The year 2020 was quite challenging for CSR stakeholders. At the time, we also witnessed extraordinary measures taken by corporates and innovative ways of CSR project execution by implementation agencies. The CSR stakeholders continued their efforts while adhering to the strict COVID protocols. Government policies and COVID relief operations were supported by CSR projects in unprecedented ways.
So, what’s new for CSR in the year 2021. How is it going to be different from 2020? Will CSR in 2021 establish a new milestone in India’s CSR history? What would be the key CSR trends in the year 2021?
Here are the 8 big trends that would dominate CSR in 2021:
New learnings to be deployed:
The COVID year 2020 changed the dynamics of almost everything. Work was stalled for months in organisations. However, the CSR fraternity continued their projects albeit in a tweaked way. The changing environment also brought many new learning for the implementation agencies. For example, they learned how to continue outreaching the communities and helping them without doing mass gathering.
Adoption of digital turned out to be a big saviour for many CSR projects, especially in the education sector. The CSR stakeholders will utilise their learning of COVID times to make their CSR projects future ready. Implementation agencies will also for more of technology adoption in their working and data gathering.
COVID Vaccination to be visible in CSR planning
As the year 2020 drew a heavy CSR focus on COVID relief measures, the year 2021 is going to be the year where corporates will plan COVID vaccination for community and supply chain workers under their CSR programme.
As multiple COVID vaccines are going to be available in the market, the corporates will invest their CSR money in procuring COVID vaccines and engaging with communities on pre-vaccine and post-vaccine procedures.
Educational support to be key agenda
Besides health issues, the education sector has been deeply affected during the COVID pandemic. Due to closure of academic institutions, millions of students could not continue their study. With this disruption in the academic environment, the possibility of their dropping out of formal education has increased multifold.
The corporates will be increasingly planning educational activities to support under-privileged students. Further, CSR activities will also focus on a blended mode of learning where students could be enabled to learn in a virtual environment.
Livelihood support to continue
As millions of workers lost their job due to lockdown and slowing economic activities last year, the CSR projects will be giving thrust on the skill development and job-oriented training programme to enable job-seekers for new jobs.
The skill training programmes will be focussing on new skills that could help job-seekers find jobs in the changing market scenario in the backdrop of COVID reality.
More collaboration with public authority:
The year 2021 will also see a much higher level of collaboration between the corporate world and the government agencies towards implementation of CSR projects.
As the government is tweaking major policies to address the emerging needs in the social sector, corporates will closely work with government agencies to sync their CSR projects with the national and state policy in the greater interest of communities.
Cross-organisational planning:
The unprecedented need of investment required to re-energise communities and their needs will make corporations join hands and create mega CSR projects to address social issues at scale.
The multiple CSR projects being worked in the same sector and on the same theme might get integrated to create a larger impact.
Bottom-up approach
The say of implementation agencies and NGOs in CSR planning and execution will increase in the year 2021.
The agencies which actually execute the CSR projects at ground level will have much more insight this time on implementation of the project on the ground level. Their experience of handling projects and way of creating impact will get voice in the CSR project planning and fund allocation.
More utilisation of CSR funds:
Utilisation of CSR funds is likely to see an upward trend as corporates will be under moral obligation to support communities and people in out-of-the-box ways. The business and market revival will boost corporate sentiments and their CSR planning and execution will be among top priorities.
