The CII Foundation was set up by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in 2011 and works across India through a collaborative approach, partnering with Government, corporates, civil society and NGOs, academic institutions, and other key stakeholders to drive social change.
The Foundation undertakes projects in diverse areas, often on a pilot basis initially, and presents a successful model of engagement that is replicable and scalable to amplify impact. Each initiative is led by a committed team of dedicated stakeholders who bring different expertise to the initiative for maximum impact.
As a Foundation, the CII Foundation is uniquely placed to leverage the vast network of CII’s Membership to transform lives.
Vision
Enable Industry for Infusing Inclusive Development
Mission
The CII Foundation works towards inclusive development by designing and implementing high-impact projects to cover some of the most marginalised communities, working closely with marginalised communities and donors, especially the Corporate Sector.
Areas of Intervention
- Climate Change Resilience
- Cleaner Air, Better Life - Crop Residue Management Initiative
- Waterbody Restoration
- Tree Plantation Initiative
- Women Empowerment
- CII Foundation Woman Exemplar Program
- Early Childhood Education
- Disaster Management
- Immediate Relief Efforts
- Long-term Rehabilitation Interventions
- Waste Management
- Healthcare
- Skilling & Livelihood
Key Initiatives
Climate Change - Crop Residue Management
The initiative is a community-driven field intervention to mitigate stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, which is a leading cause of air pollution and soil degradation.
Designed in a participatory approach, this multistakeholder project is being rolled out with the support of government, agricultural universities and major corporate supporters such as Apraava Energy, Goodyear, Fidelity International, PTC India Financial Services, HDFC Bank, JSW Foundation, Cadence Design Systems and SBI Card.
Under this initiative, farmers are supported through in-situ and ex-situ methods to adopt environment friendly alternatives to stubble burning through a gamut of interventions.
Early Childhood Education
The CII Foundation focuses on improving the quality of early childhood education (ECE) for children aged up to 6 years, delivered through the Anganwadi Centres (AWCs). Several Centres have infrastructural issues and are poorly equipped to impart quality education to this age group. Adopting a multi-stakeholder approach focused on improving childcare and developmentally appropriate environment for children, the CII Foundation works with corporates such as BlueStar Limited, Volvo Group Trust and local NGOs to identify and work with AWCs across India, leading to a positive impact on the quality of learning and increased attainment of learning outcomes for children.
Healthcare
Raising health awareness, improving healthcare infrastructure, and building capacity of healthcare professionals are crucial steps towards creating healthy and resilient communities.
The CII Foundation is committed to strengthening healthcare systems across the country. We have launched several initiatives in collaboration with various key stakeholders to improve healthcare infrastructure and delivery. We adopt a community-centred strategy to improve overall health and nutrition outcomes with a focus on women and child health.
Livelihood and Skilling
To drive holistic rural development, a comprehensive scoping exercise was undertaken to design and pilot integrated village development initiatives focusing on skilling and livelihoods. The study was conducted across Barabanki and Chandauli (Uttar Pradesh), Gumla (Jharkhand), the Sundarbans (West Bengal), and Gummidipoondi (Tamil Nadu) to identify key areas of intervention and tailor impactful programs for these communities. Pilot interventions include rural women livelihood initiatives and soft skills training for youth in the identified villages.
Women Empowerment
The CII Foundation Woman Exemplar Program recognizes exemplary women working at the grassroots. The program, since its inception in 2005, promotes women’s empowerment at the community level by discovering, recognizing and supporting those who have, against all odds, excelled and contributed significantly to the development process in India.
The women are recognized through the Woman Exemplar Award in four categories – Education, health, Micro-enterprise and Community Strengthening. Intensive capacity building is undertaken for the Exemplars through training and workshops to help them accelerate and amplify their social impact.
Waste Management
To address the challenges posed by inefficient waste management which aggravates pollution and results in poor health of the people, the CII Foundation leads transformative waste management projects across diverse landscapes such as Delhi, Kerala, Haryana, and Leh working in partnership with government, corporates such as HDFC Bank and General Insurance Corporation of India and local communities. The multi-stakeholder projects are community led and complement the government initiatives to promote efficient waste collection, processing, recycling and disposal to create zero-waste neighbourhoods.
For more details, visit www.ciifoundation.in