In this workshop-led session, Rachita Vohra and Sneha Philip from IDR worked with participants to help articulate failures at multiple levels—organisational, programmatic, and project-specific. The purpose of the workshop was to sensitise stakeholders and create lessons from past failures.

Through the exercise, participants were faced with critical questions—how to communicate effectively, highlight programmatic gaps, and accurately estimate the success or failure of a proposed programme. If a programme isn’t organisationally feasible, how can one enable a process that brings in other stakeholders and organisations to collaborate meaningfully?

“The workshop highlighted the need for a structure and a mechanism in place towards better communication with stakeholders, project execution, and applying lessons from past failures to build the correct narrative.”

A three-part role-playing exercise simulated interactions between stakeholders from a funding organisation and a grassroots NGO as the implementing partner. The first part involved a conversation between the NGO’s project manager and the funder’s programme manager. The second part featured a discussion between the CEOs of the respective organisations. These exchanges helped surface how power dynamics and a lack of transparency within organisations can lead to discrepancies in programme implementation and impact assessment.

The workshop portrayed the early stages of programme design and implementation, demonstrating the varying stakes and perspectives stakeholders bring, depending on their contexts. It highlighted how a lack of clarity and openness can cause a mismatch between funders and implementers—ultimately undermining the programme’s intended impact.