2011

Edition

Road-trips for Social Change

Applicant Handbook

Grassroutes Fellows, 2010

www.grassroutes.in
 CONTENTS
Introduction............................................................................................................................................ 3

About the Fellowship.............................................................................................................................. 4

History........................................................................................................................................... 4

Previous Partnerships .................................................................................................................... 5

Objectives ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Fellowship Essentials ..................................................................................................................... 5

Impact ........................................................................................................................................... 7

Applying for the Fellowship .................................................................................................................... 8

Important Dates ............................................................................................................................ 8

Rolling Applications ....................................................................................................................... 8

Selection Criteria ........................................................................................................................... 9

Application Process ....................................................................................................................... 9

Fellowship Structure ............................................................................................................................. 11

Planning the road-trip.................................................................................................................. 11

Day Zero ...................................................................................................................................... 11

Project......................................................................................................................................... 12

Road-trip ..................................................................................................................................... 13

Annexure 1................................................................................................................................................ 16

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 Introduction

Grassroutes is a Fellowship Program that supports outstanding and passionate young people to
go on road-trips for social change. The select group of young people will travel across India, meet
change-makers, work with social ventures, learn about developmental issues, live with the community
and return with stories of social change, which will enable them to inspire a larger community into
taking action.
The Grassroutes Fellowship consists of a 30 day road-trip where the Fellows are mapped to a
social organisation or NGO (host organisation) in rural India. Fellows spend the summer working with
change-makers and social entrepreneurs, who are creating sustainable and significant impact in
different parts of the country. During their stay, Fellows work on a pre-defined project based on their
skill-sets and don the role of social journalists – researching, understanding and capturing unheard
stories from the grassroots – of people, places, challenges, solutions, hope and above all, the impact
that individuals can create.

An initiative of a non-profit for-impact society Youth Factor, Grassroutes is a novel social venture
aimed at driving youth to discover the change-maker within. At Yofa, we work on initiatives aimed at
creating young leaders with social consciousness who question the status quo and have the ability to
bring about change.

The Grassroutes mantra is to use travel as a means to enable youth to discover different issues
plaguing India today and explore the ongoing efforts that are tackling these issues. Our individual
experiences while travelling across the country, have led us to believe that an immersing experience in
areas where social entrepreneurs are battling odds to create sustainable and significant impact, has the
potential to create a deep impact on the way we perceive social change.

“Let the world change you and then you can change the world.”

- Motorcycle Diaries

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 About the Fellowship
History
Over the last three years, the Grassroutes Fellowship has supported over 40 young
people, who have travelled to 10 different organisations across the country. Our Fellows come
from diverse backgrounds. Over the years, we have had applicants from engineering, design,
social sciences, commerce, medical and other fields. Our Fellows have been a mix of working
professionals, master’s students, undergraduate students and young people taking a sabbatical.

These Fellows have worked on diverse projects and some of the projects are: creating
media kits for the organisation, assessing the impact of programs run by the organisation,
rolling out a signature drive for a petition, developing a plan for e-marketing of handicrafts,
working in a rural health camp and testing of technology based products developed by the
Organisation. The completed projects have been in different areas like: education, self help
groups (SHG), healthcare, microfinance, watershed management, biogas, child rights, ecology,
village dynamics, public distribution system, Panchayat Raj, village mapping, creating awareness
about climate change at the village level and water conservation & purification.

Map showing different places

fellows came from and travelled to
for Grassroutes 2009 summer
edition

4 Road-trips for Social Change www.grassroutes.in

Previous Partnerships
a. Accord
b. Aksharakriti
c. Chirag
d. Grassroots
e. Grassroutes - Maharashtra
f. Jan Swastya Sahyog
g. Samata
h. Vayali
i. WWF India
j. The Alternative, a media partner.

Objectives
The Fellowship is dedicated to produce change-agents from among the youth of this
country, who can not only create positive change themselves, but also inspire others to take
the plunge into social action.

The Fellowship experience is aimed at:

1. Providing a transformational experience to Fellows.

2. Adding incremental value to the host organisations.
3. Inspiring a larger community by spreading the experiences of Grassroutes Fellows in the
form of human stories.

Fellowship Essentials

Tailored to cater to a specific niche of programs, the Fellowship comes with its own set of
pre-requisites. Please read this section very carefully as non-fulfilment of any of the conditions
laid down below would result in the exclusion of your application.

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Eligibility:

1. The Fellowship is open only to Indian nationals between the age of 18 and 25 as of 1st
March, 2011.

2. Applicants are required to dedicate 30 days in June 2011.

3. Applicants must be willing to live in a challenging setting (rural or semi-urban) and work
with change-makers in those settings.
4. Applicants should travel to Bangalore for the Day Zero on 28th and 29th of May 2011.

