Failure Stories
There is incontrovertible wisdom in learning from failure, yet organisations that do it well are extraordinarily rare. In this series, launched as a key feature of the Impact/Failure conclave, we feature articles, podcasts, and videos by social sector leaders and development professionals, where they share the challenges they faced, reflect upon their mistakes, and highlight the lessons learned in light of their failures. Through these experiences, we learn to fail forward, fail more productively, and fail better. These stories are crowd-sourced and we invite you to share your failure story so that we may celebrate the learning!
Whose Light is it Anyway? The Failure of Solar-Powered Study Lamps for Students
When we first launched the Light for Education programme in 2007, we had over 12 years of experience in designing, installing, maintaining, and servicing lighting
Good Intentions, Flawed Assumptions: Solar-powered Cold Storage Facility to Reduce the Wastage of Fresh Produce
With the aim to reduce the loss of fresh produce post-harvest and to boost the farming community’s income, Sustain Plus Energy Foundation (SPEF) partnered with
Some Hits and a Few Misses – Solar-powered System for Irrigation and Processing Grains
Untimely and inadequate irrigation is a key constraint to improving agricultural productivity among small farmers. Having identified this gap, the aim of our intervention was
The Cracks Begin to Show in a Successful Programme: Lighting for Households
Access to energy is essential for the socioeconomic well-being of a population and for the sustenance and improvement of their quality of life. The lack
The Incomplete Journey of Aspiring Entrepreneurs: Lessons Learned from Skilling for DRE
Energy remains a barrier to the progress and development of many communities, and it impacts their access to most opportunities. And as the solar energy
From the Farm and Back to the Farmer: Lessons Learned from Agri-processing
In 2018, SELCO Foundation implemented solar energy-based livelihood solutions across Karnataka, Odisha and the North East. These projects were primarily working with micro-businesses like tailoring
Failing Forward for Better Outcomes
Huda Jaffer and Rachita Misra, SELCO Foundation discussing ‘How can we look at failures with the perspective of learning?’
Why Clean Cooking is a Chronic Failure – Veena Joshi & Priya Karve
Across developing countries, some 3 billion people still use traditional cooking methods. For decades, governments and NGOs have been trying to get improved or clean
Failures in Energy Access
The Importance of Learning the Ecosystem, the Process, and the End User
Why Water Access Models Fail?
Learing to Build Models for Micro and Macro Ecosystems
Failures in Education
Learning how to Scale Sustainably
Overcoming Political, Social and Personal Challenges
“Anshu Gupta and Bezwada Wilson on their Journey from Marginalised, Oppressed Communities to Leaders in Social Impact and Agents of Change “
Failures in Livelihood
Learning to for Growth and Resilience
Failures in Entrepreneurship and Investment
A New Understanding of Risk and Capital
Types of Failure
Understanding the Causes and Contexts of Failure to Avoid the Blame Game
The Need for Identifying and Capturing Failures
How do we Celebrate, Dissect and Maximize the Learning from Failures?
I/F 2018 Speaker: TM Krishna
On Using Music to Subvert his Failures to the Craft and to Cover also find Success.
Failures of Built Environments
Lessons in Autonomy, Ownership and Expression
