Safeguarding communities in the aftermath of a disaster through multi-stakeholder partnerships

Hosted by
Hosted by Mr. Ajay Govale, Vice President-Community Impact
United Way Mumbai

Mr. Anil Parmar, Vice President - Community Investment
United Way Mumbai

Introduction
What can NGO and corporate donors do in times of crisis/disasters to carry out appropriate interventions for relief, rehabilitation and building resiliency among communities? Why is it inevitable to discuss disaster management for everyone, especially in light of public health emergencies such as Covid-19?

Participants: CSR representatives, NGO representatives including chief functionaries, project managers, implementation teams, donor relations teams etc.

Hosted by: United Way Mumbai
The development sector in India has always been at the forefront during any disaster. True to their calling, many NGOs and CSR functionaries have proactively responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. From providing medical supplies to distributing food to health workers, migrant populations, daily wage workers and the underprivileged, the sector has found ways to support disaster-affected communities. However, given that this is a medical disaster of unforeseen proportions, strengthening its grip on communities and bringing ever-emerging challenges and demands, the sector has had to revamp and reimagine community-based interventions for better healthcare. This learning stands true as experienced during other disasters whether floods, earthquakes or Tsunamis. The role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and CSR in disaster management has been increasing due to the growing complexity of the catastrophe, which has become difficult for government alone to manage. 

Disaster response and management require multiple stakeholders to come together to address challenges faced by communities. No one stakeholder has the adequate resources or skills to respond to multi-pronged challenges that disasters throw to the forefront. This masterclass will look at how NGOs can catalyse multi-stakeholder partnerships for managing disasters/crises and building community resilience for better disaster preparedness and mitigation.

Why you should attend
You will find this masterclass useful if:
1. You are looking to help your communities during disasters/crises effectively
2. You are keen to explore long-term solutions beyond relief and response during the crisis and build community resiliency
3. You want to know how to engage different stakeholders during a crisis and design effective interventions/projects

About the Facilitator

1. Mr. Ajay Govale, Vice President-Community Impact
Ajay joined United Way in June 2007. He earned a Master’s in Social Work from TISS, Mumbai, specializing in Urban and Rural Community Development, after graduating from College of Social Work - Nirmala Niketan. His core areas of expertise include program development, multi-stakeholder partnership management and community participation. Ajay is the alumnus of the Global Road Safety Leadership Course, 2019 (co-organized by the Global Road Safety Partnership and John Hopkins International Injury Research Unit.

Ajay heads the Community Impact initiatives of UWM and has been actively associated with initiatives such as: United for Road Safety, Mission Mangroves, Clean Shores Mumbai, Youth for A Healthy Mumbai campaign, Third Party Audit of Clean-up Mumbai campaign of MCGM, Swachh Survekshan with MCGM, etc. He is interested in community based disaster management, environment, civic issues and road safety.

In the past, Ajay has also served as the Visiting Faculty for Emergency Response Management course for the PTMBA at NMIMS.

2. Mr. Anil Parmar, Vice President - Community Investment
Anil joined United Way Mumbai in 2008 and is currently working as Vice President, Community Investment. He is in charge of multi-stakeholders initiatives for health, education and livelihood issues affecting vulnerable and underserved communities.

Anil has an MBA in Social Entrepreneurship from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai and is a post graduate from College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan. He is also a visiting faculty at NMIMS, Mumbai on Disaster Management.

Anil has wide-ranging experience in programme designing, management, monitoring and evaluation, impact assessment and reporting. He has worked extensively with the government in public-private partnerships for community impact projects. He has keen interest in demonstrating visible community impact through a multi-stakeholder approach — including government, NGOs, corporate partners and community stakeholders.

Anil has penned research papers on various community health and education issues. An avid development professional, he is passionate about implementing and scaling high impact projects and pragmatic public advocacy issues affecting communities. Anil is United Way Worldwide – Advanced Leadership Program fellow.