Fellows:

Here’s what we are looking for in Fellows:

 Belief in creating social change

 A craving for adventure
 Openness to accepting any kind of situation
 Passion for learning and eagerness to be taught
 An undying need for travel and learning from the world
 Ability to translate inspiration into sustained positive action
 Commitment to a cause
 Diversity
 Responsibility
 Ability to lead and inspire
 Ability to work in challenging environments
 Sensitivity to the problems of the others around
 Story-telling skills

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Impact
The Fellowship is aimed at having a deep and sustained impact, viz., on the Fellows
themselves, the host organisation and the society at large. While it is easy to gauge the impact
on the host organisation, the full impact of the Fellowship can be measured only in the long
run. However, there already are visible signs of positive change in most of the Fellows.
Elucidated under are the results of those positive changes.

Achievements of some of our Fellows:

 Sri Ranganathan B (Fellow 2010) is now a full-time team member of YoFa.

 Abhishek Nayak (Fellow 2008), Rachit Chandra (Fellow 2008), Raghav Mimani (Fellow
2008) and Varsha Adusumilli (Fellow 2009) have been E4SI Fellows.
 Swetha S (Fellow 2010) was a Yatri at the Tata Jagriti Yatra, 2010.

 Varsha A (Fellow 2009) writes for www.ennovent.com.

 Raghav Mimani (Fellow 2008) has been awarded the Green Globe Award - Youth Unite
for Voluntary Action, 2010 and was selected for the 1st NMC World Youth Meet in Jan,
2010 at Bari, Italy.

 Rishabh Kaul (Fellow 2008) writes for www.nextbillion.net.

 Arvind Sastry (Fellow 2010) interned at the Solar Energy Centre, India.

Most of our Fellows have been active volunteers for various social causes since their road-trip.

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 Applying for the Fellowship

Important Dates
Dates Timeline
15 Jan 2011 Applications open
01 Mar 2011 Last date for submitting application
15 March 2011 Announcement of fellows selected
15 March-30 March Mapping to host organisation
2010
3 Apr 2011 Last date for the payment of the Registration Fee
28 and 29 May 2011 Day 0 (at Bangalore)
30 May 2011 Begin journey to the host organisation
30 June 2011 End of the road-trip and end of the Fellowship
All dates mentioned above are tentative

Step 1: Go through the handbook to understand the Fellowship and fee structure.
Step 2: Register on the site to get your password.
Step 3: Complete the written application form.
Step 4: Wait to hear back from us if you have been selected. If you are selected, fill up the ‘Host
Organisation Mapping Form’

Rolling Applications
We are accepting applications between 20 th January and March 1st, 2011. The Application
form consists of 2 parts –

 Personal Details
 Individual Questions

The application process is quite rigorous and demanding, reflecting the true nature of the
Fellowship itself. Apart from a set of essay-questions, each applicant is required to write about
their experience of volunteering for any social cause or leading a small campaign for social
change. For further details, please read through the application form.

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Selection Criteria
Each question in the application details the rationale behind the question, and the specific
quality of the candidate that we are seeking to evaluate. The applications will be judged on the
criteria prescribed in the Fellowship Essentials section.

Application Process
Online Application
All applications will be evaluated against our selection criteria which is based on the qualities
listed in the previous section. The applications are judged by a panel consisting of the
Grassroutes Team and previous Grassroutes Fellows.

Telephonic Interview
After the first round of evaluation of the online application, some applicants may have to go
through another round of telephonic interviews. This will be done only in case clarifications are
needed by the judging panel.

Host organisation Mapping

Once an applicant is selected, he/she will be asked to map themselves to three host
organisations of your choice from the list of Grassroutes partners based on which Fellows are
mapped to Organisations.

Payment of the Fellowship Fee

Selected candidates will be asked to pay the Fellowship Fee by April 3rd, 2011 a month before
the road-trip. The details of the Fellowship fee are mentioned in this document.

Registration Fee:

A nominal fee of Rs. 6,000 is required to be paid by the Fellow. This is to be paid by 3rd
April, 2011. In case after the road-trip you feel that the experience did not meet the
expectation we set, write to us and the amount will be refunded to you. If you have paid the
fee, but will not be able to take up the Fellowship, the amount will be transferred to the
following year but will not be refunded to you. The payment has to be made through a bank

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transfer or by sending a demand draft, the details of which will be given to you after the
selection has been completed for the Fellowship.

