studies and inspirational stories of change-makers Using social media for social change Film-making: Using the tape to tell compelling stories Fund raising models The Grassroutes Fellows Network, both from 2008 and 2009, will curate the wiki. Planning the road-trip During this phase, the teams get in touch with their respective mapped non-profit organizations and engage in a conversation culminating in a plan for the road-trip phase. This is in order to ensure that the Fellows have a good understanding of their objectives during the road-trip.
6 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Day Zero As a culmination of the pre-trip orientation, a 2-day residential event called ‘Day Zero’ will be held just before the road-trip. All Fellows are ‘required’ to attend this event as a condition of their Fellowship. This will serve as a platform for all selected Fellows to meet and interact with each other and with other Grassroutes alumni and distinguished change-makers. A sample Day Zero schedule would resemble this: Introductions Talks by social entrepreneurs/journalists Talks on the power of media and tips on effective usage of media Presentation by the Grassroutes alumni Presentations of the preparation that has been made for the trip and expectations from the road-trip by the Fellow teams Video making workshop Talks relating to travel experiences Safety and first aid
Note: Pre-trip orientation is a very intense program with a packed schedule. Fellows will be introduced to as many people and concepts as possible to make their work in the field effective. Fellows should be mentally prepared to devote their full attention and energy to understanding the Grassroutes program, and its approach to development. High levels of commitment in both time and learning aptitude are expected from the Fellows. Grassroutes holds the right to withdraw the Fellowship in case any team is not showing the required commitment levels or fails to attend the Day Zero event.
Day Zero was a day of listening to some very experienced people. Definitely one of the most inspiring days of my life -
Abhishek Nayak, Grassroutes Fellow 2008
7 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Road-trip During the road-trip, arguably the most exciting part of the program, Fellows will Travel to their destination and spend a week there trying to research and understand the onground reality – the problem at hand, the non-profits, the change-makers and their actions, the community and the local government. Play the role of social journalists and capture the stories of all the people involved in community development: the local folks, the change-makers. Be an activist by lending a helping hand to the change-makers and use their skill-set to help the local community in their own little ways. Complete the road-trip experience by exploring more sights and sounds around their place of stay.
Post road-trip The period after the road-trip, when Fellows are fresh from their enriching road-trip experience, is high on action and will enable the Fellows to learn the art of creating social impact and inspire more youth into social action. After the road-trip, Fellows are expected to meet the requirements detailed in the following sections, along with the following activities. Serve as an ambassador for the non-profit after the road-trip Design and run campaigns to benefit the NGO (and its community) and engage more people in their efforts to support its activities. Use social media to bring to fore the stories and experiences from their trip Screen travelogue videos of their trips in various colleges, conferences and festivals to inspire more youth into social action.
Grassroutes is an amazing way to get out of your comfort zone. Go explore and bring back exemplary stories from the grassroots. -
Rachit Chandra, Grassroutes Fellow 2008
8 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Program Requirements In order for Fellows to prepare for this experience and successfully complete the Grassroutes Fellowship program a few specific requirements are mentioned below, which are conditions of the Fellowship.
Commitment and Responsibility It will be the responsibility of the Grassroutes Family (including the team, mentors, advisors and partner organizations) to Conduct a transparent and efficient selection process for the Fellowship Provide extensive mentoring and knowledge support pre-road trip to ensure maximum impact Foster a healthy association between the Fellows and partner non-profit organizations Conduct an inspiring Day Zero event with high-quality speakers and modules Provide continuous and extensive support in all forms needed during the road-trip Help in structuring post road-trip campaigns Provide for online infrastructure needed for post road-trip campaigns Respond to all support requests within 48 hours It will be the responsibility of the Fellows and their respective teams to Provide genuine information to Grassroutes at all stages of the program Participate intensively in pre road-trip orientation Reach out to the assigned partner non-profit organization, begin conversations and structure the road-trip Abide by all Grassroutes ground rules during the road-trip Demonstrate excellent project management skills after the road-trip Understand, appreciate and support all secondary deliverables of the Grassroutes Program (surveys, questionnaires etc) Design, and run an effective social campaign with due tenacity Respond to all communication within 48 hours
9 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Documentation Fellows are expected to extensively document their travel experiences in pre-formatted reports, and custom channels like blogs, Twitter, audio and videos. This exercise is crucial because The stories and experiences that the Fellows bring back have tremendous inspirational and conversational value. It is these stories that will form the foundation for the campaigns. It aids in keeping the Grassroutes program transparent to the community, and showcases the learning experience that Fellows undergo. It provides a solid base for Grassroutes and its Fellows network to create tangible systemic change in the communities of our partner non-profit organizations
Communication Fellows are expected to have adequate access to phone and internet throughout the program. This is crucial to constant mentoring and support both before and after the road-trip. Though, most of the communication will be limited to e-mail, weekly teleconferences will be held during the course of the program. This is to provide a common platform for the Fellows, the Grassroutes team and the board of mentors and advisors to discuss and collaborate. The Fellows are expected to take part in all the calls, take lead in the discussions, list the minutes of the meetings and use them in the reports detailed in the following section.
