Impact447

WE'VE GOT SOME BIG NEWS TO CELEBRATE! 🥳 We're absolutely thrilled to announce that Impact447's CEO Aradhana Gurung has been recognized as the Most Innovative Capacity Building & Training CEO 2024 at the Global CEO Excellence Awards by CEO Monthly! 🎉 🎊 These prestigious annual awards celebrate the dedication of standout CEOs throughout a plethora of industries globally. Here are a few words from Aru: "This recognition is a testament to the collective efforts of our entire team at Impact447. I am especially grateful to my Co-founders, Suyog Raj Chalise and Eva Gyawali, whose unwavering dedication and innovative thinking have been instrumental in shaping our organization's people-centric approach and impactful work. We also extend our sincere thanks to our valued partners and collaborators, whose trust and teamwork have enabled us to achieve significant milestones and create sustainable solutions for the communities we serve. Lastly, a massive thank you to Zoya, my 12-year-old daughter, who has forever been understanding of when I need to work late or be away from her. Her maturity, curiosity, support, and encouragement mean the absolute world to me. As we approach our first anniversary in a few weeks, this award is a fantastic validation of our work so far. It motivates us to continue pushing boundaries, innovating, and fostering collaboration to ensure that there is empathy in design and results in action." #GlobalCEOExcellence #impact #Impact447 #Nepal #MostInnovativeCEO #CapacityBuilding #Training #Leadership #Innovation #CommunityDevelopment #SocialImpact #SustainableDevelopment #SouthAsia #PeopleCentric #EmpathyInDesign #ResultsInAction https://lnkd.in/dszGg4CA

As we prepare to take a seasonal break, we'd like to take a moment to reflect on what has been an extraordinary and deeply humbling year. This year, we’ve had the privilege of creating meaningful impact and fostering collaborations that drives change. For this, we are incredibly grateful. Every project we’ve undertaken and every connection we’ve built has been a testament to the power of shared purpose and collective resilience. At the same time, 2024 has also been a challenging year. Our hearts ache for those enduring unimaginable hardships—families torn apart by genocide and conflict, communities devastated by earthquakes, and countless lives uprooted by relentless floods, cyclones, and economic crises. These tragedies serve as stark reminders of the fragility of life and the urgent need for collective action to rebuild hope. As we reflect on these events, we stand in solidarity with the people who are affected, carrying their struggles in our hearts and renewing our commitment to fostering resilience, compassion, and meaningful change. As we close this year, we reaffirm our resolve to work harder towards building a fairer, more just world. At Impact447, our mission is rooted in creating a future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. While the challenges ahead remain vast, we believe that only through collective action can we ensure a brighter, more equitable future for ourselves and our children. Our office will be closed until 12 January 2025. During this time, we hope you too can find moments of rest, reflection, and gratitude. As we step into the new year, let's carry forward the lessons of 2024, united in our resolve to make a difference. To those celebrating, we wish you a joyful holiday season as we move into 2025. To those enduring hardships, please know that we see you, we hear you, and we hold you. Your struggles remind us of the work that remains, and we renew our commitment to doing better—for you and our shared communities. Thank you all for being an invaluable part of our journey. 🙏🏾

We've been working with the Compassion International Lanka team for the past year, designing and deploying a Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) pilot to further boost the impact of the programs they have been running in Sri Lanka for over a decade. This week we were in the field to conduct a pulse check on the project, and we met 11-year-old Anushalini from Kallady, Batticaloa District. Anushalini is not your average child. With a spark in her eyes and a heart full of dreams, she's building her entrepreneurial spirit at a very young age. When Anushalini learned that her family was receiving support from Compassion International Lanka's CVA project, she seized the opportunity. With the little funds her mother gave her, she bought some eggs for LKR 60 (USD 0.20) each and, through meticulous care, hatched them into one rooster and four hens. She then sold them for a total of LKR 6,000 (USD 20.45). With this money, she bought some more chickens. This CVA project has been instrumental in supporting families who are still affected by the decades-long conflict in Sri Lanka. By providing much-needed financial support, the project empowers families to meet their basic needs, like food and education, gives them the tools to turn hope into action for their future, and builds resilience. Inspired by this success, Anushalini is now planning to expand her poultry business with her family's support. Her story is a testament to the power of empowerment and the potential of every individual, no matter their age. This is just one of the many changes we have witnessed in such a short time during this project. We're looking forward to sharing further progress as we continue our work here. Shaveen Fernando Sharon Croos Billy Clifford Sheyan Caleb Poologasingam Kajanthan Ramanathapillai Suyog Raj Chalise Gunawardane Umagaran, MDP (UoP) Thisal Senapathiratne Hannah Laguardia Aradhana Gurung