The fellowship includes the costs for:

- 2 day orientation program in Bangalore, including accommodation and meals.

- One round-trip train/bus fare (non-AC fare) from Bangalore to your host organisation
and back from your host organisation to your city.
- Accommodation during the course of the Fellowship.
- Meals provided at the road-trip location.

The fellowship does NOT include the charge of:

- Travel to Bangalore for Day Zero.

- Air travel or travel in AC busses/trains.
- Travel expenses incurred during the stay at the host organisation. These expenses will
have to be borne by the Fellow him/herself.
- Any additional travel undertaken by the Fellow.

Accommodation is only for the two days of Day Zero orientation and for the 30 days at the host
organisation.

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 Fellowship Structure

Once you are a selected Fellow, the following are the different stages of the Grassroutes
Fellowship:

Planning the road-trip

During this phase, the teams get in touch with their respective host organisations and
engage in a conversation over the phone to prepare for the road-trip. This is done to ensure
that the Fellows have a good understanding of their objectives during the road-trip. During this
phase the Fellows are sent various documents containing information about what needs to be
carried for the trip, safety during the trip and contact information of the host organisation.

Day Zero
Before the start of the road-trip, a 2-day residential event called ‘Day Zero’ will be held
just before the road-trip. This will serve as a platform for all selected
Fellows to meet and interact with each other and with other Grassroutes
alumni and distinguished change-makers.
The orientation was
All Fellows are ‘required’ to attend this event as a condition of a day of listening to
their Fellowship and failing to do so will mean that the person has some very
withdrawn his/her application. experienced
people.… Definitely
Day Zero will take place at Bangalore on 28th and 29th May 2011. one of the most
inspiring days of my
Purpose of the Day 0 program:
life
Through the orientation program we aim to:

o Bridge the knowledge gap about the social sector by helping Fellows -Abhishek Nayak,
understand the vastness and rich diversity of the sector. Grassroutes
Fellow 2008

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 o Meeting Fellows, Grassroutes Alumni, team and others resourceful people from the
development sector.
o Understanding the power and use of media tools.

A sample Day Zero schedule would resemble this:

o Introductions.
o Talks by social entrepreneurs/journalists.
o Talks on the power of media and tips on effective usage of media.
o Presentation by the Grassroutes alumni.
o Presentations of the preparation that has been made for the trip and expectations from the
road-trip by the Fellow teams.
o Video making workshop.
o Talks relating to travel experiences.
o Safety and first aid.

Note:
Pre-trip orientation is a very intense program with a packed schedule. Fellows will be introduced to
as many people and concepts as possible to make their work in the field effective. High levels of
commitment in both time and learning aptitude are expected from the Fellows. YoFa holds the
right to withdraw the Fellowship in case any person is not showing the required commitment levels
or fails to attend the Day Zero event.

Project
Based on your preferences in the Host Organisation Mapping Form, we assign a project to
you which has to be undertaken during the four week stay at the host organisation. The
projects have been chosen in advance and are based on the requirements of the organisation.
You will be mapped to an organisation and a project based on your skills-set, interest,
languages known, your stated preference of project and your overall match with the respective
organisation. Both the Fellow and the host organisations are engaged in the mapping process.
However, the Grassroutes team has the final say on the mapping.

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Road-trip
The road-trip is a 4 week stay (30 days) at the location of the host organisation. Fellows
are mapped either individually or in small groups of 2-4 people depending on the requirements
of the host organisation.

During the road-trip, Fellows are expected to

o Travel extensively in and around the place
o Strike conversations with community and change makers
o Be an activist by working on projects allotted
o Complete all deliverables of the Fellowship (Mentioned in the program requirements)

Accomplishments at the end of the road-trip:

o A deep understanding of the on-ground reality – the problem at hand, the non-profits, the
change-makers and their actions, the community and the local government
o Capture the stories of all the people involved in community development
o Satisfactorily complete the project and prepare a report on the same

Deliverables from the field:

As a fellow, you will also be required to meet certain documentation requirements. We,
at YoFa, believe that ‘good documentation will remain as a milestone in any project’. You will
therefore have to demonstrate immense commitment and take up responsibility in
documenting every bit of your experience.

Different forms of documents that you are expected to maintain:

 Blogs
 Videos & Photos
 Post road-trip report on the entire experience

The Fellows from the past editions of the Fellowship have catered to this requirement and
documented their journey extensively. These stories are given great importance by the
Grassroutes team as they are instrumental in the achievement of the final, albeit long-term leg
of the Fellowship, i.e., inspiring the world at large by utilising the experience of the Fellows.
Thus, the Grassroutes team has compiled an online archive of these stories in the form of blogs,
videos and podcasts. The host organisations have also benefitted from these documents
produced by the Fellows. Our Partners have even hosted these posts on the experiences on

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their websites. One such can be found here. We recommend you take a read these stories, so
that you are not only charged up about the Fellowship itself, but also know what kind of
articles, reports, documents and posts we are looking for.