Agreement All chosen fellows will be required to sign an agreement accepting that they understand the aforementioned requirements of the program and will deliver on the deliverables mentioned in the following section.
10 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Program Deliverables The deliverables expected from Grassroutes at the end of the program can be categorized under 3 headings 1. Reports 2. Media 3. Campaign
Reports Three different reports are expected from the Fellows Pre Road-trip report As an end-result of the month long pre-trip orientation, each team of Fellows will submit a report in collaboration with our partner non-profit organization that they will be scheduled to visit. This report will detail their understanding of the issue at hand and an outline of their planned activities during the trip Daily reports During the road-trip, Fellows will create pre-formatted daily reports to keep track of their experiences. Post road-trip report This report would be a collection of road-trip stories and experiences of the Fellows. It will capture the enthusiasm, learning, joy, and process of change that the Fellows embarked on. The report will exemplify the Grassroutes objective of translating inspiration into sustained, positive action beyond the road-trip itself.
Media Photos Stories are best told through images. Fellows will be trained on basic photography skills, and the art of conveying compelling stories through photo essays. Videos Travelogue documentaries form one of the most exciting deliverables of the Grassroutes Program. The Fellows will be trained on basic filming skills and on the art of creating storyboards for documentaries. The Fellows are expected to work with our media partners diligently to bring out the documentaries.
11 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Blogs Fellows are expected to share their stories with the community through blogs on the Grassroutes website, personal blogs, and online partner sites. Fellows will be given adequate knowledge training on the art of story-telling on blogs and using them to generate conversations and social change. Twitter Arrangements will be made for Fellows to live-blog their road-trips using Twitter as a channel. Fellows will be imparted with adequate knowledge to make the best use of Twitter, build a community of followers interested in their road-trip and use the community to generate conversations and social change. Social Networks Using social media and networks for social change is at a nascent stage in India, and Grassroutes aims to equip its Fellows to be pioneers in this field. With access an extensive knowledge bank of case studies, and mentors, Fellows will be required to use social media as a vital component of their campaigns.
Campaign The culmination of the Grassroutes Program and the most demanding stage of the Program, this stage expects the Grassroutes Fellows to design and run a campaign to address one of the problems the local community they visited during the road-trip faced. The objectives of this campaign are to Enable Fellows to understand and experience first-hand the process of driving social action Support the local community and the work of the partner non-profit organization Inspire a larger section of people (particularly, youth) into social action A few examples of campaigns: Raise resources to setup a library in a rural schools Find and implement ICT tools to help the community Develop sustainable revenue channels for a non-profit program Organize events (plays, discussions), fund-raising campaigns to spread awareness about a cause. The campaign is a condition of the Fellowship. The duration of the campaign, based on prior experience, would be around 3-6 months. During the course of this campaign, the Fellows are expected to lead the process in a structured, proactive manner; prepare bi-weekly reports; participate in teleconferences with Grassroutes mentors and team; document their experience and create significant social impact. The campaign will make extensive use of media captured during the road-trips and online infrastructure support provided by Grassroutes.
12 Road-trips for Social Change
www.grassroutes.in
Post-script You have reached the end of the handbook. Traversing through 12 pages of text in these times where short attention-spans are the norm is a huge achievement in itself. Congratulations! We might have asked for several commitments from you in this handbook. In exchange, we promise the experience of a lifetime. We assure you that it will have a deep personal impact on you, as a human being. If you still think the program is too demanding or long or strenuous (or heck, a waste of time), we would love to hear from you. Please send us a mail at [email protected]. The program design is a mixture of experience from our previous edition and inputs from various advisors who are noted social entrepreneurs, change agents, journalists and travelers, and is designed to create a lasting impact on the Fellow, the local community and the non-profit partners. We really hope you apply for the Grassroutes Fellowship Program this summer of 2009. If you have prior commitments, keep a watch on our website for the next edition. We would be grateful if you can show us some love and recommend this program to interested friends of yours.
Apply Now! Reach us at [email protected] or Call Keerthikiran on +91 90083 02973. We’d love to catch up over a cup of coffee.
●
●
Let the world change you and then, you can change the world. Che Guevara Motorcycle Diaries -
●
13 Road-trips for Social Change
●
●
www.grassroutes.in
Related Documents
Grassroutes 2009 Applicant Handbook
April 2020 6
2009 Handbook
May 2020 11
Dear Applicant
November 2019 9
Applicant Form
July 2020 6
Applicant Course
November 2019 9
Applicant Form
November 2019 15More Documents from ""
Grass Routes Day Zero Schedule - 2009
May 2020 2
Grassroutes 2009 Applicant Handbook
April 2020 6