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ABOUT US

Create change that inspires more and rapid changes with Societal Thinking

We work alongside change leaders to enable impact at scale. During this sometimes smooth, sometimes choppy journey, we learn to view the problem at scale, reimagine how to trigger a domino effect and help design for scale.

We’ve engaged with more than 500 global change leaders in more than 20 countries. We work closely with change leaders as well as through Partners such as Ashoka, Co-Impact and Catalyst 2030. 

We are a member of the Centre for Exponential Change (C4EC) – a global network of diverse actors committed to solving social problems faster than they grow. C4EC is collaborative co-funded by Nilekani Philanthropies

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Societal Thinking’s Journey

In 2016, a small team of builders, thinkers and network-weavers asked a question: What does it take to design for and enable change at societal scale, with speed, sustainably?

Drawing inspiration from innovations such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and GPS as well as natural ecosystems such as rainforests, this team travelled with 500+ solvers in 20+ countries to understand, by experimenting, how to design for impact at scale.

Through these Do-Think-Do cycles, Societal Thinking emerged as a systemic approach to think, prototype and induce societal change at scale, with speed and sustainably, so that exponential problems can be tackled by inducing exponential change.

Societal Thinking was incubated at EkStep Foundation and is now housed under the Centre for Exponential Change.

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At the heart of Societal Thinking is the belief that fast-mutating social problems cannot be solved by replicating one solution but by distributing the ability to solve.
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At the heart of Societal Thinking is the belief that fast-mutating social problems cannot be solved by replicating one solution but by distributing the ability to solve.
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Team that curates Societal Thinking

Change leaders
Thinkers
Enablers
Network-weavers

Anjali loves to read and tell stories (especially about women, climate and Transformative Justice), eat oranges in the sun and write long sentences. She is the Lead Evangelist at Societal Thinking.

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Anjali Hans

Lead – Evangelist

Bhargava K C

Lead - Knowledge and Design

Mimon has a long career as a Knowledge Manager with premier IT companies and studied at a reputable educational institution. She works on knowledge Management systems and processes at Societal Thinking. She values Integrity and believes in ‘Respect for all’.

Mimon Datta

Lead – Knowledge and Design

Prateek is a visionary leader who challenges the status quo to create meaningful and memorable experiences for global clients. He is a TEDx speaker and frequent industry contributor. Outside of work, he finds balance through skateboarding, tennis, Reiki, yoga, meditation, and inspiration from his wife and daughters.

Prateek Sinha

Designer in Residence

Priya is a social sector convert from a long career in tech. She heads storytelling, publishing, events, as well as, 'Equity'. She is an avid board gamer and picks up a new thing to learn every year. Even if she doesn't succeed, she remains curious. Hence the moniker Curious-cat.

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Priya Ajmera

Chief Evangelist

Sanjay has always been a curator, he enjoys connecting the dots. He is a student, loves to read 100 books every year. Now he is learning to write, and is excited about his “Think" books.

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Sanjay Purohit

Chief Curator

Siddhartha Menon

Head, Marketing

If you want change, be MAD – Make A Difference' is a belief that drives Sreekar to leverage his experience in sales and marketing to build narratives and tell powerful stories on social media. He loves experimenting, and challenging the status quo.

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Sreekar Gangisetty

Lead – Digital Evangelist

Varsha took a plunge into the social sector after 30+ years of global experience in the IT services sector. She is a Chief of Knowledge and Design and leads the 'Health' domain. She enjoys all forms of fine art, especially sketching and painting. She loves to  experiment with culinary arts.

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Varsha Verma

Chief – Knowledge and Design
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Our Advisors

We believe in creating shared value, building upon and beyond, embracing diversity and working towards a shared vision. We have an array of co-creators who apply, refine and help evolve Societal Thinking.

Gautam John

CEO
Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies Foundation

Jennifer Stout

Deputy Director, Philanthropic Partnerships
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Nandan Nilekani

Co-founder and Non-Executive Chairman
Infosys Technologies

Olivia Leland

Founder and CEO
Co-Impact

Patrick Barwise

Emeritus Professor of Management and Marketing
London Business School

Dr. Pramod Varma

Co-founder, FIDE
CTO, EkStep Foundation

Rohini Nilekani

Chairperson
Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies Foundation

Shankar Maruwada

Co-founder and CEO
EkStep Foundation

Who uses Societal Thinking

100 plus organizations

500+

organisations

16-countries

20+

countries

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5

domains

“Societal Thinking presents an opportunity to change the way we tackle social problems – to design for more inclusion, more access, more co-creation and more resilience.”

Rohini Nilekani
Chairperson of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies

“Societal Platforms are audacious endeavours that converge the power of networks, open innovation and shared digital infrastructure to give voice and agency to every individual.”

Nandan Nilekani
Co-founder, Infosys

“Thoughtfully developed digital public infrastructure, imagined as Societal Platforms, can form the backbone for an inclusive, resilient and thriving society.”

CV Madhukar
CEO, Co-Develop Fund

“In Societal Thinking, we have the three principal ingredients of success: scale, diversity and the ability to solve that isn’t dependent on an individual or a small group of people.”

Santosh Mathew
Country Lead, Public Policy and Finance, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

“Co-Impact is delighted to be working deeply with the Societal Thinking team in our effort to solve societal challenges at scale.”

Olivia Leland
Founder, Co-Impact