- Assess
Map ground realities, examine needs, profiles, constraints, and external forces - Mobilize
Local partners, champions, and networks required to drive change - Skill
Workshops, trainings, and tertiary support to promote success
Who We Are
Founded in 2019, Questera Foundation stems out of the decade long (and continued) experience of niiti Consulting Private Limited in Strategy design, Monitoring and Evaluation of CSR programs.
At Questera, we seek to create sustained and long-lasting impact for marginalized communities in India, through research driven strategies, systematic support and specialized partnerships
Questera acts as a catalyst, bridging the gap between stakeholders to ensure maximum impact. The community is always at the heart of our work.
Vision
Our vision is to break the cycle of marginalization by creating an eco-system of equal opportunities for
communities through collaboration.
THE NEED
Lack of Information
Ability to take risk and experiment
Ability to Sustain
WHAT WE DO
Relevant and Accessible Knowledge Resources
We believe that the communities know themselves the best. We work with the community and key stakeholders to identify and document key information, which lies at the heart of all future decision-making. This helps our stakeholders overcome any knowledge gaps.
Operationalise Plans Walk the Talk.
A plan of execution is co-created, with risk mitigation strategies, and is further supported through a network of external specialists. This helps our stakeholders overcome any skill & resource gaps.
Capacity Development and Strategies to sustain
We plan for long-term impact. This is done through specialized skill training, interventions, and partnerships, driven by the knowledge and plans determined in the previous steps.
Need Catering To Gaps In The Social Sector
Our Approach
Community Led Problem Solving
- Equipping the community to develop their own solutions
- Amplifying the solution
- Enabling them to execute the solution
- Making them their own beneficiaries
Ecosystem of Resources & Partnerships
- Utilizing action-based research strategies to identify gaps
- Build robust resources
- Partnering with relevant domain specialists to ensure greater on-ground impact
Sustainable, long-lasting solutions
- Bridging the gap between resources, varied communities, and
- organizations to ensure long-lasting impact
- Promoting collaboration over competition between stakeholders
Our Approach
Multi-pronged execution
strategy & timeline, to improve development indicators in a timed and sustainable manner, at the ground level.
Utilizing action research to identify and delineate specific interventions & partners to reach a large section of India’s deaf population
A multi partner collaborative model, showcasing how strategic partnerships can
be used for different interventions throughout the timeline of a project
Way we Work
Way we Work
Work Process
BUILD
With the Community
- Assess
Map ground realities, examine needs, profiles, constraints, and external forces - Mobilize
Local partners, champions, and networks required to drive change - Skill
Workshops, trainings, and tertiary support to promote success
OPERATE
With the Enablers
- Design
Create community & user research driven initiatives that create opportunities and strengthen objectives - Operate
Operationalize the initiative, and support running of the same through expert guidance & domain partnerships - Sustain
Encourage sustainability of initiative through leadership mentoring, strategic marketing, and ecosystem building
TRANSFER
Through Collaboration
- Asses
Assess and record existing organizations, Assess associations and networks - Match
Match the organizations with the relevant Match stakeholders, thereby matching the needs of both - Optimize
Explore interdependencies and provide cross- Optimize connections that strengthen the ecosystem
Our People
Meena Vaidyanathan
Meena has over 25 years of experience working across industry sectors specializing in public policy, strategy and programme design as well as marketing. She has worked closely with senior management in leading organizations around the world advising them on change management strategies and supporting the implementation. She has worked on several case studies at Harvard Business School, INSEAD and IMT, Dubai. She has a double Masters in Biotechnology and Management, and a certificate on Social Entrepreneurship from INSEAD.
Hobbies:
She is an accomplished vocalist and loves to travel and cook. Her favorite travel destinations are food and wine trails. I have done 13 major vineyards around the world so far.
Unique skills:
She believes in being a hands-on professional and switches easily between boardroom discussions and working on the field.
Fun fact:
Her fridge magnet collection was featured in the Hindustan times Sunday magazine Brunch in 2012.
Ruchi Jolly
Ruchi is a Chartered Accountant and diploma holder in Systems Design from NIIT. Her intrigue made her experiment with process design for cost optimization and efficiency in her corporate roles. A sabbatical led her to dabble with social work and eventually move to the development sector in her second career stint. Her experience in content development, M&E in niiti gave us the confidence to initiate program implementation with our non-profit organization – Questera Foundation. Presently she is engaged in running Questera and leading M&E projects at niiti.
Hobbies:
Shei loves to crochet, dance, swim and cook. Her love for thrill gets her to experiment with adventure sports.
Unique skills:
Her ability to be hands-on makes her a very resourceful person.
Fun fact:
She can entertain kids endlessly and competes with them at board games.
Vaishali G Jainn
Vaishali is a Chartered Accountant turned Development Consultant, owing to her passion to do something meaningful for the society. She completed her graduation from Shri Ram College of Commerce and has worked with PwC for 3 years in Statutory and Social Audits. In the social sector, her areas of work have involved Project Management of development projects, Action Research, Impact Analysis, M&E, Report writing, Pilot study for technology platforms and so on. She has an inclination towards contributing to social issues like livelihoods, women empowerment and mental health. She has volunteered for youth-empowerment and COVID-relief programs with Art of Living.
Hobbies:
Vaishali enjoys dancing and talking to people- from friends to absolute strangers. If eating and meditating can be considered hobbies, then those are the most preferred ones (sometimes together). She considers herself as an old soul in an upbeat millennial body.
Unique skills:
Visually representing complex subjective data in simplified, logical & understandable form, Getting people to timely work towards a common goal, Empathetic & Appreciative.
Fun fact:
In school, she was recognized as “Student of the Year” in the year in which she gave her personal worst performance of all times.
Ramya Gopalakrishnan
Ramya is a typical MBA, who did her time in marketing and business consulting, before taking an unexpected route through magazine editing to the social sector. She is an Action-Research and content writing wizard, whose ability to synthesize patterns from data and putting them into appropriate words, make it easier for the decision makers to clearly understand the status quo and take the necessary next steps.
Hobbies:
She loves collecting Indian textiles and reading.
Unique skills:
Bringing clarity to chaos, dealing with ambiguity, bringing out the best in people
Fun fact:
She has two left feet.
Impact
0
+
Individuals
up skilled
0
Households
connected to govt schemes
0
+
Individuals
attended awareness sessions/ counselling
0
Organizations
partnered with to amplify impact
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Pilots/ Research projects
executed to build and strengthen resources for the deaf and rural communities
Our Donors
Our Partners
Earlier, there was no planning or management in traditional animal husbandry practice. During the training, I got to know about feed, overall management, improving milk quality and very importantly fertility management. I have convinced my family to take up the occupation more seriously and scientifically. I have converted my cattle shed into the professional dairy farm with more facilities.
Kamlesh Rabari
Beneficiary (Animal Husbandry), Rural Gujarat
I am very much benefitted by attending the Assistant Beautician course. I learnt about different equipment, techniques and more importantly about the professional behavior and communication while working – interacting with customers. I now feel more confident and have started exploring my capabilities and will become financially self-reliant in times to come.
Swati Sindha
Beneficiary (Self-employment training), Rural Gujarat
Shanti Raghavan
Donor (Founder, Enable India | Ashoka Fellow | Shwab Social Innovator 2020)
