ABOUT CHANGE ALLIANCE

Change Alliance Private Limited (CAPL) is a social enterprise and technical support agency with its primary objective to implement projects, social impact advisory and consultancy services, and to promote and achieve inclusive development.

We work with organisations across not-for-profit, government and for-profit sectors. We have delivered innumerable projects for private sector, corporate foundations, government and not-for-profit organisations across a variety of thematic areas and geographic locations.

We have a footprint in majority of states in India through one or more of our interventions or assignments. Our portfolio comprises of programme design, management, implementation, impact evaluation, research, policy advisory, strategic consultancy, monitoring & evaluation and end-to-end management of sustainability and corporate social responsibility programmes.

Our Core Team

We are a multi- disciplinary team who believe that every human irrespective of his caste, colour, race or economic background deserves a life of equality, justice and dignity.

Chief Executive Officer

Anand Kumar Bolimera

Anand is the Chief Executive Officer at Change Alliance. In the past, he was heading the Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) Programme, one of the largest civil society programmes of Department for International Development (DFID) in India. He also worked as the Country Director of Christian Aid, UK India country programme.

He has over two decades of extensive experience in strategic planning, programme development & design, programme implementation & partnership management, multi-stakeholder engagement and impact assessment. He led several humanitarian response programmes, which includes relief, rehabilitation and resettlement. He has worked with bilateral aid institutions and civil society organisations on long term development programmes, emergency responses, pro-poor market and enterprise-based development initiatives.

He has been actively engaging with the private sector in promoting inclusive policies and diversity.

Interim Director, Development Advisory Services (DAS)

Dr. Archana Shukla Mukherjee

Dr Archana Shukla Mukherjee,  Interim Director, Development Advisory Services (DAS)

Archana is working with Change Alliance since 2015, in different roles and capacities right from managing India programmes, Business Development and Marketing department and business vertical Lead- Gender Diversity and Inclusion.  Before joining Change Alliance, she worked as Programme and Research head at the Centre for Alternative Dalit Media (CADAM) working on Dalits and Adivasi rights. She also worked in Partners in Change (PIC) as Programme and Research specialist engaging with private sector companies on the assessment of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects.  She was Chief Operating Officer in Prakruthi – enabling Sustainability and worked on supply chain management and led South Asia Network for Sustainable and Responsible Business.

In Change Alliance she has led the Gender Equality Programme and safe and responsible migration with the support of leading apparel brands of UK and US and worked with more than 35 suppliers.  In recognition of women empowerment interventions, Change Alliance represented by Archana was awarded the “Sandvik India Gender Award (SIGA), 2019, under the Social Venture” category by Sandvik Asia Pvt Ltd, Swedish Chamber of Commerce, UN- Global Compact Network.  She is leading various projects on linking poor, marginalised and vulnerable communities with social protection schemes, promoting safe and responsible migration, better working conditions for women migrant workers, Business and Human Rights and climate change/resilience.

She has 15 years of experience working in the garment sector, mining, tea, coffee, sugarcane and cotton sector (sustainable and responsible business) and affirmative action programmes in the private sector. She is a trainer on Gender, Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace, CSR, career progression programmes and Business & Human Rights (BHR). She is a trainer for the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) on project design and implementation for private and public sector companies.  She is certified faculty under Faculty Development Programme in Entrepreneurship by the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII). She is trained on sustainable value chains through practice and cohort based capacity building initiative of programmes like “Regenearth” on sustainable livelihoods and business models.

She has a doctoral degree in Social Anthropology from University of Delhi (“Women in local governance among Padhars- a Primitive Tribal Group of Gujarat”).

Head of Programmes

Semeda Steves

Semeda is one of Change Alliance’s focal points for gender empowerment, livelihoods and health projects.
She is a highly skilled trainer in the field of gender and organisational policy development.

Having spent more than 28 years in the development sector, Semeda has worked on the issues of domestic violence and women’s rights, the rights of slum dwellers, human trafficking and, HIV and AIDS.

Empowered with a vast experience in programme design and management, nurturing partnerships, grant management, accompaniment, monitoring and adhering to compliances and donor reporting, she is currently managing and heading programmes pan India.

