WORKSHOP - CSR to Impact Bridging the Action Gap in Communities by Naandi Water

​CSR to Impact: Bridging the Intent Action Gap in Real Life Communities by Naandi Water | AndPurpose Forums, Mumbai 2025

​*Forum Participation Mandatory, Buy Tickets

​Dec 10, 2025 | Jio World Convention Centre

​This Workshop brings together senior CSR leaders to discuss a challenge we all see on the ground: the gap between intent and actual impact. 

​Background 

​Every CSR leader has seen it: the Intent–Action Gap, that space between what a program is designed to achieve and what actually takes shape in the lives of the communities it hopes to serve.

​It often shows up quietly, at the last mile, even in the most well-intentioned initiatives. A library full of new books that children rarely open. Toilets are constructed with care, but are rarely used. Interventions that look strong on paper, yet struggle to translate into real behaviour change.

​These are not failures. They are signals, reminders that impact is deeply human, shaped by context, culture, aspirations, and constraints that are constantly evolving.

​This “gap” is where much of India’s CSR work now finds itself. Over the past decade, the CSR landscape has shifted steadily from a compliance-led to an impact-driven approach. The government’s push for impact studies and the increasing rigour that CSR teams expect of themselves and their implementation partners show how serious the sector has become about creating real, lasting change.

​And yet, even with strong intent and sound technical designs, CSR teams face a very real challenge: demonstrating visible impact within tight timelines, while navigating complex ground realities. Those who have spent years working at the intersection of corporations, communities, and development programs know this truth well: impact is not easy. It is rarely linear, and never achieved by designing solutions too far away from the end user or without learning through iteration.

​Many echo the same pattern: the landscape of underserved communities is shifting faster than many program designs account for. Aspirations, behaviours, and lived realities are changing and are not always aligned with practitioners' assumptions.

​When these shifts are missed or misunderstood, friction emerges. And this friction widens the Intent–Action Gap, the distance between what a program set out to do and what communities ultimately adopt, adapt, and make their own.

​Recognizing this gap is the first step. The more effective path forward is one where programs consistently listen to the user’s voice, build metrics that track real behaviour change, and communicate transparently so communities can make informed choices throughout the program’s lifecycle.

​Objective 

​We will discuss and learn from our panelists/ thought leaders how they have overcome and solved the “Intent to Action” gap in their impact programmes in real-life scenarios. 

​The focus of the discussion will be on solutions to address these gaps through the intervention cycle (designing - implementation phase - adoption).

​Expected Outcomes 

• ​Briefly unpacking the complex reality of the underserved today and the rural realities of our country.

• ​Lessons and voices from CSR leaders on how they have made space for emerging field realities in their projects, which have eventually led to better outcomes.

• ​Frameworks and practical approaches adopting principles of customer centricity for designing and implementing projects to maximise intended impact in real-life scenarios.