We could not have said it better!!! While AI has its advantages and we often use it as a co-creation tool, we LOVE taking the time to read to do our research when designing new projects. This is often why when you hire us we often request an extended inception phase to allow us to thoroughly explore and understand the subject matter, ensuring our solutions are not only innovative but deeply informed. By taking the time to study and gather insights, we want to avoid recreating the wheel and instead deliver thoughtful, empathic and impactful designs that lead to results in action.

Grants are great, but they shouldn't be your only lifeline. Join the conversation about building sustainable innovations that go beyond the #grantmindset. Our co-founder, Suyog Raj Chalise, was on a panel recently at the Response Innovation Lab 's global gathering, discussing how to break free from the #innovationgranttrap and build sustainable solutions.

Last week, we co-led, with Elrha, a collective inquiry on the barriers to scale in the humanitarian innovation ecosystem at the Response Innovation Lab's Global Gathering, RILx24. Recent research on barriers to scaling humanitarian innovation highlights a critical gap in the current system. While there's a growing need for innovative solutions to address complex humanitarian crises, many promising innovations fail to reach the scale necessary to make a lasting impact. We've been actively working (since the time when Impact447 was just a tiny idea we played around with while doing our then-day jobs) with humanitarian partners to create a better environment for people who come up with new ideas and take the relevant ones to scale. We've worked with many innovators on their journeys to scale and have butted heads with the system. We continue to encourage teamwork, be articulate about failure, advocate for more funding, and support a culture of trying new things, and are committed to helping innovators make a bigger difference in the world. This is what excites us about Mondays!

We're at RILx24, the Response Innovation Lab 's global gathering this week! It has been great to reconnect with friends and colleagues, both old and new. This is co-hosted by the Nepal Innovation Lab, World Vision Nepal - one of the first humanitarian innovation spaces that started in 2015 which has led to the growth of such platforms around the world through the RIL. So many insightful conversations have been going on that will hopefully spark into collaborations to help resolve some of the challenges we continue to face in the ecosystem. Many thanks to the RIL, NLab and WVIN for hosting us. Suyog Raj Chalise Max Vieille Utsav Kharel Shirin Maani Audrey Gaulard Nishant Das Agha Hamza Marijke Deleu Arnav Bhadra Uttam Pudasaini Armando Munoz Lila Bashyal Kuldeep Bandhu Aryal Aradhana Gurung Jacobus Koen Roslyn Gabriel Rajesh Dhungel Cory Rogers Yaman Sarraj Mayfourth Luneta Sachin Sapkota Shristi Piya Vanessa Mwangale Agha Hamza Brian Gitta Lisette Gotink Grace Nakibaala

Kerala is leading the way in India! 🇮🇳 The state has approved the country's first-ever State Design Policy. This groundbreaking move will foster innovative public-private partnerships and use design to improve lives and tackle pressing issues. Design thinking has the potential to be a game-changer in developing and fragile contexts. By focusing on human-centered solutions, design policies can help address complex challenges, improve service delivery, and stimulate economic growth. We're excited to see how Kerala's policy will unfold and inspire similar initiatives across India and beyond. #designthinking #innovation #publicprivatepartnership #development #fragilecontext What kind of design-led initiatives would you like to see in your region?

A quick round of "Pictionary: Version Energy sector in Nepal" gets the crowd warmed up for an afternoon of group work, post lunch. What are your favourite ice melters and energisers to use at workshops? #howtomakeworkshopsfun #workhardplayharder #usaidnepal #urjanepal

USAID Urja Nepal, is launching the second phase of its Leadership Training Program for Women in Energy. This program is designed for mid- to junior-level women leaders working in Nepal's government and energy sector institutions. We invite you to share this announcement and complete the attached survey to provide valuable feedback on training needs. Your input will help tailor the program to effectively address the challenges and opportunities faced by women leaders in the energy sector.