Senior Manager - Responsible Business (ESG)

Indranil Seth

Indranil is a hardworking and passionate Environmental and Sustainability Consultant who works on ESG frameworks to assess an organization’s business practices. He has an experience of over 23 years in Consulting, Industrial and Research experience in several multi-national (USA, Kuwait, Oman and India) companies and academic organizations. Apart from the Environmental field he also works on Social and Governance issues related to ESG management. His areas of expertise and experience include Environment Protection, Sustainability Management, Storm Water Management, Solid Waste Management, Groundwater, Wastewater, Air Pollution, Renewal Energy, Energy Efficiency, Stakeholder Management and Corporate Governance. His experience also includes ESG frameworks and standards, Green Building, Carbon Credits, Risk Management, Climate Change Risks, Climate Change Impact Vulnerability, Climate Change Adaptability (GHG emissions reduction and achieving low carbon), Climate Change Resilience, SDGs and Rio Conventions.

Indranil Seth holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering and a second Master’s degree in Mining Engineering from University of Alaska, Fairbanks, USA. He has a B.Tech. degree in Mining Engineering from Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. He has a PE (Professional Engineering) license in Environmental Engineering from Ohio State Board, USA, LEED AP BD+C accreditation, and PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. Indranil also has expertise in environmental data analysis/ management and extensive modelling. He has extensively worked with GIS applications in the Environmental and Sustainability field. He has published many articles in the field of environment and sustainability.

Programme Officer, Humanitarian Response

Dr. Henna Hejazi

Dr Henna holds a medical degree and is a practicing humanitarian, disaster risk management and development professional leveraging 17 years of cutting edge experience of working with communities for principled humanitarian action and sustainable development including 12 years as functional head for effective development and management of humanitarian and development Projects/Programmes, advocacy with stakeholders and capacity building in Emergency Preparedness and Response. She has a cutting edge experience of managing multi sectoral projects on Relief, Response, Rehabilitation, Gender in DRR, Psychosocial Support in Emergencies, SRH in Emergencies, Health Emergency Preparedness for Response, Social Development, Natural Resource Management, Child Protection in Emergencies, Disability inclusive DRR (DiDRR) with organizations like Action Aid, International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC), United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA), UNICEF, HCLF, World Health Organisation (WHO), IPPF, Pragya, UNHCR & Sphere India. Having worked with a National Coalition of 150 humanitarian agencies (Sphere India) as thematic lead for Accountability to affected population, Knowledge Management Program, Collaborative Advocacy Vertical & Strategic Partnerships, she has ensured effective communication with communities, implementation of accountability principles and CHS standards in emergencies, build capacity of Govt and civil society in integrating Humanitarian Standards & has established & managed high value partnerships with Government, UN Agencies, NGO Networks, Corporates, Academia, Global Networks for ensuring implementation of national guidelines/standards, core humanitarian standards in disasters and complex emergencies. Focal point for NAEPR (Network Approach to Emergency Preparedness & Response) Program for COVID-19 response and recovery, Focal Point for Sector Committees/Groups including Health, & Protection Sector Committee, Cash Working Group, Inter Faith Humanitarian Alliance, she has been instrumental in bringing together sectoral experts/think tanks for charting out effective roadmaps for risk reduction and resilience. Dr Henna has also been responsible for pilot testing of Multi-sector Coordination on Emergency Preparedness & Response in six sectors across 10 States of India, in collaboration with National Institute of Disaster Management. She has been deployed in field for emergency assessments, evaluations, preparedness and emergency response coordination during & post disasters and has supported the URS process for response, Alert reports, SitReps and Joint Rapid Needs Assessment Reports. Dr Henna has facilitated coordination and established partnerships/agreements with global networks, conducted evaluations post emergencies, harmonised cash transfer program and has been one of the Core Team Member in the Study on State of Humanitarian Systems in India Report. She has advocated for protecting the rights of the most vulnerable women and children and integrated gender, women and child friendly services and policies in the assessment processes in the aftermath of disasters and emergencies in India.
Research Associate

Itishree Nayak

Itishree Nayak is a trained statistician and a demographer. She holds dual master’s degree in Statistics from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, and in Population Studies from International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai. Prior to joining Change Alliance Pvt. Ltd.,

she served three reputed organisations, IIPS, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Centre of Excellence. She has contributed to the national report of Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) at IIPS and National Guidelines for Data Quality in Surveys at ICMR. Her strengths are analysis of large scale data using statistical software such as STATA, SPSS and also geographical software such as QGIS. She also has authored/co-authored four research articles in reputed international journals and had presented in international conference.

