The Indian School of Business [ISB] and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation have joined hands to launch the Clean Energy Lab, a uniquely designed incubation programme to support early stage non-profits working on creating policy impacts in clean energy.
Supported by DLabs, the incubation and acceleration arm of ISB, the Clean Energy Lab invites entries from non-profits, working in the areas of renewable energy, climate change and energy efficiency. The Lab aims to identify individuals and thinkers with big, audacious ideas to create research based policy impact in India and build their concepts into scalable institutions.
Talking about the need and importance of such an initiative, Professor Rajendra Srivastava, Dean, ISB, said
Clean energy is the need of the future and India is already making a mark globally for its initiatives in this space. The government has drawn up an ambitious agenda to become self-reliant in generating renewable energy by 2022. Against this backdrop, research focused non-profits can play an important role in influencing policy and pushing India towards a cleaner environment in the years to come. Through the Clean Energy Lab, ISB is excited to partner with Shakti Foundation to support non-profits who are seeking to create large scale policy impact in building and scaling their ideas and contribute to the larger goal of nation- building.
The Clean Energy Lab will identify and incubate five exceptional ideas to create policy action on clean energy. The selected participants will have access to the following
- Sustenance Support of up to INR 4.8L
- Dedicated Mentorship by an Expert Panel consisting of energy and non-profit experts
- Access to infrastructure at the ISB Campuses
- Strategic advisory support and access to networks
- Impact Measurement Support to determine milestones and assess growth
- Access to Organizational Development Services
Sharing his views on the rationale for developing the Lab, Krishan Dhawan, CEO, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation said
One of Shakti’s roles as the only foundation focused on India’s clean energy sector is to build and strengthen the capacity of civil society in order to participate more effectively in policy dialogue and action. Platforms like the Clean Energy Lab are an important part of the solution. The Lab is India’s first incubation programme to support high potential ideas that can be built into scalable institutions as well as create evidence-based policy impact in the area of clean energy. Given India’s increasing energy demand and urgent development priorities, outcomes from the Lab can make a very important contribution.
Who can apply and more details
Early stage non-profits including NGOs, community based organisations, think tanks, foundations, research institutions working in this space and individuals with potential ideas are eligible to apply. The last date to apply is November 15, 2017. To know more visit this page
The yearlong incubation programme commences in January 2018 and will include dedicated mentorship with assigned experts, capacity building and training sessions and a multitude of opportunities to network and partner with potential collaborators. The Lab would conclude in December 2018 by which the all the non-profits would be registered entities culminating in a Showcase Pitch Session where the non-profits would pitch to philanthropic organisations for funding.
DLabs is the incubation and acceleration arm of the ISB set up in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. It aims to support the creation of a vibrant and high impact entrepreneurial ecosystem focused on innovation in key sectors including technology commercialization. DLabs leverages the vast resources, expertise and networks of Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at ISB through mentorship, education and investor connect.
Further details about the program are available here