BENGALURU: Government of Karnataka has partnered with Sattva Consulting, a leading social impact research and advisory firm in Bengaluru, to streamline CSR funding in the state.
The state government, through the Department of Planning, Programme Monitoring & Statistics, signed an MoU with the company on Tuesday.
The minister for planning N Munitathba said, "the MoU is focused on increasing the visibility of CSR funding opportunities in the state for maximum impact."
"It also aims to leverage CSR data for evidence- based decision-making to achieve the State’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," he added.
The MoU signing took place in the presence of the Minister of Planning N Munirathna, Additional Chief Secretary Dr Shalini Rajneesh (IAS), and Sattva’s Co-founder and CEO, Srikrishna Sridhar Murthy.
Officers from the Department of Planning and representatives from Sattva Consulting also attended the event at Vikasa Soudha.
Muniratna said, "Karnataka ranks third in the SDG Index ‘20-21 and is the second highest recipient of CSR funds in the country. We are in a good position as a state, and are looking forward to doing even better with this focus on collaboration with our corporate partners. We hope to see CSR reach all districts in the state and are happy to facilitate the same through our administrative machinery."
Meanwhile, speaking on the importance of collaborations of multiple stakeholders, Dr Shalini Rajneesh, Additional Chief Secretary, added "state development needs collaboration among multiple stakeholders. We are happy to include our corporate partners, civil society organisations and others in aligning priorities for the state. Partnership with Sattva will help us reach out to these networks more effectively and foster impactful collaborative initiatives."
Agreeing that partnerships with corporate world is necessary for the state’s progress and also transparency towards funding being important Srikrishna Sridhar Murthy, Co-Founder and CEO - Sattva Consulting, said "CSR has evolved to become an important pillar of social impact work in the country. There is a growing interest in the corporate world to work with the government, and align with national and state priorities to ensure long-term and sustained impact. Partnerships bring a multiplier effect and we are looking to achieve the same with this association with the Government of Karnataka."