Programme Lead

Dr Deepak S Nikarthil Ph.D

Dr Deepak S Nikarthil Ph.D. is an inclusive and sustainable development expert and socioeconomic development professional with over 9 years of experience in India and Asia. He did his graduation from St. Stephan’s College, New Delhi and master’s from Jawaharlal Nehru University. He also holds a Ph.D. in Health Governance from Centre for Study of Law and Governance (CSLG), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.

In his last role, Deepak worked as Senior Program Coordinator with Cividep India in Bangalore, where he managed the Multi Actor Partnership Programme for Gender and Health. He undertook research on Health among women garment workers in export-oriented garment industry and creation of guidelines for health vulnerabilities in the garment factories in Bangalore. His prior role included, working as Inclusive Development Programme Lead in Swasti Health Catalysts in Bangalore. In this role, he worked closely with USAID India Health Office, for implementation of inclusion in their health programmes in the country. He worked with Neilsen India Pvt. Ltd. as a consultant/technical expert for NACO project on high-risk population in Uttarakhand.

In his another significant role, Deepak worked with Swadhikar-NCDHR as programme and Research Manager for International Advocacy. He has assisted in creation of Global Forum on Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD) a global coalition of caste and caste like communities around the world. He was the first coordinator for the coalition. He was instrumental in this group to be recognized as one of the stakeholder groups within Maor Group and other Stakeholders (MGoS) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) both in Asia and Globally.

Research and Documentation Expert

Sourav Mohanta

Sourav is a dedicated development professional with 7 years of working experience on Sustainable Agriculture, Farm & Non-Farm based Livelihood, Water and Sanitation, Climate Change and Communities Resilience Building Practices etc. to reduce the vulnerability of the most marginalised communities in the rural areas of India. He has accomplished the master’s degree in agriculture, Rural and Tribal Development from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute, Jharkhand and also completed the Post-Graduation Diploma in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) from TATA Institute of Social Sciences, Maharashtra.

He has sound understanding and practical experience in Agriculture, WASH, Socio-economic development related issues and exposure during his professional journey with various NGOs and UNICEF while playing different roles in programme implementation and management in rural areas of multiple states. During his association with Change Alliance Private Limited (CAPL), Sourav has held with multiple responsibilities including overall coordination of the UNDP supported Infrastructure for Climate Resilient Growth (ICRG) programme. Presently, he is associated as Livelihood, Research and Documentation Expert and coordinating the GiZ India supported Enhancing Rural Resilience through Appropriate Development Actions (ERADA) project in Bihar and also supporting the Organic Cotton programme of Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) in Gujarat & Rajasthan and also technically supporting the scoping study on Disaster Resilient Livelihood practices in Odisha

Research Manager

Harita Yadav Saha

Harita has an impressive 18-year journey in social program implementation and impact advisory, with expertise in diverse thematic areas and geographies. Holding an MSW and M.A in Economics, her commitment to continuous learning is reflected in her academic credentials.

Her experience spans FPO/CSO capacity building, SHG & Federation development, entrepreneurship, livelihood enhancement, gender vulnerability, climate vulnerability, and the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index. Harita has collaborated successfully with renowned clients like GIZ, UNDP, Solidaridad, and IFAD in various regions.