Documenting your experience serves multiple-purposes:

1. The stories and experiences that you bring back have tremendous inspirational and
educational value for the rest of the nation and will get them to do their bit.

2. It will instil a sense of ownership in yourself and aid you in streamlining your ideas,
clarifying your goals and inspire new actions during and after the course of the road trip.

3. It develops a work culture that is transparent and helps us identify places where we can
support you and work together in bringing about commendable change to our society.
Also serves instrumental in helping us capture the nuances of your fellowship
experience beyond measure.

4. It adds value to the host organisations by enabling us to systematically cooperate with

them and work towards the common goal of creating tangible impact and providing
resources to promote their activities

Please refer Annexure I for details about the documentation requirements expected from the
Fellows for this edition.

The end of the road-trip marks the end of the Fellowship

Other than the road-trip, the Fellow can also expect:

 To be officially announced Grassroutes Fellow at the completion of the road-trip, project and all
the deliverables.
 To be a Grassroutes Alumni and have access to Grassroutes/Yofa Events and Conferences.
 To have access to opportunities on working with Yofa/Grassroutes and our partners.
 To be a part of the Grassroutes Fellows group for opportunities and networking.

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Our Fellows and Partners say…
"Grassroutes is a platform for one to identify the change maker within.
My experience proved to be a steep learning curve right from the
application stage. It broadens the definition of social change one
considers; capitalizing on experience of established change makers,
power of social media and working at the grassroots level. A road trip to
self realization."

- Akshat Shukla, Grassroutes Fellow 2010

“Grassroutes is a good initiative, where urbanites get to come and

understand the core life of our country. The experience was very
immersing and the program has a very well planned agenda which gave
a deep experience into rural life.”

– Mr. Vinod Nambiar, Executive Director, Vayali

"If you have a month, and have absolutely no idea what you want to do,
THIS is it. As they say on the site "This summer, give the world a chance".
Do it, and you will come out a changed person. Go."

- Mithun Madhusudan, Grassroutes Fellow 2010

“The agenda that Grassroutes has taken up is relevant for youth today
and the preparation you / they do before joining work at the field level is
also of a high order and helps in setting the enthusiasm and pace for
volunteering.”

- Mr. Pradeep Gupta, Secretary, Aarohi

We hope the information provided was helpful. We are waiting to see your
application. If there are any questions please mail us at team@grassroutes.in or
apply@grassroutes.in

15 Road-trips for Social Change www.grassroutes.in

 ANNEXURE I

Fellowship Requirements
This section is particularly addressed to a Fellow, in order to emphasize the importance of
personally knowing and understanding the requirements before applying. The purpose of the
deliverables is to ensure that the learning is reinforced well and is publicized to inspire many
more young people into social action through these stories of personal change. As a
Grassroutes Fellow, you will be required to meet certain documentation requirements.

BLOGS, VIDEOS & PHOTOS:

Given one of the objective of the Fellowship is to inspire the larger community it is very
important capture your experience in the form of stories which can be told using blogs, photo
essays or videos. Some specific themes will be provided to you for your assistance.

REPORTS
Reports will be a major form of documentation that will be used extensively by the teams to
record their work and experiences at every stage of the Fellowship.

Pre Road trip report: Before embarking on the road trip you will be taken through a month long
orientation program during which you will interact with your Host NGO, trying to understand
the social issues at the grassroots and the ways in which the NGO is addressing them. Towards
the end of this orientation, you will have to submit a report on your understanding of the issue
and the NGO's work. This will ensure that you have a fair knowledge of the social issue at hand
and the NGO's work before you go on your road trips, so that you, and all other stake holders in
the Fellowship, make the maximum out of your road-trip.

Fellowship report: One of the most exciting parts of the fellowship program is the road-trip.
The experiences at grassroots, interaction with the change makers and exposure to the rural
communities helps in creating a new perspective of how you look at development in the rural
heartlands of the country. It is during this time that you spend at the host organisation that you
develop a sense of belonging to the place and connect emotionally to the stories of people and
change. This takes your enthusiasm to participate in the process of change and do something
yourself to its peak. Final report is your answer to translate inspiration into sustained, positive
action even beyond the duration of the fellowship program. It is a layout for the roadmap
ahead.

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