Dedicating herself to social impact, Harita has played a crucial role in educational initiatives, women’s empowerment through SHG formation, vocational training, and gender sensitization programs. In the domain of livelihood and rural development, she has conducted awareness initiatives, health camps, and livestock camps while liaising with rural financial institutions and contributing to watershed development. Her commitment to social impact extends to the implementation of impactful programs across a wide spectrum. She has played a pivotal role in educational initiatives, focusing on learning level assessments, training needs assessments, and fostering reading habits among children. Additionally, she has championed women’s empowerment through SHG formation, vocational training, and gender sensitization programs. In the domain of livelihood and rural development, her efforts have included gender sensitization programs, capacity building, awareness initiatives, health camps, and livestock camps. She has liaised with rural financial institutions, facilitated fund generation, and contributed to watershed development and the dissemination of latest agronomic practices. With experience across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh, Harita’s passion lies in emphasizing empowerment through education and fostering sustainable development.

Harita’s notable studies include the Endline Study of UPMA project for Trickle Up, the Baseline study on the “Regenerative and Resilient Sugarcane Supply Chain” project for Solidaridad, and the Assessment of the role of FPO in Rural Transformation for Reliance Foundation. She has also assessed the adoption rates of Soil Protection & Rehabilitation measures under ProSoil India for GIZ and conducted an Impact Assessment of SRLM Implementation using the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for UNDP. Additionally, Harita has contributed to the Impact Assessment of strengthening and fostering CSOs for Child Fund India.

Programme Specialist

Chitranka Banerjee

Chitranka brings nine years of experience of working with implementing agencies, CSR and private sector philanthropy initiatives, impact advisory firms, Indian & International Foundations, and multilateral organizations in advancing their goals in India & Bangladesh in key areas such as gender, livelihoods, education, health & disaster risk reduction. She specializes in strategy development; program implementation, documentation; database management; creating briefs & case stories and research & learning outputs.

Some of her key projects include the Asset Transfer Project in Bangladesh to People from the Flood-affected Charlands; Impact Assessment of the Socio-economic Well-being of Slum Communities in Gurgaon; Eliminating Violence against Women in Ethnic Minority Communities; Domesticity & Domestic Labour: Fostering Agency & Collectivities in Contemporary West Bengal among Domestic Workers; Cash Transfer to Women Micro-entrepreneurs in 3 states of India; Assessment of Migrant Worker Communities in Chamoli & Kinnaur; Assessing the Impact of Illicit Drug Policy on Rural Livelihoods in Arunachal Pradesh; Strengthening Women’s Leadership in DRR Governance in 5 states of India to name a few.

She holds an M.phil degree in International Relations from Jadavpur University and has been a part of training cohorts in V. V. Giri National Labour Institute and J-pal. She has also delivered training sessions to international cohorts on issues related to Indian Domestic Workers and to Indian PRI members on documentation of best practices based on current norms & practices. She is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer and in her spare time takes a keen interest in performing arts.

Project Manager/Coordinator

Gourav Kumar Nikhoria

Gourav has doctoral degree (Ph.D) in Agriculture Science on “Watershed Development Project and Natural Resource Management in India”. He is graduated in the Seed Science & Technology subject, completed post-graduation in the agriculture stream under the Seed Science & Technology subject. He is also done his post-graduation diploma in rural development.

Gourav has 14 years of experience in MIS, Monitoring, Evaluation, Health, Sanitation, Agri Inputs, Agri outputs procurement, Sustainable Agriculture Practices, Livelihood, Rural, Women empowerment, Community development, Gender equality, Research, Career Counsellor, Education & Academic, Urban, Disadvantages groups, Water stewardship, Biodiversity enhancement, FPO, FPC, Natural Resource Management & Climate Change.

Gourav was Lecturer in Seed Science & Technology & Horticulture Dept. at Govt. Holkar Science College, Indore, Madhya Pradesh India. In his last job he was Project Manager at Niranjanlal Agrawal Foundation & K.K. Fibers, Khargone, MP. He has managed Better Cotton Initiative Project, PSCP & Organic Farming Programmes, at Niranjanlal Agrawal Foundation & K.K. Fibers.

Project Manager

Purushottam Kumar

Purushottam Kumar is a seasoned professional in the field of business and human rights and Labour rights, with a strong focus on global value chains. He has made significant contributions in promoting ethical and sustainable labour practices in various supply chains like Garment, Leather, and Seafood Processing Industry. Purushottam excelled in stakeholder engagement, fostering relationships with industry suppliers, government departments, and international organizations. His expertise extends to advocacy and compliance with international guidelines such as the United Nations Guiding Principles and OECD due diligence guidelines. He actively engaged with multiple Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the Partnership for Sustainable Textile, Fair Wear Foundation, Amfori BSCI, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, and Indo-German Network for Business and Human Rights.

His collaborative efforts with the research teams in his previous work has led to in-depth studies on labor practices and supply chain sustainability. He conducted multi-perspective research studies and engaged in multi-stakeholder dialogue forums on barriers to quality employment generation within micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). His efforts contributed to the publication of the book “Reversed Subsidies: Gender, Labour, and Environment in Garment Value Chains” by Cambridge University Press. Purushottam holds an MBA in Sustainable Development Practices from Birla Institute of Management Technology and a Bachelor of Arts from Jawaharlal Nehru University. He has also earned certifications in Sustainable Development Practices from the Global Association and completed the course “The Age of Sustainable Development” from Columbia University. Purushottam Kumar’s expertise encompasses program management, business and human rights, research and advocacy, corporate social responsibility and stakeholder engagement. His dedication to creating an ethical value chain and promoting sustainability underscores his commitment to positive social impact.

Our Consultants

Consultant

Avinav Kumar

Avinav is a seasoned development professional with extensive experience of working in the social sector for past 16 years on multiple issues concerning the marginalised and socially excluded communities. He brings a strong understanding and work experience of integrated development issues and a multi sectoral exposure in his professional journey.

He has been associated in implementation and management of large – scale development programmes right from grassroots to international NGOs in multiple states. During his association with Change Alliance, Avinav has been associated with the Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) Programme, an initiative of the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), where he held multiple responsibilities.

As Head of Programmes for PACS he led the designing of programme interventions and strategic campaigns for the seven states of PACS and managed their effective implementation with 225 Civil Society Organization partners and other stakeholders. Avinav also conceptualized and led the knowledge management portfolio of the PACS programme, synthesizing learning and experiences from the seven years of the programme.

He holds a post-graduate qualification in Forest Management from India Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal and presently works with Change Alliance as Head of Programmes, based in Bhopal.

Consultant

Swati Kundra

Swati works as a consultant with Change Alliance.

She is a Chartered Accountant with over 15 years of experience in the finance domain, in a multi-cultural, multi-dimensional and multi-sectorial environment.

In the initial 7 years of her career, she had worked with for-profit corporates. Later, she headed the finance of the PACS – DFID programme.

Swati’s key strengths are grant management, legal compliances, risk management, devising policies and procedures for large scale grant programmes and ensuring their implementation and strategic management of finance to achieve best value for money

Vision

Changing lives through inclusive growth and sustainable development for a better tomorrow.

Mission

  • We provide consultancy for efficient and high-impact sustainable development programmes delivered with professionalism, innovation and ability to tackle complex challenges in a fast-moving development landscape.
  • We offer a unique combination of proven track-record, breadth of expertise and extensive reach to impact the gap between policy and practice – we can bridge the divide between clients and the diverse stakeholders through our longstanding networks and reach.
  • We have experience of end-to-end design and execution of projects and have the relationships, experience and technical capacities of managing a range of thematic projects across geographic locations.

Our Values

Quality and professionalism.

We provide high quality professional services and technical support to our clients. This, in turn, we believe will help bridge the gap and bring measurable impact on communities and people’s lives.

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Collaboration and partnership

We work in a spirit of collaboration and partnership with organisations towards achieving a common purpose and goal.

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Accountability and impact

We believe in transparent and accountable development and the principle of value for money.

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Learning and sharing

We believe in mutual sharing of knowledge and best practices to help bring change.

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Honesty and respect

We place honesty and respect for others at the heart of what we do – the people and communities we reach through programmes, partner organisations and our clients.

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Innovation and scale

We believe in innovative and replicable approaches for driving us towards inclusive development at scale.

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Equity and inclusion

We seek solutions to poverty issues and to change lives through inclusive and equitable development.

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